Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

I have been thinking about how to approach this assignment especially after re-reading my diary entries. The main point that came across from them was an unwillingness to reveal too much about myself. I have thought about how I would translate this into an image or series of images and initially thought of going down the route of self-absented portraiture but have decided not to pursue this approach. There are serveral reason for this but the main one is that it feels a bit cliched; the majority of the photographers we have examined in the course material have chosen to … Continue reading Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

Keith Arnatt

Whilst trying to understand how to progress with assignment three I came across a BJP article about Keith Arnatt, https://www.bjp-online.com/2015/09/keith-arnatt-the-conceptual-photographer-who-influenced-a-generation/ I think what I liked about the work featured in the article was its diversity as this is something I am grappling with as I try to work out what to photograph for the assignment. Having had a very fixed idea of how I was going to approach it I now have several ideas which do not work together, however, looking at Arnatt’s work, perhaps they do not have to follow a similar approach if they can be combined to … Continue reading Keith Arnatt

Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture – diary

Thursday 30th May 2019 For this exercise I have to keep a diary for a minimum of two weeks and this is something that I am hesitant or maybe resistant to do. I have tried keeping a diary for this assignment previously and found it boring to write and boring to read. I know I was reluctant to reveal what I was thinking and so it just became a list of things I did during the day. For this attempt I am going to try and be more forthcoming but I feel uncomfortable about this. Why is this and what … Continue reading Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture – diary

Exercise 5.2 – Questions for seller (P.120)

Question for Seller re-situates images in a different context and in so doing allows for a new dialogue to take place. Reflect on the following in your learning log: • Does their presence on a gallery wall give these images an elevated status? • Where does their meaning derive from? • When they are sold (again on eBay, via auction direct from the gallery) is their value increased by the fact that they’re now ‘art’? • Does their presence on a gallery wall give these images an elevated status? Objectively displaying these images on a gallery wall does not change … Continue reading Exercise 5.2 – Questions for seller (P.120)

Research point – reading pictures – (P.104)

Read and reflect upon the chapter on Diane Arbus in Singular Images: Essays on Remarkable Photographs by Sophie Howarth (2005, London: Tate Publishing). The collection, which is edited by Sophie Howarth, features an essay by Liz Jobey analysising Arbus’s photograph A young Brooklyn family going for a Sunday outing, N.Y.C. 1966. In writing about Diane Arbus’s photograph A young Brooklyn family going for a Sunday outing, N.Y.C.1966, Liz Jobey takes the reader on a journey which starts by looking at the family in the image and speculating on their lives, relationships and futures; goes on to look at the career … Continue reading Research point – reading pictures – (P.104)

Exercise 5.1 – Setting the scene (P.109)

Watch this famous scene from Goodfellas directed by Martin Scorsese in 1990: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJEEVtqXdK8 [accessed 24/02/14] Don’t read on until you’ve answered the following questions. • What does this scene tell you about the main character? • How does it do this? List the ‘clues’. Make some notes in your learning log. The scene is a single shot of Henry Hill, the lead character, taking Karen Friedman to the Copacobana nightclub. The scene tells us quite a lot about Henry: He is literally and metaphorically a man who knows his way around. He is determined to get what he wants and … Continue reading Exercise 5.1 – Setting the scene (P.109)

Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

Drawing upon the examples in Part Three and your own research, you can approach your self-portraits however you see fit. You may choose to explore your identity or masquerade as someone else, or use empty locations or objects to speak of your experiences. However you choose to approach it, use yourself – directly or indirectly – as subject matter. Keep a diary for a set period of time (at least two weeks). Each day write two or three pages about yourself – what you’ve been doing/thinking. This can be as specific or poetic as you wish. You may wish to … Continue reading Assignment 3 – Putting yourself in the picture

Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Tutor feedback

My feed back for assignment 2 can be read here. If I’m honest I think the written feedback is more positive than our skype call but either way I have no issue with it as I think it is an accurate reflection of the work submitted. I think the feedback reflects the struggles I had with this assignment and so it was not a suprise and I think there are two things that I can take out of it, first that I need to be clear in my mind what I am trying to communicate and I know that this … Continue reading Assignment 2 – Photographing the unseen – Tutor feedback

Exercise 4.2 – Reading pictures (P.101)

Rip out an advertising image from a newspaper supplement and circle and write on as many parts of the image as you can. Comment on what it is, what it says about the product and why you think it’s there. You could use this as the basis for your assignment if you feel it’s taking you somewhere interesting. Or you could adopt this method for your assignment preparation. Come back to this exercise when you’ve reached the end of Part Four and see if you can add anything to your analysis. The advert I have chose is for Manuel Canovas … Continue reading Exercise 4.2 – Reading pictures (P.101)

Exercise 4.1 – The language of photography (P.98)

Before you read any further, look carefully at Erwitt’s image and write some notes about how the subject matter is placed within the frame. How has Erwitt structured this image? What do you think the image is ‘saying’? How does the structure contribute to this meaning? The main compositional technique used by Erwin in this image is the rule of thirds. Below is the image with a rule of thirds grid applied. Erwin has placed the small dog, the primary subject, roughly on the right hand vertical third and the legs of the large dog on the left hand vertical … Continue reading Exercise 4.1 – The language of photography (P.98)