Assignment Four – Feedback Reflection

Assignment Four of the Open College of the Arts Art of Photography Module deals with light and its use and challenges in photography.  The assignment and underpinning exercises required a structured and technical approach to the management of light both outdoors and in a studio situation.  From the outset the assignment and exercises appealed to my technical background and the dredging up of long forgotten physics topics such as Raleigh Scattering.  And therein lay an area for development – astutely observed by the feedback from my Tutor; ‘You have demonstrated a good technical approach and your work on this is strong’.   I will come back to this below.

The overall feedback from the tutor was that the exploration of the exercises was robust and comprehensive and that there was real engagement with the technical practice. Interestingly the tutor observed that some of the images used in the exercises were more visually engaging than the exercises used in the assignment.  I remember at the time of working on the assignment images being very engaged from a technical perspective and being very satisfied that I had been able to previsualise what I wanted to achieve and then execute my vision.  However,  I  also remembered that this was technical rather than emotional satisfaction.  I kept being reminded of an earlier observation by the tutor that I should be thinking about why rather than how I make images.  The final set of observations in the feedback dealt directly with this question; use the techniques to develop messages and not as end in themselves;  be conscious that the exercises lend themselves to just taking an image to demonstrate a technical approach but the assignment can be a body of work with a theme or identified outcome.

Having received the feedback I realized that my plans for the final assignment would have to be revised because it had become obvious that where I had some emotional rather than technical engagement with images they resonated more deeply than where images where engagement was solely technical.  This posed a problem because while I had some vague idea about the types of images to which I had an emotional attachment and/or a need to make my knowledge was not sufficient to help me make choices about what  I wanted to work on.  As a result I spent some time going back over my images both for the course and not to see if patterns emerged.  This proved a rewarding exercise because it became clear for both my underwater and overwater photography that certain broad types of image engaged me more than others. Whilst this exercise of working out my ‘voice’ is ongoing I am in a much better position now to move on.  A related point is that using the Peter Honey classification of types of learning I am a ‘pragmatist’ meaning that my default is to learn only if it meets a particular purpose.  The drawback to this approach is that less time is devoted to reflection and this may be a block to growth and development.

Assignment Three – Feedback Reflection

Assignment Three of the Open College of the Arts Art of Photography deals with Colour. The assignment, found here, was a long assignment involving still life, identifying a wide range of colour combinations, street scenes and colour accents.  I preparing the assignment I was conscious of earlier feedback in respect of the inclusion of more people and making sure that the colour correlation between screen and print was acceptable and I will come to these two points below.

Overall the feedback was positive – ‘..an energetic and interesting exploration of the assignment…’, ‘…the assignment was a good demonstration of the technical exploration you underwent…’  My inclusion of people (not my default) was commented on favourably ‘…I like to see you challenging yourself with taking people images…’ .  In respect of this last point I know that making images of people does not come naturally or easily and I feel that I will need to even more proactively address this, probably in the final assignment that requires me to put together all that I have learned in the programme.

Two matters requiring further consideration arose in the feedbaack.  First, there may still be a colour problem despite my obtaining Colour Munki, calibrating my computer screen and changing to a fine art printing shop.  My tutor noted that it may be a problem between two computer screens (tutor’s and mine) rather than between mine and the print.  In the Fourth Assignment I was very conscious of having good colour correlation between the screen and the print because of the  very delicate colours in the object used and the colour temperature and white balance challenges posed by the artificial lighting.  When the prints came back I was very happy with the results.  Notwithstanding my efforts on this matter I will need to manage the colour issue closely.

The main technical issue that arose and that was in the feedback was on issues of focus in some images both the point of focus and focus throughout the image.  Bluntly, this was sloppy camera work on my part and the images where this is a problem will be remade before final submission making sure that if the image requires focus throughout that choice of aperture is more carefully considered and if a point of focus is required that more consideration is given to what is important.

 

The final comments in the feedback concerned the learning logs/blogs, visits to exhibitions and reviews.  These were all to a satisfactory standard.

 

 

Assignment Four – A Reflection Pre-Feedback

This reflection on the Light module of the Open College of the Art’s Art of Photography is being undertaken pre-feedback on the assignment submission. This part of the course has been the most challenging to date for the following reasons.

1)      There are a large number of exercises required to be undertaken and each is technically complex.  This is not a criticism of the module and its aims and objectives.  However, some of the recommended approaches in the exercises are difficult to follow and could do with tighter editing.

2)      Undertaking the exercises is logistically demanding requiring making images under a wide variety of conditions and circumstances.

3)      The module is technically demanding dealing as it does with issues of colour temperature, white balance, colour correction etc.  Slightly more detailed notes dealing with the different types of lights and their colour temperature would have ben useful as neither the notes nor t course texts deal in any useful depth with this matter.  I had to make recourse to other texts and the web to gain a deeper understanding of the technical issues and their management.

There was much learning gained from the exercise.

1)      The change in light during the course of the day, in sunlight and in shadow was a revelation and I acquired a much deeper appreciation of this facet of photography.

2)      The exercises (and assignment itself) dealing with still life set ups was enjoyable, technically demanding requiring as it did considerable precision in lighting set up and much more engaging than I thought would have been the case.

3)      Developing a strategy for the management of the colour temperature of artificial light was a signifiicant outcome. During the course of the exercise on outdoor light I used the live view image to allow the manual adjustment of colour temperature (this can be done on the Nikon D7000) to more closely match the actual light colour rather than rely on the pre-sets. (It did occur to me that it would be easier simply to shoot in RAW (as I do for all my underwater photography) and then adjust later.  However, if I did this without manually checking on live view  I would not know what the ‘correct’ colouration was. The belts and braces approach would be to shoot in both RAW and JPEG with the JPG image having been manually adjusted for white balance.  This would allow a correctly coloured image to be used in any RAW post capture processing.  Subsequently, and reported on in the assignment, I made the images in RAW and was able to use the RAW plug in to Photoshop to accurately correct for colour balance as I knew the colour temperature of the lamp I was using.

In summary, this was a challenging module which took considerable time and effort to complete, which has notes which are not ideal in a few places but overall I learnt a very significant amount from the module.

Reflection – Assignment Two, Elements of Design

Assignment Two of the OCA’s Art of Photography module was concerned with elements of design.  During the course of undertaking the exercises in preparation for the assignment I reflected on the process and the main points that arose at that time were:-

1. Lines, points, curves and shapes as elements of design are so ubiquitous in every day life that they are usually invisible and only surface when attention is drawn to them.
2. I regularly use points in my images.  However, beyond paying passing reference to the rule of thirds I have not really thought about their positioning within the image. Verticals and horizontals, are likewise used regularly by me but I am not alive to their importance in relationship to the frame and as a consequence my composition was often untidy.
3. Curves are less used by me in images and diagonals even less so again. As far as shapes and implied lines are concerned these rarely, if ever feature and I realise that if my images are to have increased dynamism, energy and human interest then such design elements must feature more prominently.

Things to Work On

While the feedback for the online images was very positive it was apparent that in a number of respects the printed images needed further development.

1. In some the crops by the lab were too severe meaning that elements that I had deliberately left close to edges were clipped inappropriately.  This will mean that I need to be more careful about framing subjects too closely to the edge.  On the basis of this feedback I will either reprint the image or retake it with more generous margins for the final submission.
2. While colour reproduction is generally good from online to print in some cases it appears slightly off.  In response to this I have invested in a colour calibration tool (colour munki) for the computer and recalibrated the computer screen.
3. Comments on the prints need to be included as part of any submission for assessment.

In respect of the exercises, consideration of other photographer’s work, while started, needs to be further included in the reflections and observations. The feedback also included suggestions of photographer’s whose work might be of interest when developing further my own ‘voice’.

In respect of the next assignment, a clear suggestion is to include more people in the images.

 

Reflection – Elements of Design

Lines, points, curves and shapes as elements of design are so ubiquitous in every day life that they are usually invisible and only surface when attention is drawn to them; at least that is my experience as a result of undertaking these exercises.  Exercises 15 to 22 of the Art of Photography Course are part of the Elements of Design module and in turn are concerned with the points, lines, curves, shapes and implied lines and shapes as elements of design and composition.

As each exercise was undertaken I used it as an opportunity to reflect on the type of images I routinely take to try and determine if there was a pattern to my image making.  I had two reasons for doing this.  First, to ensure that I was not missing opportunities to enhance the range of images I could make and second to see if preferences I was making could tell me something about why (rather than how) I was making images.  This latter point relates directly to feedback from Assignment One.

What becomes very obvious to me is that I regularly use points in my images.  However, beyond paying passing reference to the rule of thirds I have not really thought about their positioning within the image. Verticals and horizontals, are likewise used regularly but here, as in the example below,  I am not alive to their importance in relationship to the frame and as a consequence the composition is untidy. The door in Cadaques in NE Spain attracted me because of the formality of its design.  However, the image made is, in hindsight, poor as vertical lines should relate to the frame carefully.  I think the main reason why I am attracted to images with verticals and horizontals is their formal structure.  This concern with formality may act as a block to the inclusion of design elements that, though less formal, will give greater energy and interest to the images.

Curves are less used by me in images and diagonals even less so again. As far as shapes and implied lines are concerned these rarely, if ever feature and I realise that if my images are to have increased dynamism, energy and human interest then such design elements must feature more prominently.

This series of exercises has been very rewarding and revealing and, once grasped, it becomes hard to look a potential image without ensuring that, if present, points, lines, curves etc become part of the composition.

Reflection – Assignment One – Contrasts

It had been so long since I last  submitted something for critical evaluation that it was with a great degree of trepidation that I notified my OCA Tutor that all my logs, blogs, reflections, exercises etc for Assignment One of the Art of Photography course had been uploaded for her to look at and on which to give me feedback.  Even though Assignment One of the OCA’s Art of Photography does not count towards the programme marks it is used to assess where you are in your photographic capability so I was quite nervous as I waited for the feedback.

Having received the feedback I really realised why I had signed up to do the course.  No matter how much you want feedback when you put up images on social media sides I have found that people are unwilling to give critical feedback that helps you grow and develop. My summary of the key points from my tutor is as follows;

Things to Work On

Think about why you use black and white.  As I reflected on this I realised that I was a little like Neil Young singing about ‘Love and War’ on his recent Le Noise album – ‘When I sing about love and war I don’t really know what I’m saying’.  When I convert images to black and white I realise, in hind site, that, although I have a vague idea that I am doing  so to emphasise structure and form, in reality my reasoning is not structured or clear.  Have to work harder on this one.

Start thinking more about why you take an image rather than how. Think about the emotions you want to generate. This feedback is very pertinent and raises lots of questions for me concerning styles I like and emotions that images raise.  I know that whilst many of the images I make give technical satisfaction, particularly some of my underwater ones, it is a much smaller number that evoke an emotional response.  Clearly distinguishing between how and why is crucial if development is to take place.

Try and identify photographers who make images that evoke the sort of response that you would like to achieve (and start including examples along side your own exercises)  This and the previous point are challenging issues to address and, I know, will take time to work out.  This is because thinking about why rather than how means looking at images differently. However, given that this reflection has been written about three weeks after I received it it has given me time to start carefully looking at the work of other photographers (and looking at my own images to see which ones I like emotionally  and which ones I like for technical reasons).   Here are three photographers for starters that I have singled out as ones whose images set me thinking about why rather than how.

Scarlatt Hooft Graafland.  A Dutch photographer who, inter alia, uses colour in a humorous yet sympathetic way, e.g. this one of reindeers.

Steve McCurry.  Who, even when his main point of interest, is some way distant, still manages to convey a sense of intimacy and empathy with the subject.  See this one from the Yemen in a recent blog.

Dave McKane, a Dublin based photographer who has worked on the theme of abandonment whether it be wooden houses in Kansas or country cottages in Ireland.  See this image from the US.

Why have I identified these as ones that strike a chord for me?  I think because there is an ‘intimacy’ in the scale and subject matter combined with a respect for the subjects (animal or human) in the images.  Interestingly, given that black and white features a lot in my images, I think rich colour, notwithstanding my like of the work of Dave McKane, is also something that is relevant.   Much more to do on this topic.

Things to Keep Doing

The blog seems to be reasonably well structured with a good mix of reviews, exhibitions and reflections as well as the exercises.

My technical skills seem to be of a reasonable standard although prints will be required for the next assignment.

Reflection – Frame Shapes and Sizes and Cropping and Extending

Exercises 13 and 14 of the OCA’s Art of Photography dealt with frame shapes and sizes and cropping and extending respectively.

The exercise on framing vertically and horizontally was undertaken in a narrow semi hidden valley on the slopes of Knocknarea mountain in Sligo in Ireland.  As I prepared for the session taking pictures I was conscious of the very strong vertical elements within the valley; tall trees growing from the floor and the vertical limestone rock walls.  I believed that I would find it difficult to capture both vertical and horizontal images successfully.    However, what I had not allowed for were the many strong horizontal elements that included the valley floor itself, branches growing at right angles and the horizontal cracks in the limestone rock walls.  Additionally, as I started to focus on small scale patterns and elements it became even easier to compose with horizontal framing.  The net result was that while in many cases the choice of frame was obvious, in more cases than I expected either framing would have worked reasonably well.

The exercise in cropping was a significant departure from my normal image processing practise.  As my formative years were with 35mm film cropping was very rare.  Consequently I have tended not to crop much in my image processing.  The exercise demonstrated that, within reason, cropping is a very reasonable design decision.

Reflection – Dividing the Frame

The project ‘Dividing the Frame’ in the OCA Art of Photography course is a little different from previous projects and exercises in that, in addition to capturing images specifically for the project (placing the horizon), you are asked to analyse ‘already-taken’ photographs (p54) and to consider balance within them.   These are Exercises 12 and 11 respectively.

For Exercise 11, this meant, for me, a critical review of some images captured in the last few years.  In selecting them I deliberately chose ones that I felt worked and ones that did not.  Images that were balanced by, for example a centre composition, such as a fish face, worked because they were accurately centred and there was some element that created a dynamism, e.g. the fish eyes either side of the centre.  Images that did not work, following a critical analysis, were ones where a main subject was off centred in an attempt to balance some form of contrasting subject matter, e.g. a bright orange sea shell against black rock.  in these cases I think the attempt was right but the executing was not quite right.  In these cases emphasing the main subject would have improved the balance.  In the case of one final image, an underwater hockey scene, I realised that I had underestimated the importance of the puck in the image and that, even though it was very small in relation to the bodies of the players, its placement could act as a significant counter balance by better cropping.

Exercise 11 involved the placement of the horizon and the images captured show varying combinations of beach, surf and sky.  In undertaking the exercise I was very conscious of previous photographic practice (e.g. Ansel Adams) and painting practice (e.g. Anne Marie McInerney) of placing the horizon at extremes on the vertical dimension.  It became obvious very quickly that the choice of whether or not to do this depended very considerably on the amount of interest in the foreground the beach) or the background (the sky).  Placement in between left an image with out much tension or depth.

Reflection – Focal Lengths

Fixing the camera position and changing focal lengths or changing both focal length and camera position produce profoundly different results as is shown Exercises 9  and 10 of the OCA Art of Photography course.  Exercise 9 and Exercise 10 deal respectively with these elements of composition and this blog deals with reflections arising from undertaking the exercises.

In Exercise 9 I concentrated on an abandoned building site that, during Ireland’s boom years had been earmarked for commercial development.  Three broad compositional decisions emerged. First to contextualize the site by using short focal lengths, second to place an underground storage container as the subject, but within the context of the site, by using mid range focal lengths and third, to place the container as the main centre of attention by using long focal lengths.  It became obvious that main decision point was between the second and third options as the first composition gave no real sense of what the image was about.  Very clearly, the decision became an either or as it was not possible to have both. Obviously a learning point in this image is being clear about what you are looking for in the composition.

The second exercise involved changing both focal length and position.  The impact of these changes was profound; from a flat, ‘compressed’ image with a long focal length to a perspective that had depth and dynamism at short focal length.   From an artisitic standpoint it became clear very quickly that the short focal length close up had much more to offer.  As I came to this realisation it became obvious that many of my images lack this three dimensional/depth component and thus lack dynamism.  As I quickly reviewed images in my library, the ones that jump out are the ones with the strong 3 D component.

Reflection – Project ‘Looking Through the Viewfinder’

The use of the frame to vary the composition and content of the image is the subject of exercises 6, 7 and 8 in the Art of Photography course.  This reflection is concerned with these exercises at

The Frame; Project – Viewfinder; Exercise 6 – Fitting Frame to Subject

The Frame; Project – Viewfinder; Exercise 7 – Object in Different Positions in the Frame

http://wp.me/p3PbRS-O.

Exercises 6 and 7 to a certain extent stand separate from Exercise 8 as they are concerned specifically with how framing, and thus subject positioning, dictate the way in which the relationship between the subject, the viewer and the surrounding elements are established. Exercise 8 was concerned with understanding how sequencing images can lead to composition of an image as the photographer is drawn more and more deeply int tot eh event being examined.

In undertaking Exercises 6 and 7 it became very clear that I had to consciously be aware of what I was trying to do in terms of the relationship I wanted to establish between the viewer and the image.   This led me to reflect on my previous camera work which was much less precise than it needed to be establish the relationships between viewer, subject and the other elements in the viewfinder.  A key learning point was that the positioning of the main subject should, in general, be based on a common sense rationale.

In relation to Exercise 8 – Sequence of Composition – although I was satisfied with the event chosen (a food market) as a good one for the exercise I was not satisfied that I had undertaken sufficient pre-shoot research to ensure that I  was clear about what I was trying to do.  This manifested itself in that during the course of taking the photographs I became unclear as to what I was doing – trying to capture the essence of the whole event, trying to consider the relationship between people and food or trying to capture the relationship between people and place.  So, while I was reasonably satisfied that a small number of images worked (or appeared to work) for me within the sequence I was not satisfied with the execution of the exercise as a whole and the lesson learnt would be the need for much more careful research prior to shooting so that I am clearer about the purpose of the activity.