Assignment 5: Revision

I have had a discussion with my tutor about Assignment 5 and my approach to it. I have documented this in a post summarising my feedback.

In summary:

In terms of my images chosen for Assignment 5, Andy suggested that a mixture of images in portrait and landscape formats was not so effective. He also thought that the portrait orientated images were less effective in depicting the landscape I was trying to show.

He made some suggestions about re-working this Assignment in terms of selecting landscape orientated images, and I will rework this in the light of these comments.

He also made a general comment about the way images are displayed on the website, arranged vertically. As we tend to read horizontally, he suggested ways in which the images could be shown side by side, as they would be in a gallery. He suggested this should be a consideration for my submissions for assessment.

I have re-examined the images I shot for this assignment and looked particularly at the ones in landscape format. There are a number of other images which I could include, as well as some I showed in my earlier post, but chose not to include.

Other images not shown before include these:

My tutor suggested I could show the images in pairs, side by side, and illustrated this with these two:

The rusty bucket from the machinery to the left of one image, mirrors the stone structure to the right of the other. I have made a selection of ten images which can be arranged in pairs like this.

So my revised selection is the following:

Assignment 5: Assignment Notes

The following is a submission to accompany my images and summarises my approach to the assignment and my reflections on it. Many of the points I discuss here are considered in more depth in my learning log at https://ap231photography.com/.

The Brief

The brief for this assignment included “..Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject exploring the theme ‘Photography is Simple’. Each photograph should be a unique view; in other words, it should contain some new information..” The course notes also suggest that “you should just feel comfortable with your subject… it should say something about you”

In these notes I will explore how I have attempted to answer that brief.

My Subject

The images of the “Peak District Landscape” I found for Exercise 4.4, portray the landscape of the moors as an idealised wilderness with little reference to the influence of man in managing the landscape as I experience it living close by. The images include stereotypical features and make no reference to the mining and quarrying, the collection of drinking water and grouse shooting for which the moors are managed.

What I intended the images to show are features within the landscape which indicate these activities. In this way I hoped to better represent my own experience of the moorland landscape.

“Photography is Simple”

I attempted to address the theme of simplicity by making the images when I went walking on the hills near my home. I went out not with the specific aim of making the images but to experience the environment in a walk. I tried to capture subjects as I came across them and the resulting images are therefore my own reaction to the landscape.

In this way the process of making the images was more spontaneous than the creation of the images for other assignments. I used a variety of equipment, depending on what I could carry for the length of the walk planned. I also had little idea what I would come across and had to react as I saw something.

My Influences

On reflection I had very few overtly conscious influences. However I was trying to depict the landscape as I experience it and not a stylised version. Thus in this respect a main influence is the work of Fay Godwin; particularly her series “Our Forbidden Land” showing man-made structures in the landscape, and a less conventionally attractive side of the British landscape. Similarly the work of photographers such as Robert Adams, and others in the exhibition “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” show the landscape as it is, not how we might imagine it.

Reflections

One of the main learning points I have drawn from this assignment, is not so much about photography itself, but about how I look at the world around me. I think I started this process with the first assignment in this course, which made me look at where I live and how that is a product of its history and changes of use over years.

It is this process of looking at how the parts of the environment create the whole which has begun to influence me, and, I hope, my work. Those parts of the environment which build up into the whole may be due to changes in use over time, as was the case in my “Square Mile” assignment; or its use simultaneously for different functions, as is the case with these present images.

Another point on which I have reflected is that my assignment notes for this assignment are much shorter and less wordy than for any of the other assignments. My initial reaction to this is that I have not written enough or considered enough research and background reading. While this may well be the case, I am very conscious that I was trying to make this “Simple” and by so doing make my images more spontaneous and automatic, drawing on the influences and experience I have gained over this course in a more subconscious way. I think this relates to my concern which I raised with my tutor that my work is not so visually strong and does not always fully express what I intend as well as I can express it in words. My previous assignments I have had a lot of ideas which I have expressed in writing, and this is not reflected in the quality of the final images – I think best exemplified by “The Decisive Moment”.

In the end I am very pleased with these final images, I think they do indeed show what I intended and I would hope that I am moving towards better representing my ideas visually rather than verbally.

Assignment 5: Some Reflections

I have presented my images in a previous post, and will consider here how I have met the brief “Photography is Simple”.

I set out with the aim of presenting images which depict the use of the landscape of the Peak District moors and show that as I experience it, not an idealised version such as those I found in my google search. I tried to show images in the same way as Fay Godwin or Robert Adams and others might. I made the images intending to present them in colour rather than monochrome as these photographers did. Thus superficially the images look very different.

For example this image, Crowden 14, to me, depends on the colour of the rusting metal contrasting with the surroundings, and in monochrome does not make that point as well.

Crowden 14

Crowden 14

However overall when the images are shown in monochrome, there is a resonance with the work of the photographers which influenced me.

The simplicity of this assignment is however probably not immediately visible to the observer. The images were made in response to my own reaction to the environment with little specific planning as I did not know what would catch my attention as I walked. On two occasions I was accompanied and did not have long to capture the image so it was a more automatic process during which I used accumulated experience both technical and artistic for the composition.

Each of the images shows a different aspect of man’s influence and use of the environment – in that respect I think each image is a unique view and contains new information.

Personal Reflection

One of the main learning points I have drawn from this assignment, is not so much about photography itself, but about how I look at the world around me. I think I started this process with the first assignment in this course, which made me look at where I live and how that is a product of its history and changes of use over years.

I think this is illustrated with this image from that assignment which shows a moorland stream, against which a cotton mill was built and then on the foundations of that, modern flats.

It is this process of looking at how the parts of the environment create the whole which has begun to influence me, and, I hope, my work.

Those parts of the environment which build up into the whole may be due to changes in use over time, as was the case in my “Square Mile”assignment; or its use simultaneously for different functions, as is the case with these present images.

Another point on which I have reflected is that my assignment notes for this assignment are much shorter and less wordy than for any of the other assignments. My initial reaction to this is that I have not written enough or considered enough research and background reading. While this may well be the case, I am very conscious that I was trying to make this “Simple” and by so doing make my images more spontaneous and automatic, drawing on the influences and experience I have gained over this course in a more subconscious way. I think this relates to my concern which I raised with my tutor that my work is not so visually strong and does not always fully express what I intend as well as I can express it in words. My previous assignments I have had a lot of ideas which I have expressed in writing, and this is not reflected in the quality of the final images – I think best exemplified by “The Decisive Moment”.

In the end I am very pleased with these final images, I think they do indeed show what I intended and I would hope that I am moving towards better representing my ideas visually rather than verbally.

Assignment 5: My Images

Methods

I made my images on three occasions when I went walking on the hills near my home. The walks were not with the specific aim of making these images but were walks I would be making anyway. As I indicated in my previous post, I was trying to capture subjects which I came across which indicated the extensive management of this landscape.

Two walks were with other people, and I did not spend long selecting the viewpoint and taking several shots of the same object. On these walks I used a compact camera, a Canon Powershot G7x Mkii, which is lightweight and easily carried. The last walk I was alone and able to devote more time to photography. As I was not walking fast or far, I used heavier equipment, my Canon EOS 5D Mk4 with a 24mm prime lens and a 24-105mm zoom. All shots were hand held.

I shot the images in RAW and have cropped all to a consistent 5×7 aspect ratio.

I have made contacts of all the images prepared for this assignment at

Contacts Ass5 all

Selection of Images

I have made a selection based on a number of factors.

Overall I wanted to produce a set of images which include reference to the uses of the moorland such as mining and quarrying in the area, grouse shooting, and the collection of water. As I indicated in my previous post “My aim is to include reference to some of these aspects of the landscape; to show that the moors are not a wild wilderness, but managed and not all the features to be found are conventionally attractive.”

The brief says that “each photograph should be a unique view; in other words, it should contain some new information, rather than repeat the information of the previous image.” I have interpreted this to select each image to show a different aspect of the landscape’s use rather than multiple images of similar subjects.

Where I have multiple images of the same subject from different positions, I have made my selection based on exposure and other technical qualities of the image, as well as the viewpoint offering a satisfactory composition which places the subject into the landscape.

According to these criteria I had a final selection of 15 images out of 75 in total. I eliminated 5 of these. For example these two are of similar subjects, so I only include one way marker stone in my final selection.

Bleaklow 19

Bleaklow 24

I excluded this of the sheep, as although sheep farming is a major activity and influence on the landscape, we are familiar with  the sheep in the landscape and they do not appear so incongruous.

These images I excluded as I do not think the composition is as strong as others which I have included.

My final selection therefore includes subjects which relate to mining and quarrying, leisure activity, water collection, farming, grouse shooting. I believe they all show objects which appear initially incongruous in their setting, but that is only because we expect a landscape as represented by the idealised images in my google search, rather than those based in reality.

Photography is Simple: My 10 Images:

Assignment 5: Photography is Simple. My Approach

Brief

“The final assignment is an open brief. Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject exploring the theme ‘Photography is Simple’. Each photograph should be a unique view; in other words, it should contain some new information, rather than repeat the information of the previous image.

In your assignment notes explore how you think you’ve answered the brief.”

The notes for this also include the statement

“For now, though, you should just feel comfortable with your subject. It should say something about you and, in the end, you like it!”

My Subject

I had started thinking about this for some time, before I started this course, however over the last few months I have developed my ideas a little more.

Searching for images of the “Peak District Landscape” for Exercise 4.4, made me aware that many of the images appearing in a Google search portray the landscape of the moors as an idealised wilderness with little reference to the influence of man in managing the landscape as we experience it. The first two pages of images appearing in the search are these:

Sample images from Google search for “Peak District Landscapes”

Google search for “Peak District Landscapes” – more images

I note that the lighting is uniformly bright and colours appear to be enhanced. The scene includes what might be considered stereotypical features of the Peak District such as colourful heather, outcrops of rock, millstones (the characteristic rock is Millstone Grit). Inclusion of farming references are confined to a few sheep, well tended fences and gates.

There is no reference to the extensive mining and quarrying in the area; to the grouse shooting for which the moors are managed – the grouse fed, and the heather burned to provide food for the young birds; to the collection of water for a supply to the large conurbations nearby.

My aim is therefore to produce a set of images which include reference to some of these aspects of the landscape; to show that the moors are not a wild wilderness, but managed and not all the features to be found are conventionally attractive.

My Influences

My main influence in these images is the work of Fay Godwin. In particular images such as these show man-made structures in the landscape.

However her series “Our Forbidden Land” also show man-made structures in the landscape, they are less conventionally attractive and show a particular aspect of the British Landscape, such as:

Similarly the work of photographers such as Robert Adams, and others in the exhibition “New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape” show the landscape as it is, not how we might imagine it. For example

While the subject matter is different I am trying to achieve an appearance of the image more like those images, than the highly processed landscape images I found in my Google search. The other element I tried to incorporate was a suggestion from my tutor to achieve a “flat” appearance of the images, with uniform lighting across the image.

Photography is Simple

The brief for this Assignment is to explore “the theme ‘Photography is Simple’.. each photograph… should contain some new information

It should say something about you and, in the end, you like it!”

The subject matter I have chosen is important to me – I enjoy the landscape in all its forms and appreciate that what we experience is a result of how it has been used for hundreds of years. It is this theme I tried to explore in my first assignment, The Square Mile. So I think the assignment does say something about me.

It will be simple because I will be making the images on walks, not all of which have been with the express purpose of getting the images for this, instead I will react to the landscape as I see it. I will therefore be using simple, compact and light photographic kit that I can carry easily.

References

References to the works cited in this post are found in my separate post “References”