Now on the other hand, I am very unemployed, and looking for productive things to fill my time. A few days ago I managed to sort through a big old heap of old photography gear I'd inherited from a friend of the family, and by simply sorting through these old boxes I was filled with encouragement and almost instantly wanted to sort out my life as a keen photographer. I thoroughly photographed all of the equipment I'd unpacked, and somewhere down the line I'm hoping to blog about the equipment and do a little research about it. Firstly, I would like to complete this blog on my Final Major Project, and then turn it into my general Photography blog.
Final Major Project 2014
Here is my opening spider diagram for my final project. I always like the use of a mind map, such as this one, I use it as almost a check list of sorts, and it also keeps me on the right track but also allows me to expand my ideas.
"I have decided to begin my work book with a spider diagram of ideas, including those which I might have explored last year in the mini project. Obviously, over the last few months my main ideas might have evolved slightly, or I might have tried something different. We started and completed a literature review on our chosen subject of interest and carried out a critical research module, which allowed me to explore aspects which I might not have considered."
Contact Sheets from First Assignments
I have decided to begin my work by looking very critically at the work I completed in my last assignment. By doing this, I will be able to get some idea on what to work towards or even away from.
(main note) - Only Three Films!?
Three films would be no where near enough for the Major Project! It really wasn't enough for the first assignment. I was very limited on the choice of images, which in the end effected my overall mark.
Just by looking at these two films, it is quite clear that I kept my distance from the subject, I didn't want to get in the way more than anything, but this has defiantly brought the overall quality of my images down. The more you go out with the Cockle Pickers, THE MORE CONFIDENCE YOU WILL HAVE!!
Honestly, I have to look extremely hard to find an image I would be able to use, I was scrapping the barrel for the first assignment. Ideally, I would like to be Spoilt for choice in my Final Major Project.
It is also extremely important to remember to be very careful when working with negatives. It is sometimes easy to forget just how delicate they are. there are several scratches and marks on the contact sheets, even some finger prints, which really I should know better.
I was limited enough with only the three films to make prints from, this became an even bigger issue when I noticed very faint lines running all the way through my final film. It isn't that obvious when simply looking at the contact sheet, however, when the images are enlarged:
When the negative is enlarged, in order to make a print, the line become much more obvious, especially in the landscape images which aren't as busy as some of the closer images. This was my favourite film out of the three as well, it contains quite a mixture of images and contains photographs of the cockle stall in Llanelli Market and also shows Cockles being boiled, to be eaten.
I had encounter this problem before, in one of my projects for my first year module. Put it down to the squidgy in the dark room, which removes excess water from the negatives, unfortunately it was ever so slightly damaged, which would leave marks going all the way down the negative. Possible to use a chamois leather cloth, which, once damp, can be used to run down the wet negatives.
Plan For Project 2014
Notes From Feedback
Even though my mini project was an overall success, there are still a number of things I would have easily and happily changed , which was the point of the project. It was an opportunity to consider improvements ready for this final major project.Documentary Photography - (Theoretical)
One huge factor of my feedback was the lack of critical context in the work. It's all well and good doing a documentary photography project, but there has to be some reference to CRITICAL WRITINGS.
There are books and hundreds of essays on the issues and problems surrounding documentary photography, and reading them would be a great way to understand them and come to your own conclusion. This will strengthen the work and place it in a more critical context, within concerns of documentary photography.
Use of Film
As much as the use of film worked well for my project, I needed to justify this in my workbook, which I did not do. This is something to think about and it's relation to film within documentary photography. Think about 35mm/120 and digital photography.
Your Work and Others
With regard to the points above, it might be useful to think about your work in relation to other practitioners. Think about the approach of the photographs and how this differs to others and what are the effects. More in-depth, critical research into the works of others is needed, and it will also be worth reading interviews and articles, in order to get that extra insight.
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