Results!

So far I've not put any results of the portraiture experiments up on line.  Not surprising as they are pretty dreadful!  Another kind of results came through this morning - by post - the first two modules.  They were a decent reward for the effort put in and given that I'm on a hiding to nothing in terms of what is likely to be expected of me, at least they were in line with that to.

I have now honed in on the specific content of my intended study for the next couple months - 'Professional Engagements' is the working title and I'm hoping to convince my tutors that portraits of all those professional people I have had interaction with in the past few years might make for a meaningful project.  I like to think that it will give me access to two environments, work and home or play, as well as a rich and accessible group of subjects.  I've begun approaching them and to date they have all been willing to play ball.  I have toyed with the idea of projects that would have involved complete strangers but I simply don't think I'm ready for that, either psychologically or technically.  This could be a kind of half way house as quite a few of the victims are not regular acquaintances. 

I'm also thinking that this disparate group, sharing as they do, simply their relationship to me create an interesting 'portrait' of me as well as of themselves.  This is something that I want to explore further in making this body of images - and try to identify within the works themselves.  

Now I really have to start thinking about which camera, what additional equipment and so forth...

Moving Along

I'm nor at all used to sitting and reflecting on matters, my MO is usually to do something, screw it up, do it again and so on till either I tire of it or it gets to where I want it to be.  Now however I'm actively (or rather passively) trying to slow the process down.  The new project is taxing me as I ruminate over various texts and images trying to establish exactly what I might want to get from the assignment.  Portraiture it will be (unless some very active dissuasion is employed) but what and how is still up for grabs.  I have tried taking a few but so far all I've discovered is that it is a harder task than I'd imagined - so the technical issues of making an image are starting to raise their ugly heads.  This was always going to happen, so better sooner than later, but it will mean a lot of additional work.  The subjects I'm now thinking ought to be grouped in some meaningful way. 

The Practical...

So this week we have no session and it's obviously a good moment to start putting together the rationale for the practice project thats the focus for this semester.   We are told to "choose an area of photographic practice new to you" and  "challenge your existing practice"whilst being "clearly indicative of a constructive exploration of the assigned area".  We have to produce "an experimental portfolio that demonstrates personal innovation as well as an awareness of contemporary critical practices"...so no sweat there then!

As I've hinted at I am fairly certain now that I am going to attempt some form of portraiture project...though I'm thinking to take pictures of people in context (something I haven't ever done seriously)...that might constitute documentary I guess.   

I've a huge set of volumes dragged away from the library - Karsh, Avedon, Arbus, Struth, Bown just for starters - and there's all those books and catalogues already around (Parr, Meadows, Sadler, Sarah Jones, Karen Knorr and so forth), including piles of old Creative Camera's and other magazines...where, to be honest, in the past I've tended to pretty much ignore the portrait work in the past.  And having recently subscribed to several current magazines the latest issue of Foam is centred on portraiture...so that must be telling me something too.

Getting started on research around the subject is daunting - as Paul Hill suggests in his own 'Approaching Photography' portraiture is the "most common subject matter in photography and Susan Bright  in Art Photography Now opines "Laden with ambiguity and uncertainty, the portrait is perhaps the most complex area of artistic practice"  Still at least its rich territory to look into!

Amongst a number of starting points to actually take some pictures I've begun a series of self portraits - just one  idea amongst several.  First stabs suggest this isn't as easy an activity as it might - excuse the pun - on the face of it seem...

Another Week Commences!

I have been pretty remiss with posting over the festive period and beyond.  Still yesterday was the hand in date for the first assignments for the course (Modules 1&2) and we all dutifully rolled up with the two documents required.  Like several others it now seems, there came a point when, whatever faults and errors remained, one just pressed the print button and to hang with it.

I was relatively happy with the final outcome of our major essay (around 3000 words required) project.  It was good to spend a deal of time studying Misrach and Martins as they are both photographers I really admire.  The essay I feel captures at least a few interesting observations about their work.  The other hand in was a summary of our research 'methods' (around 800 words required).  This I found rather more tedious...in my opinion a lot of serious 'guff' is talked about this topic in the academic community.  After all whilst literature searches, academic referencing conventions, etc. are clearly important to a degree - communicating effectively your passion and ideas is what counts in the 'real' world.  Having already had to make two powerpoint presentations over the preceeding weeks, this laborious writing up of what your processes and procedures were was dreary in the extreme.  Still as a fellow academic I guess the staff have to have something tangible to mark and - as importantly nowadays - be seen to have marked!

We were treated to the information regarding our next two modules, the double module which comprises the first practice assignment - at last - we take some pictures!  and another 'Applied Photographic Theory' - another 3000 words of text!  Deep joy!

Nest week - we get to think about our first practice assignment - the following week we get to take in some recent work.  So as a taster here's an image taken at Attenborough Nature Park over the Christmas break.

Struck Down...

I have a theory...if I get a cold before Christmas I keep getting them right through the spring...so I'm in for a bad time then.  I missed this last week and cannot report back on the MA.  Hopefully the written feedback (that has been very thorough) will suffice in the rewrite of my essay.  I am now thinking hard about the next phase of the programme when we get started on a practical project.  My first task is to decide on an appropriate camera format for whatever the project is.  That raises the vexed question of the topic...something outside of my comfort zone is required - and I'm thinking possibly portraiture.

The Seminar Process

Now we have been through the full seminar process time for a few reflections.  Firstly in broad terms they went pretty well.  That said there was very variable time keeping and commentary.  In particular it is hard to sustain a decent level of engagement across such a diverse and lengthy process, made longer the week before last by the insertion of a PhD transfer talk half way through.  I don't think it benefitted either the candidate, the staff or us as consumers, though the content was strong and in other circumstances interesting.  Inevitably perhaps the range of topics and the approaches vary a good deal.  You learn a lot from such variety, although inevitably just as you get into something it is time to pass onto the next topic.

What do I remember from them without recourse to my notes?  Well I didn't know of Claude Cahon until A raised her in that presentation...so that was interesting - for me a comparison with - say - Cindy Sherman might have been more fruitful that Francesca Woodman.  However one could see the reasoning.  Woodman strikes me as something of a photography equivalent of Nick Drake in contemporary music.  Its a great body of work but their early deaths mean that the relative size of the output is small and highly focussed upon as a result.  would it be the same had they lived to produce a good deal more...of course we'll never know.

Until SM told us about him O. Winston Link was just a name and a few pictures to me...now he fascinates me.  Again my take is that contrary to the received wisdom the trains are just the hook on which he pegs his real focus...a detailed and fascinating reading of 'the american dream' or 'amerikana' in general...I feel he's the photography equivalent of Andrew Wyeth, Grant Wood and Edward Hopper.

Another two 'names' I'd never looked at in detail were DS's interest in Alex Soth and I's in Stephen Gill...both now photographers I want to look at and think about in greater detail.  DT's interest in Miroslaw Tichy is also interesting!

No Cake file this week...no cake...let's hope we get it together (maybe I should) for next week.

Cafe file and Seminars

I've slightly lost track of the weeks...I guess yesterday was Week 10...which frankly seems fairly unbelievable!  First Up: Cake File!  Ingrid produced three very fine cakes this week...Ginger, Honey & Almond was up first...delicious.  Then Lemon and finally Chocolate Marble - both equally fine.  This cake malarky is getting out of hand...but they are very nice.

This week we started the first of two weeks of fifteen minute seminar presentations by each of us.  These are intended to act as an introduction to the first drafts of our first essay that also had to be handed in yesterday.  The unlucky eight of us who had to get it all finished and to hand for the day included myself.  Then again at least next week we simply have to sit back and watch the other half of the cohort perform.

Inevitably some of us have fairly reasonably resolved texts, others are still finding their way...nothing I saw on the day couldn't be reasonably easily turned into something pretty decent with a little application...handing in the first draft now is good - we get them back ahead of Christmas so have time after that (some time into January) to react to what's said and make the inevitable changes.  I thought that, just once or twice, some slightly harsh things were said about the state of play given that, for some colleagues, this is probably the first time they have tackled anything like this in their lives!

I had a bit of fun with my comparative essay between Richard Misrach's early night desert pictures and Edgar Martins' 'Accidental Theorist' project...finding myself in my kitchen at six am I remembered being struck by the close visual similarity between one or two of Mark Rothko's late paintings and Edgar Martins pictures...having a few cacti to hand (they sit on the windowsill) I made a couple Misrach/Martins by way of Rothko...so here they are.