Reflective text for Expressing Your Vision
Since starting the course, I feel that I have developed in the following ways:-
1) Technical skills
Upon starting the course, my default camera mode was aperture priority and I hadn’t had much experience of photographing at night or in a studio setting. In order to realise my ideas for the assignments I have taught myself about neutral density filters, strobe lighting, diffraction, optimum settings for manual mode (and the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed). As a result, I feel more confident in my camera handling and make conscious decisions about modes of use and camera settings.
I also taught myself to use flash, strobe lighting and a lightbox and used these to improve my still life and smoke photography.
Other post-processing skills acquired, in addition to standard image correction, have included the creation of double exposures, the pixellation of images and turning photographs into pencil drawings using a mask. I have also created a short slide presentation for Assignment 4.
I have also studied colour theory in some depth, have written about that in my blog, and have undertaken some practical experiments by producing prints and comparing them with on-screen images. I feel there is still a lot to learn here.
2) Quality of work
I feel that I am not the best judge of my own work, but others tell me that they have seen a marked improvement in the quality of my photography. I am choosing to photograph more challenging subjects which has slowed me down and I have been trying to think more carefully about composition. Throughout the course, I have been producing contact sheets, but I have found them of limited use – I still pick out my ‘best’ images on screen where I can see them better. I am usually immediately aware of minor adjustments that I need to make to improve my photos, such as cropping, straightening, contrast, brightness adjustments etc. and have no difficulty with these tasks.
One thing that has changed for me is the subject matter of my pictures – as a result, I am no longer winning so many camera club competitions! Interestingly, I now see the significant limitations of camera club style judgements which focus on ‘nice’ images that demonstrate merely technical competence. I am now increasingly producing work that aims to ‘say’ something, even if that ‘something’ is challenging and uncomfortable for the viewer.
I have enjoyed producing images that form a coherent series and which express an idea, as opposed to individual images that just look nice.
3) Creativity
I feel that I have pushed my creativity on this course – I have experimented quite a bit and have produced double exposure images, pixellated images in a variety of styles, and turned photographs into painting and pencil sketch effects using filters and masks in order to realise my vision. I would like to take this further as the course progresses – I think I have been quite cautious at times, but that is because I am only on the first module of the degree course.
Looking back at the work I have done, my creativity tends to spring from a particular, often abstract idea – such as in Assignment three – when breath becomes air – and I have enjoyed the challenge of how to present such ideas visually.
I think that I am still some way off having a ‘personal voice’, but that is because there are so many approaches and techniques to try and I am enjoying experimenting with as many of these as possible.
4) Contextual studies and critical thinking
I think that this has been my strongest area throughout the course. I love reading, studying and thinking in general and have followed up on pretty much every reference, thinker and photographer that I have been referred to on the course. I have also drawn on my prior knowledge and ideas acquired when I studied aesthetics as part of my philosophy degree, thirty-odd years ago. I have been quite forthright and confident in expressing my own views on my blog as well as analysing different theories and points of view. I have very much enjoyed writing about them as this type of work comes easily to me.
During the course, and as a result of my reading and research, I feel that I am beginning to develop my critical vocabulary as it relates to photography, and grasp some of the key ideas – such as context, artist intention, the nature of representation etc. I think that my writing about photographers and theory has improved – I now actually have something to say and words to say it with – I certainly wasn’t able to do this at the start of the course other than to opine whether I liked something or not. So, a vast improvement here!
I am looking forward to more challenging academic work in the coming modules.
Kathy Roddy: Expressing My Vision 