Planning Assignment 1

Ok, this assignment, I have thought more about than most, I haven't had the chance to get out and about with my camera this week, what with looking for a new car online, going to see cars, going for a medical to get my whiplash assessed...have been recommended physiotherapy *tuts* but neck is still quite stiff and makes some LOVELY grindy noises when I turn my head and still a pain in my wrist from where I slammed into the steering wheel!

Lots of ideas on how to portray my locality going around in my mind, what makes it unique, how can I communicate that uniqueness, to people or not to people...obvious narrative or let the viewer try and decide what the uniqueness is, or make it look ordinary and have the uniqueness hidden....things that should have one use but have two? For example the local kids like to sit on top of the Post Box ;o)

Also thinking about what constitutes my neighbourhood, do I make it a wide area or force myself to look for subjects within a tight area so that I REALLY observe what is going on around me....have been walking about rather than driving so I take note of what is around me. Tomorrow is going to look at yet another car....hope to start experimenting with idea, camera and test shots on Friday :oD

Thinking About Planning Ass One 

• What equipment
• Places to visit
• Inclusion of people
• Examine other Photographers
• Close Observation
• What Genre
• Portfolio rather than individual images
• What Visual Links
• Uniqueness
• How to imply the presence of people 

Mind map of things to consider





**Update 2/6/11**

I've had to switch off my digital/computer/looking at exercises head, and get back into thinking about producing a set of images, what is my approach going to be what style/genre. The more I look into styles and genres the more I see them cross over, I can adopt more than one style if I wish but I think it will probably be one main style that has echoes of others. documentry with a bit of 'street' or social landscape... will have to see how it develops.

Had a few ideas..may call the whole thing Metamorphosis... looking at how things alter are meant to change into something else or it happens by accident. Did some test shots this am but none came out as I wanted, mixture of not getting either the composition right or the exposure and sometimes the timing was a tad off...wanted the sun to be out to try experimenting with some lens flare, in Paul Graham's Shimmer of Possibility series he photographed a man mowing the lawn and several of these images had lens flare.

Paul Graham



I wondered if I could achieve something similar whist exploring the preponderance of recycling bins we use. However the angle/exposure not quite right either washing the pic out, underexposing or too much contrast....oh well onwards n upwards ;o)

Experimenting with a low point of view, and different exposure, even with bracketing I wasn't happy, also tried capturing the scene with or without traffic. I preferred with, but even so these shots were not correctly exposed and felt these images did not sum up enough about my neighbourhood.

I took a few photographs few facing the other direction but again did not find the scene very interesting. I may try again at a different time of day, or alter my position even more.

A quote from the bjp about Paul Graham; ' He's less interested in "pictures being so obviously about something" now, he said, more in "the everyday ether of life running past" and in simulating "the experience of looking and noticing and time passing".

Maybe that will help me take my photographs, do they have to be obviously of something?


Smyth, D (2011) Paul Graham, dancing with life [online] British Journal pf Photography. Available from: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2045286/paul-graham-dancing-life#ixzz1Tszxu81a [Accessed 2 June 2011]