INTRODUCTION
30/01/23
The first class in week 1 was a good introduction into the term and an interesting marketing exercise focusing on different groups of people attending exhibitions/showcases. Was a good dive into it as marketing is important when it comes to producing a promotional image of your work and ourselves as creators or even in portfolio terms. I chose to focus my semi marketing strategy on my good friend Mike who is a rapper and lives in the local town and how I could promote this piece of artwork presented in class to him. Promoting in a manner that would make him more interested in coming to see it, as he falls into the minority of people that are interested in visiting artwork exhibitions/showcases, this pitfall is a meagre 2% in attendance overall (bedroom DJ’s).
The January Show
I submitted my small portfolio of landscapes of loneliness or lonely landscapes to The January Show and feel that it was a major success in terms of feedback as It was a last minute type of deal on my part. One thing I learnt from the reactions is that attendees were impressed that I was the only one or one of the few who actually used an embedded instagram link as a scannable QR code with my work (it was really cool to have some new followers pop up throughout the night) – people thought this was very clever. I also found that the way I setup my portfolio worked very well, with some useful tips from Saad and Nidhi. Below are the results:
This was a useful practise for me as I sadly missed the last I.P takeover at the arts centre due to Covid. Even though it was a success in the cinema, I wish I could of made an introduction and seen the amazing reactions at the time.
The January Show was a successful attempt by the committee in creating a takeover of the school of art. I had volunteered to photograph the show for the committee but never received a brief in what types of photos the committee would like – this doesn’t really matter but it would help to have a reference in what types of photos would be preferable at an event. Due to the lighting in some of the rooms being quite dark, I sadly couldn’t cover all projects at the event. Below are the highlights:
My main goal for the start of this semester is trying more experimentation in the first few weeks then formally deciding what I will be going ahead with or in other words; not thinking of a grand project immediately. To achieve this, I am aiming to read my philosophy books, talking about one of my favourite persons of history, Marcus, Aurelius etc. the following weeks will also involve reading, experimentation and thinking of what I can produce with the tools I have. This will also include some experimental photography involving a new lens I have acquired.
The plan for my notebook posts is to be outputted in more of a sectioned manner, where certain thoughts have labels or titles, to make navigation more obvious when it comes to looking back. The notebook will also include more experimentation as well as it just being a production journal compared to the last year, I feel this will add an even more personal touch to the production work.
I also want to up my game in terms of creative output, whatever I make this semester will finish year 2 off with a huge reaction/result. Whatever the project will be, the main goal will for it to be of a highly professional standard.
This welcomes the Soligor 200mm f/3.5. This prime zoom macro lens has a vintage feel and has been on my radar for a long time but finally bit the bullet and purchased for my photography module but could be useful for this module also. It has a vintage bokeh with some very interesting colour gamut throughout. I always believe that investing in certain types of equipment that reap significant outcomes, as the results from my last investment in a zoom lens for my canon has brought back decent results too.
Some test photos from the library. Needs calibration.
31/01/23
‘The Whirligig of Time’
Recently I acquired a copy of my great grandfathers’ memoirs (my father’s side) from my sister in America, from when he was alive during the two great wars. For a long time, I had been majorly interested in reading these as it covers a lot of personal experiences whilst also obviously being my family history. So, I will be reading these over the next few weeks and writing my thoughts and emotional responses to it. These responses/thoughts will be posted to the notebook.
This could lead to something interesting maybe or a potential development. His memoirs are called ‘The Whirligig of Time’, from what I briefly read at the start, it seems to have a detailed and very personal look at his events from a young age all the way to when post World War two.
01/02/23
I have always had a deep emotional impact by significant and major events from the past, even in history classes in school when we weren’t even studying the rise of extremism and the impact of World War 2 – I would still read history books on the 2nd world war. You would be surprised how little some people know of the events that took place in this war let alone the 1st one.
I find it to still be extremely important, it’s still an event that happened within the past 100 years and should be a series of events that everyone should be fully aware of. This is an obvious statement to the core but it’s something I firmly believe in – the fight against a serious threat in our history.
I state this feeling as I find that when it comes to time, I feel that to move forward we should sometimes look back on our history and understand what we have come to be. So, looking back in time at my family’s history, namely through my great grandfather’s memoirs, is something that I will try to focus on over the first few weeks. Starting today.
03/02/23
Tonight I experimented with canon with extremely slow shutter speeds. This is something I wish to take further once I have setup my lighting studio at home. The lines were achieved with a phone torch. The last photo was also achieved by zooming in the lens whilst the shutter was being relased. This is something that really interests me – I may take this even further depending on which route I go in my projects and experimentation over the next 2-3 weeks.
04/02/23
This evening was our first group tutorial, initially I was skeptical because I didn’t actually have any real ideas to bring forward but the speed dating type of sharing information to each other about last semester was useful and allowed me to finally talk to people that I haven’t shared a class with yet. Was overall a really positive tutorial with everyone. The main reaction I felt through this exercise was it’s very hard not to feedback to your peers on their work through a level of empathy or wanting to share ideas when your restricted not too and also sharing reflections on each other’s ideas at the end of the tutorial was interesting.
05/02/23
Today I thought I would go and try out the Soligor lens from Japan a bit more today, at first I thought they had come out fairly bad. Sadly this is probably due to my vision and not knowing how well a new lens would come out in terms of photography. I got home and thankfully they are fine. Ironically, this lens holds more personality and an interesting colour definition than my £300 canon telephoto lens last year – obviously that one has an almost perfect auto focus and perfect stabilisation. But for the money, again the Soligor is wonderful.
The SOLIGOR has a fantastic and natural warm colour temperature and gamut to the lens with a seriously nice looking Bokeh effect also. It was definitely worth the risk of a 50 pound spend as it will be perfect for using with my film camera. I would recommend this lens to anyone or similar who want to get a decent prime telephoto lens on a budget, only problem is the weight making it quite heavy to wield without a tripod. Below are the RAW files:
I may use this lens within the projects that come to fruition as it really brings fourth some natural colours and an overall vibe to the scene of the shot I found.
WEEK 1
06/02/23
Tim led a fun little lecture today involving sound and how timings can manipulate it – the pendulum microphone sounds were ace. The quick 60 second idea brainstorm was interesting as it made me think a lot harder for ideas in quick succession’s. This lecture has led me to lean into more ideas, the sun and the moon is something that is now interesting me alot in terms of time and space.
My main themes now for projects involving time will be:
Time and Place
Sun and Moon
We will see what comes of these, im thinking photographing the moon…who knows!
07/02/23
Today In Art Cinema I viewed a screening in PW for the film ‘Victoria’, directed by Sebastian Schipper. Victoria is about a young Spanish women who has recently moved to the Berlin and finds herself befriending a group of people and within that a romance blooms between her and a guy called Sonne. This innocent romance quickly unwinds a turn of events that are both magical and deadly.
This film is gorgeous. The way the shots are filmed within certain locations really encompasses time and space; from the quiet, romanticised playing of a piano within a café with sombre warm colours – to the intense high stake conversation and wild ride of crime. This film really puts you within these people and with it all being one shot, you really do receive a vision of time itself as by the end of the film, the day turns to night in one movie length runtime.
I mention this film because of the way it manipulates time with it’s directorship and acting. Scenes can literally be paced to a crawl and then can suddenly be a whirlwind, you realise then what this film has achieved – the way one night can quickly evolve from moment to moment, from feeling to feeling and how time and place within a film can enter you like a bolt of thunder.
Highly recommended.
great posts Mike; thorough, deeply reflective, intentional and clear. You cover everything, great you plan to read, that you are working through your grandfathers memoirs and you are playing with the new lens, enough for the first week.