The Word Becomes Art

This exercise has two parts. Firstly, we were to take some photos of a point within a scene, composing each image according to the rule of thirds, with our chosen point in various places within the frame. I chose to use a park bench as my point. I think the first of these works best because the scene is balanced with not only the bench but also the curve of the path beginning in the bottom right third and then leading the eye towards the centre of the frame. However, I also like the second image because of the way the lines of the path and the grass flow around and beyond the bench. The third image is unsatisfactory because of the way the foliage on the island creeps into the top of the frame and because the top of the scene feels messily cut off. It almost reaches the horizon but not quite.  The second part of the exercise was to take more photos of the chosen point but without following any of the rules of composition. We are asked how we might evaluate these images when they don...

 For this exercise we were asked to take a few pictures of the same scene without altering the frame or anything on the camera, which was to be set to auto. We were then to look at the histograms of our photos in order to note subtle changes of light/detail within these very similar photos. I went across to the park and took a series of photos of the lake. The obvious change between them is that the birds have swum a bit between each photo, but there are also differences in the water as the wind was blowing across it. The histograms seem to show a gradual progression rather than sharp changes.

‘In  our earliest years we know a patch of ground in a detail we will never know anywhere again – site of discovery and putting names to things – people and places – working with difference and similitude – favourite places, places to avoid – neighbours and their habits, gestures and stories – textures, smells – also of play, imagination, experiment – finding the best location for doing things – creating worlds under our own control, fantasy landscapes.’ Professor Mike Pearson, at   https://learn.oca.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=13918&chapterid=318  This quote holds a great deal of appeal for me. I remember, from my own childhood, seeing all sorts of interesting details at ground level, and the seemingly soaring height of the buildings around me. I want to recapture some of that awe and wonder of early childhood when everything is a new discovery. This exercise invites us to present a series of 6-12 ‘local’ photos, with reference to the concept of The Square Mile, the i...

To begin our Photography elective we are, as is becoming a pattern, given the names of several practitioners to research. In this case, we have the task of researching photographers whose work concerns “the local”. Often, but not always, they focus on their local environment, so this collection of work has an autobiographical nature too. My research has shown me some fascinating and innovative approaches to this subject and I’m sure will influence the way in which I approach this project.  Keith Arnatt Keith Arnatt worked in several mediums as a conceptual artist and carried this way of working into his photography. Perhaps, despite their different impulses, conceptual art and visual communications are not so far apart as they may seem, since both seek to convey a message to the viewer. As I looked at Arnatt’s photographs I was interested to see that each body of work felt distinct from the others - I didn’t identify a typical Arnatt visual language. The image that I was most drawn...