Background
I wrote about the result of my first course (The Art of Photography - TAOP) in the introductory blog: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6599813425476999413#editor/target=post;postID=6595516624722490885.
In that, I set out the marks achieved in the four criteria; now it is time to set out how to improve the areas of Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity, and Context whilst at least maintaining the level achieved in Technical and visual skills.
At the outset, let it be said that this course is not all about achieving good results for assessment - made that clear when doing TAOP; the prime aim is to broaden my photographic outlook, and add some extra ingredients to my work. Having said this, demonstrable achievement with these four criteria provides one with the measure of achieving those personal goals.
Taking each in turn:
Technical and visual skills were scored most highly. The aim in this course is to maintain that level and possibly show some further development;
Quality of outcome has been discussed with tutor. To a degree, this can be solved by being less parsimonious with the output sent for assessment - use high quality prints or large jpegs rather than relying solely on the relatively low resolution blog images;
Creativity was the weakest area and probably one tutor can help most on. I am getting the concept of personalising my work more, a requirement it seems of academic photography, and often found in narrative presentations in exhibitions. British Journal of Photography (BJP) has many examples, a very recent one of which is Pierliugi Mulas' images in the May 2012 edition. He sets out a series of images documenting evening and night time Kingdom of God services in Hackney, of which these are a sample:
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| Mulas P (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available from http://www.pierluigimulas.com/index.php?/london/kingdom-of-god/ [Accessed 18 May 2012] |
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| Mulas P (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available from http://www.pierluigimulas.com/index.php?/london/kingdom-of-god/ [Accessed 18 May 2012] |
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| Mulas P (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available from http://www.pierluigimulas.com/index.php?/london/kingdom-of-god/ [Accessed 18 May 2012] |
This first assignment is an endeavour to provide a set of relating images.
Context has been the subject of some of my reading hitherto, not least trying to understand what is meant by the term. I cover this in my reading notes on the blog, suffice it here to set out the definition of Short (2011, p6):
"Context can be described as the circumstances that from the setting for an event,
statement or idea. In photography the word 'context' can relate to the
contents of the photograph, its placement in relation to words or other
images, the publication or place in which it is viewed and the broader
photographic, social, cultural, historical and geographical context".
To be frank, I am not sure this says any more than context is what you think it is but it does indicate a couple of approaches one can adopt:
One can add more written narrative. Short (2011, p45) points out that a photographer has an intention and that the first question he or she must ask is whether a photograph is indeed the best medium to express that intention. Look at the above pictures: Mulas does indeed use the medium very well to express the passion and intensity, hardly possible via any other medium. However, photography does not provide background context, it is immediate in time. The context is provided by a written narrative, of which the following is a short extract from May 2012 BJP (p52):
"[the congregations] don't have time to meet during the day. The people who go don't tend to work in offices, they tend to do manual work, so they're not necessarily free on Sundays....".
Secondly, there is an opportunity to add context to the photographic narrative by use of certain images. Take the following examples from the above work by Mulas:
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| Mulas P (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available from http://www.pierluigimulas.com/index.php?/london/kingdom-of-god/ [Accessed 18 May 2012] |
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| Mulas P (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available from http://www.pierluigimulas.com/index.php?/london/kingdom-of-god/ [Accessed 18 May 2012] |
The bible image is the first in the sequence so leaves the audience in no doubt of the context. The second is a more subtle reflection of the need to cool things down, or perhaps that when this was photographed, that cooling down was not required.
I use both the above approaches in this assignment with the aim of getting feedback as to whether I am on the right lines. One has to be aware of trying too hard, and perhaps emphasising one criterion at the expense of others but hopefully this is not the case.
The assignment
The assignment is quite straightforward: take one person and create between five and seven portraits. I took seven portraits of my mother. Ideally the portraits were to be from separate sessions, but this was not practical (and would add no value in the circumstances) as she is housebound and infirm.
Mum is 86 and has had at least three strokes, possibly more, the NHS registrars/consultants do not really know and it does little for her prognosis to know more. As a result she is only partially mobile and has lost the power of speech, never to return. She has had a heart attack; the combination of tablets she takes for these and other conditions leads to water retention, such that her legs are swollen, further limiting her mobility. She is incontinent. At times she appears to recognize me and others, at times not.
Mum is looked after 24/7 by a live in carer. It is a very expensive solution but means she can stay in her own flat; she is fortunate in that my Dad had a job in the Civil Service paying a good widow's pension and has substantial savings, albeit not limitless; she receives minimal financial assistance.
There is a clear dependency on Lydia, the carer, a wonderfully patient and understanding person. Lydia has to have time off and other carers find Mum difficult and unaccommodating.
Mum has an unexciting existence to say the least. She rarely leaves the flat (the odd visit to our house is a major expedition), indeed rarely leaves her chair except to eat and visit the toilet.
The inspiration for this set of images was partly my own instincts - the original intention was to use them for the first exercise but thought they were good enough to use for an assignment and provided a potentially strong set of images. A second inspiration was the winning sequence of images by Luke Thornton in the RGB awards exhibition in Bristol, described previously in the blog: http://chrissimspeopleandplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/update-185-rgb-awards-exhibition.html. His is a documentary on a terminal illness including some powerful images but has some some commonalities with this set. Thirdly, I saw this image by Nige' Ollis of his father, taken after a stroke:
Ollis's work was also on view at RGB awards exhibition but more important is the narrative Ollis adds on his blog referenced above, explaining th processes his father is going through. I have done a similar narrative above, albeit shorter and less of a diary; Ollis may himself realize soon that there is only so far physiotherapy etc can go; they will cease treatment quickly once there is no more they can do, as with Mum.
Some people are not comfortable with photographing this sort of subject matter; perhaps it is seen as voyeuristic and exploitative. There is no ready answer to that (perhaps setting out the context as above helps) although Billingham (2006) riposted thus when criticised of exploitation by publishing images of his father who had chronic alcohol problems:
“All photographs are exploitative, all you can do is make the photographs so artistically good you overshadow that exploitative element that is inherent in the medium.”
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| Ollis N (2012) Untitled [online image]. Private collection. Available fromhttp://nigeollis.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/the-anatomy-of-a-stroke-month-3-its-been-a/[Accessed 30 May 2012] |
Some people are not comfortable with photographing this sort of subject matter; perhaps it is seen as voyeuristic and exploitative. There is no ready answer to that (perhaps setting out the context as above helps) although Billingham (2006) riposted thus when criticised of exploitation by publishing images of his father who had chronic alcohol problems:
“All photographs are exploitative, all you can do is make the photographs so artistically good you overshadow that exploitative element that is inherent in the medium.”
All images were taken using a tripod and available light from outside only.
This image evokes different emotions each time I view; sometimes the expression appears sad, sometimes vacant, yet strangely too there is a sign of something more positive, enhanced by the catch lights in the eyes - you get the sense of a smile and even the sense of being at ease. Mum's nose drips almost constantly as a side effect of the heart drug.
By contrast the droopy eyes and downward expression symbolize only a sense of loneliness; even if you knew nothing about the medical context, you might think that this is a lady trapped in her own world. The rather wide aperture in this image does blur the hair, although arguably that actually helps focus the eye on the expression.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f5.6; 1/30; ISO 800 focal length 47mm |
This image evokes different emotions each time I view; sometimes the expression appears sad, sometimes vacant, yet strangely too there is a sign of something more positive, enhanced by the catch lights in the eyes - you get the sense of a smile and even the sense of being at ease. Mum's nose drips almost constantly as a side effect of the heart drug.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f5.6; 1/30; ISO 800 focal length 105mm |
By contrast the droopy eyes and downward expression symbolize only a sense of loneliness; even if you knew nothing about the medical context, you might think that this is a lady trapped in her own world. The rather wide aperture in this image does blur the hair, although arguably that actually helps focus the eye on the expression.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f5.6; 1/20; ISO 800 focal length 65mm |
There is a lack of recognition in this expression, both with the process and the photographer. A rather grumpy, stern expression.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f5.6; 1/45; ISO 800 focal length 47mm |
What a contrast - taken just a minute or two later from the above images, there is a sense of well-being and recognition in this shot.
The above four shots were all taken within a few minutes of one another. They aimed not just to provide different framings but also, more important, to emphasise how Mum's mood and demeanour change very quickly; from a sense almost of despair to one of almost relaxed contentment in a short period.
The next three shots were taken on a different day.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f16; 1/60; ISO 800 focal length 45mm |
In this full body portrait, I think we get messages from both the stance - you can sense the inability even to sit upright - and the expression: the vacant trapped expression is similar to that in the second image.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f16; 1/60; ISO 800 focal length 28mm |
Technically this image is slightly flawed by using a wide angle (necessitated by space limitations) but I wanted to include an image of Mum with her carer; in a way it is a contextual shot for how Mum lives. Mum leans to her right (a function of the strokes and seen in previous image). Mum's expression is confused; she seems to lack understanding of what is happening. Carer has a patient, understanding expression.
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| Canon EOS 450D with EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM. f16; 1/15; ISO 800 focal length 55mm |
There is a sense of fear, bewilderment and invasion of privacy in this expression. Some might even say this is taking advantage of a situation, but it encapsulates the partially closed world of the serious stroke victim - Mum cannot communicate orally, she cannot gesture, all she can do is show her emotions by expression.
As required by the assignment, I address issues of what went well, less successful, and areas of development in learning log.
References:
Billingham, Richard (2006) Genius of Photography episode 5 BBC DVD
Short, Martha (2011) Basics Creative Photography 02: Context and Narrative, AVA Publishing
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