Other general comment is: "You have started working at a nice pace,...". I have said before that it is important to me to maintain momentum as otherwise the course will drag on.
Tutor asks whether will be putting work forward for assessment in order that she can provide feedback on how well work meets assessment requirements. This will be very helpful as I certainly will wish to have work assessed - have said before that I view assessment as the best proxy measure of how well the course is working for me. It is not everything, but very useful benchmark.
On the assignment itself, tutor notes the opportunity that Mum's health condition provides to work in a social documentary style. In a subsequent conversation, she adds that there is a strong heartfelt message coming through. It does seem that it is important to have something to say, say it in a meaningful way, with images to demonstrate the sentiment. This is not always possible - we cannot all operate in circles where strong social messages are evident - but I understand the Zeitgeist now. In a way it suits me as one that can enunciate sentiments quite clearly, a fact tutor notes in this assignment:
"You have worked really hard to document the various expressions, moods and emotions demonstrated by your mother through her daily routine and the images help to draw the viewer into her world and her struggles. Your supporting notes here are a great help in our understanding of the bigger picture here and it is hard not be moved by her circumstances."
The feedback on the first three images is pleasing as the aim I had of expressing the moods as a contrast to one another evidently comes through.
Tutor notes that focus is not on face in next two images. I agree: this was an error. Should have used the facility to fix the auto focus on a single point, rather than averaged over the whole subject. It is partly a function of using wider aperture setting, as tutor says, but more of lax technique. Lesson learnt.
Next two images "give us a good sense of the world that your mother lives in, enlarging on the narrative content of the work and reminding us on your intentions behind these shots."
"The last shot is perhaps a little controversial." Tutor goes on to add that perhaps Mum felt her dignity has been lost - she has lost her personal space. Perhaps, we shall never know. It does raise the whole issue of dignity in portraiture, as tutor points out.
Tutor suggests looking at Arbus' work. Here are a couple of her images that maybe slightly reflect displeasure with the photographer, or, more likely, the whole process of being photographed:
Slight difference here is that these people are presumably compos mentis and able to express their feelings; Mum is in a more vulnerable position: unable to enunciate her feelings or to do anything about those feelings towards the photographer. Arbus took images of intellectually disabled people in early 1970s and later confessed to hating them - perhaps in her case it was all too close to home but it might have been a sense of guilt, of taking advantage of vulnerable folk, of voyeurism.
I said in the assignment: there is no answer to this. Different audiences will have different reactions, ranging from squirming embarrassment, perhaps anger, to amazement and praise. Much depends on how open one is as a person, how much one values the photographic medium.
Learning Logs
Tutor seems impressed with learning log. Evidently noted that exercise on portrait sequence was tailored somewhat to meet my own needs, and supports that idea. I am getting the idea of expanding outwards more, and not just doing an exercise as suggested where it does not suit quite how I want to go about my photography. Notes work done on context.
Conclusion
Generally feel good about this assignment and have enjoyed People Aware a lot more than I thought. Main learning outcomes:
Tutor notes that focus is not on face in next two images. I agree: this was an error. Should have used the facility to fix the auto focus on a single point, rather than averaged over the whole subject. It is partly a function of using wider aperture setting, as tutor says, but more of lax technique. Lesson learnt.
Next two images "give us a good sense of the world that your mother lives in, enlarging on the narrative content of the work and reminding us on your intentions behind these shots."
"The last shot is perhaps a little controversial." Tutor goes on to add that perhaps Mum felt her dignity has been lost - she has lost her personal space. Perhaps, we shall never know. It does raise the whole issue of dignity in portraiture, as tutor points out.
Tutor suggests looking at Arbus' work. Here are a couple of her images that maybe slightly reflect displeasure with the photographer, or, more likely, the whole process of being photographed:
| Arbus D: A young man with curlers at home on west 20th street |
| copyright D Arbus |
Slight difference here is that these people are presumably compos mentis and able to express their feelings; Mum is in a more vulnerable position: unable to enunciate her feelings or to do anything about those feelings towards the photographer. Arbus took images of intellectually disabled people in early 1970s and later confessed to hating them - perhaps in her case it was all too close to home but it might have been a sense of guilt, of taking advantage of vulnerable folk, of voyeurism.
I said in the assignment: there is no answer to this. Different audiences will have different reactions, ranging from squirming embarrassment, perhaps anger, to amazement and praise. Much depends on how open one is as a person, how much one values the photographic medium.
Learning Logs
Tutor seems impressed with learning log. Evidently noted that exercise on portrait sequence was tailored somewhat to meet my own needs, and supports that idea. I am getting the idea of expanding outwards more, and not just doing an exercise as suggested where it does not suit quite how I want to go about my photography. Notes work done on context.
Conclusion
Generally feel good about this assignment and have enjoyed People Aware a lot more than I thought. Main learning outcomes:
- understanding context;
- understanding need for narrative and to use photography to express feelings about a subject - not always possible but at last now grasped the concept;
- some technical advice on portraiture (e.g. focal length, understanding gestures);
- not to be scared about portraiture - it does not have to be all hugely expensive studio sets.
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