Category: Research and Reflection

My tutor recommended looking (re-looking) at a number of artists as part of follow-up work on assignment 5. Artists https://www.joelsternfeld.net/artworks/2018/3/25/stranger-passing – this work is similar in method to my ownContinue readingResearch: environmental portraits

In anticipation of working more intensively with flash for further shooting for A5, I’ve been looking at getting flash off-camera, while staying mobile for woodlands walking. For the previous shoot,Continue readingOff-camera flash on the move

Part of my tutor’s feedback on assignment 5 was a suggestion of working with more pronounced flash so the subjects would pop from the background and appear like they don’tContinue readingResearch: lighting the woods

I read Solomon-Godeau’s Atget essay from ‘photography at the dock’ over coffee this morning. I noted some initial thoughts for the Discuss Forum on the off-chance that others may haveContinue readingCanon Fodder: Authoring Eugene Atget

Prior to working on my book for A5, I’ve looked at options for easily sharing content online, without the cost of printing a book. For what is a work inContinue readingSharing photo books online

The British Film Institute are showing (online) Peter Wyeth’s 1982 documentary film on Atget. I made a few notes of points I found interesting. This is not a review orContinue readingFilm: Eugene Atget|Photographer

Some months ago, I bought Gombrich’s the story of art (14th edition. 1984. Phaidon) from my local Oxfam book shop for £2.49. It boasts 407 illustrations and 500 plus pages. Gombrich’s perspectives areContinue readingBook: the story of art

This morning I initiated a discussion on the OCA Discuss Forum about the general advice during the OCA course to stay away from monochrome photography unless there is a veryContinue readingOn monochrome photography

I read Gilda Williams’s book, How to write about contemporary art as part of the prep for my essay and I think based on a recommendation on the Discuss Forum some time ago. The bookContinue readingBook: how to write about contemporary art

Joel Sternfeld’s essay (https://www.joelsternfeld.net/writings/2018/5/15/the-calamitous-sublime) deals with landscape, but within landscape there is always the hand of man and the projection of his identity. I came across the writing when researchingContinue readingThe calamitous sublime| Joel Sternfeld

Art History – The Basics (Pooke G and Newall D. 2008. Abingdon: Routledge) is a book I turned to in the hope of filling some apparent gaps in my understanding ofContinue readingBook: Art History | The Basics

Dead man’s shoes As part of my upcoming self-portrait assignment, I’ve been considering the idea of using shoes and the significance of shoes. I find something morbid in self-portraiture andContinue readingMovie and other: Dead Man’s Shoes

I’m considering photographing objects to represent my different selves in the upcoming A3 and have been doing some test shots using the modelling light of a studio strobe, fitted withContinue readingPhotographing against black – test shots

This book was referenced in the course material, and I looked for it on the UCA Library. Unfortunately, it was not there and I my reading in progress is alreadyContinue readingBook: The Object Stares Back (James Elkins)

Some thought doodles I’ve started to think about assignment 3, which requires self-portraits of different selfs. In a recent BBC documentary of the rock band Queen, Brian May talks aboutContinue readingThe Seven Ages of Man

I’ve recently been thinking about the placement of objects to the story of an identity. How to make the arrangement so it does appear clumsy or contrived and the compositionContinue readingSetting up a still life

Insight in the the success of Facebook and the selfie – the craving for celebrity (‘people who are famous for being famous’) made available to everyone!

I’ve just completed a portrait exercise and also reflected on how I feel about the appropriateness of retouching portrait photographs. Here I make a brief note of some of theContinue readingLearnings in photographic retouching

During my first portrait exercise, I considered the appropriateness of photographic retouching and opened a OCA Discuss thread. An anonymised version of the dialogue is here, with my concluding remarksContinue readingPortraits – representation of wear and tear of life

This book is recommended reading for one of the earlier OCA courses (I think). It is mostly a technical book, explaining lighting and providing examples of lighting in practice. MoreContinue readingBook: Light Science & Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting

Last technical post before I move onto some serious shooting. My idea here is to end up with RAW files that are well exposed and colour balanced as a solidContinue readingMetering and camera profiling in practice

Faces – photography and the art of portraiture by Paul Fuqua and Steven Biver (2010. Oxford: Focal Press) is available to borrow from the UCA library as a download. It isContinue readingBook: Faces – photography and the art of portraiture

The first mass observation project (also known as Worktown) is mentioned in the OCA course material – Bolton is within reasonable driving distance for me, so I looked into theContinue readingBolton Worktown