Feedback A3

Overall Comments

Kicking off with a Roland Barthes quote underlines the ambition you’re bringing to your studies, SJ, and was certainly not something that came as either a surprise, or was something I saw as a shallow attempt to bask in the reflected glory of the ideas of one of the Big Hitters of theory! Rather, it’s a typically and appropriately thoughtful way to get your third assignment underway.

In spite of the reservations you point towards in your text, there’s a very clear progression from what you did for A2 here, and one that nicely balances the requirements of the brief with the direction your photography seems to be taking you in anyway- not necessarily an easy balance to manage. This is an assignment, like the last one, where you’ve stuck your neck out- commendable in itself at this level of study, but it’s certainly not the only plus point of what’s another intriguing and very promising assignment. There are ‘flaws’, inevitably, but I’m yet to see any work that hasn’t been flawed at this comparatively early stage, and by taking such chances rather than going with the easy option, I think sooner rather than later you’ll start to see the developments that for me are fairly clear… 

Trying to insure I met most of the brief requirements as well as develop the work I'd begun in A2 was indeed tricky and to be honest I wasn't even sure if doing that was OK - and even now, I think, is that an OK thing to keep doing; to keep developing the ideas that informed A2 and A3.  It seems to me the most beneficial way forward but it does worry me too that I'm being a bit narrow minded.  However, when I look at the work I've done so far it does seem still to be preparatory work.  Glad I didn't seem overly grandiose by quoting Barthes; but that thread within his book was really something I felt able to grab hold of and it seemed to speak to something that had been swimming around in my head. 

Feedback on assignment Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

In terms of an overall set, this assignment continues on really well from the last one in the sense that it has a strong overall impact, and is further evidence of someone committing themselves to their studies, having some bold and imaginative ideas, and experimenting to a hugely impressive degree for this level of study. Although you’re clearly expanding on what you did for A2, in at least one technical sense this assignment was perhaps more tricky than the last one, in that the introduction of colour was something that brought an additional set of things to think about. For the most part what you’ve done is effective, particularly as you’ve not had a massive amount of time to put this together, yet it still hangs together well as a set that produces a consistent mood and is very expressive. I think the images that don’t show an entire face are a touch more effective, subtle and understated- #8 Similar is fine in itself, but just seems to be a little too direct compared to others in the set, which leave a bit more to the imagination and seem more appropriate to what you’re reaching for. I agree and had I had more time would certainly have replaced that image along with some others.  I did feel this was something that could have taken me weeks or months to do; balancing that work, however, with being a mum and everything else I need to do was not easy.  

Contrast: red and blue is really effective and eye-catching- a good idea executed really nicely. Contrast: red and yellow is nice composition- and idea-wise, and in terms of how it seamlessly fits into the overall set, but I think the contrast between the red and yellow could have been a touch more pronounced. Indeed, this is something that I felt with other images where you’d prioritized reds and yellows. The last image, for example, which I think as a whole is great, making fantastic use of negative space to produce a particular atmosphere, seemed to be less about the contrast between red and yellow per se, than the red being slightly swamped by the yellow. My initial impression with this shot was that it demonstrated a certain lack of control over white balance, and that the image would perhaps have been a touch stronger had the yellows actually been closer to whites, which would have made the reds- which seem to be at the emotional heart of this image- pop out that bit more effectively. It’s these examples that underline the difference in terms of technical difficulties between what you did for A2, which obviously pursued a similar set of ideas but in b/w, and A3, which introduced another layer of complexity. Overall, it’s hugely impressive to see you take an idea you’d developed in a previous assignment, and elaborate on it so that it fitted the brief of a subsequent piece of work. Overall, I think it’s been a much tougher ask, and the control over colour certainly isn’t flawless and can be just a touch chaotic… but it definitely shows an artist, thinker and photographer who is increasingly finding their feet. If you keep working as you are, the gap between your ideas and their realisation will almost certainly narrow as you become more accomplished and confident.

As I was working I was aware that I was using auto white balance which, after lots of discussion, I will use with events and general family work.  But I do think going forward when working on this sort of stuff I should be setting WB and paying more attention to it afterwards too.  However, the type of thing you mention with the yellow and the white balance is really something that I think might be discussed in more regular tutorial type sessions which I'd expect to have if on a course that had a more tutor input while working on projects.

Re your accompanying text, I found this rather interesting:

I know I cannot be accused of failing to be creative.  I am prepared to try things out and fail and try again to find something interesting.  I think I am creative but perhaps struggling to find a way to express that adequately.  I kept waiting to have a moment where I knew what I was going to do which happened after weeks of thinking with Assignment 2 - but that didn't really happen.  Instead I went round and round in my head, changing my mind, going back to what I'd planned, dropping it again.  I felt compelled to keep photographing these shapes and expressions.  By the end of it if I feel if I never photograph me again it will be too soon.

This passage is perhaps an extension of some of the email conversations we’ve had of late, SJ, and it does raise a few points in my mind. When you’re looking to produce work that is as personal and expressive as his been the case in the last two assignments, it can be difficult to get away from some of the things you’ve noted, particularly when you’re also trying to figure out the best way to make the most of your gear. The nature of OCA study means that once you’ve completed an assignment, you don’t necessarily get an awful lot of time to put it to one side and reflect on it (as would probably be the case if you were shooting entirely for yourself - I would never have stumbled across this work had I been shooting for myself.  The structure and restrictions imposed by the assignment, along with the need to visit galleries and read certain books have all contributed to a sort of unconscious 'awakening' for want of a better word.  I really didn't know what I expected to find when starting the course). So to be even attempting work of this sort within such a limited time frame is commendable and impressive. I do know that the work by Jessa Fairbrother that we’ve spoken about was something that was tweaked and retweaked over quite a long period of time, for example, and with an equal amount of doubt and uncertainty! 

By the time I submitted the work I did feel it was a shame to have had so little time to develop these ideas, and am beginning to see  that the process can take quite a while which I wasn't really aware of before.  I do feel at the moment that what I have done is somewhat undercooked!

Overall, this is another solid, intriguing, and extremely promising assignment, and I’m very glad that you continue to take the tougher paths rather than following easier options.  

Glad to read this.

Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays Context

Although the content is always solid, thoughtful and highly promising, I think you’re still figuring out the best way to present the materials you put together. There’s certainly nothing ‘bad’ or overly taxing about using your blog, but I think it could be just a touch more user friendly and easy to navigate. If you decide to go forward to assessment, the assessor will primarily want to be able to move from each assignment to the next without too much fuss, and also be able access your research materials as easily as possible. At the moment, while everything is labelled, with a growing amount of content I did feel the shift from one section to the next could do with being a little more seamless, and with less new windows opening each time a link is clicked- although it really is a relatively minor issue in the greater scheme of things!

Do jump onto the forums and have a look at those by your fellow students, so as to have a better sense of what works in terms of accessibility, navigation, and presentation, and what is less successful.

Do I need to redo the blog entirely for assessment transferring all the material over to a better layout?  This is something I do feel a bit uncertain about to be honest and wish there were more human guidance.  I will look at other blogs and do follow several people already but I feel a bit overwhelmed as I don't really know how to rectify things which have been mentioned before.  My 'work' site apparently also needs an overhaul which is to be expected but I feel a little lacking in confidence about how to go about fixing these web things. 

 

Suggested reading/viewing Context

The work that you’ve done over the course of the last couple of assignments is interesting for a number of reasons, but is given an added resonance when considered it in relation to the ubiquitous ‘selfie’. What you’re doing here looks to express something rather different than the typical selfie, of course, and you’re obviously turning the camera on yourself and using a visual language that calls on cues and conventions from the world of fine art. This review-cum-article by Peter Conrad discusses the self-portrait across a range of mediums and, I would hope, should give you some food for thought. I haven’t read the book he’s discussing, but it seems like it could also be worth a look…

I'm fascinated by the ubiquitous selfie and why it might have become such a phenomenon.  The whole social networking thing is truly intriguing: it reminds me of people sitting on a bus talking far too loudly so that everyone else is forced to listen to their conversation wether they want to or not.  I know selfie's (a truly horrible word!) are rather different to self portraits in one way but in another, aren't they just egalitarian self portraits?  

If you’re interested in finding out more about what some theorists have had to say about ‘what it is to be female in our society’, Gender Trouble by Judith Butler is a highly challenging, seminal text. A little more accessible is David Gauntlett’s Media, Gender, and Identity, which could be useful if you wanted to think about the relationships between images, media, and gender identity. I get more than a sense that gender is a key part of what you’re exploring, so keeping an eye out for literature and work in this area in general would help.

In terms of photography, Sandy Skoglund’s work has used colour in a rather different way to your approach in this assignment, but is well worth a look- it’s complex, visually striking work that expresses all manner of contrasting moods and ideas (particularly Revenge of the Goldfish, which still stands as one of my favourite photographs).

Fantastic to be directed towards writing about gender and what it is to be female as that is exactly what I'm searching for but there is so much available it is difficult to know where to start. 

Pointers for the next assignment

As a small pointer in terms of making things easier for me, I do like to be able to copy and paste images I want to comment on from students’ assignments, but it’s difficult for me to do this from your site as the images are copyright protected. It’s no big deal, but it would make things a touch easier! Sorry - this is down to habit when setting up galleries and strangely I did think about it yesterday, perhaps sensing some irritation about it across the ether!  It's very easy to rectify and whilst I know it is my responsibility to submit work that is technically accessible it is the sort of thing that makes me wish there was a little more to and fro communication, such as I would expect on a course that was delivered more traditionally.

Beyond this- keep going. There’s a real sense of someone exploring here, and while I can appreciate your moments of doubt and uncertainty, these, I think, are par for the course to some extent when you’re throwing yourself into realising your ideas in the way that you are. You’re aiming high, and while you don’t always necessarily reach the levels you want to with each image, it’s important to keep trying. As it is, you continue to produce attractive, thought-provoking and incredibly promising work.

I’m going to suggest a little longer before the next assignment, so that you’ll be able to sit with your potential ideas that bit longer, weighing up what might and might not be working and worth pushing on with. As ever, I’m happy to catch up for a chat if there’s anything you want to discuss…

Very grateful for longer time.  Also for the final sentence as this responds to the thing that I feel isn't quite right for me with the course.  I totally appreciate the fact that OCA does not have the funding of the OU for instance and so courses are delivered accordingly.  I'm not sure however, that I'm in the right place.  It's a bit bewildering and quite alienating to be working on this stuff all on my own with so little guidance.  I know I can go online and chat things through with other students on FB, and there are some really lovely people there but we're all at very different places and I don't think purely online relationships offer the right forum - we as a society are still finding our feet with navigating online communication (I certainly am) and whilst in some ways it's great, in others it's sorely lacking.  

I was very pleased to have such a speedy and thoughtful response when I emailed you - thank you.  But I do yearn for a classroom, some teaching time, proper conversations with people where body language and real live relationships also feed into the dialogue. I don't think I need or want to be spoon fed and as things stood at the beginning of this year the way in which OCA operates was ideal; but as I develop and begin to get a glimpse of what I might do and aim for, I'm starting to wonder if it may be more beneficial for me in time to be in an environment where greater support is possible.  Although I did think that I'd start to concentrate more on commercial 'work' stuff next September when my littlest child begins nursery full time I am starting to think that I should find a way to commit to an offline course for two years if at all possible.  I'm so pleased that what I'm doing elicits the sort of feedback I've had here and chuffed I've got a tutor that sees the potential.  But I really am quite doubtful that I'll fulfil my potential doing this online, or at any rate without more regular group discussion, idea sharing and ongoing feedback.  Gosh, I hope that doesn't sound dismissive of the the support I've had so far - it isn't meant to; just a recognition of what I think I'll need in time to come. 

Thanks for really positive and encouraging feedback.