Reflection about Exercise 1&2

I spent time today taking photographs for the early exercises in the Narrative section of TAOP and came to a couple of conclusions at the end of it all.

Lighting - I have been reluctant to use my lights over the last few months preferring instead natural light.  I love natural light and there are often times when natural light works best.  But after some thought I think there are certainly times when lighting is useful and desirable.  I took some photographs today that really would have benefitted from some extra light for the type of photograph I was taking.  In the end the images were no good and I didn't use them because I just couldn't make them work.  Had these images been for the final assignment I would have needed to start again.  As it was I was able to make use of other images I took to complete the narrative essay.

The narrative I have created is very much open to interpretation.  To be honest I am probably still working out what might be going on in them.  What is true though is that the narrative works on two levels and is ostensibly about me taking photographs however, like most of the work I have been doing since staring this course, there are also other things going on which for me is what the narrative is really about.  I don't really like putting words with images but we were asked to and so I stated very clearly what the picture showed, but again the words are working on several levels.  I'm not sure how successful this is - and I guess that is something to think about.  I think I would rather have found an article and used words from that which was somehow linked to some of the underlying themes.

For Exercise 2 I think if I am honest, the image as it is is more an idea than a finished image.  Again I would need to think about lighting and if this sort of image were to be used in an advert for instance (although who knows what for  - but something to do with momentary fantasy, escapism, freedom) there would be a well considered set, rather than my messy cramped kitchen.  I'd also have the children sitting round the table looking up at their mum dancing on the table.

I'm thinking hard about the final assignment and am torn between two routes at the moment but will discuss this with AC (tutor) hopefully soon and see where to go from there.