Alumni Review Day // 2

Today we had another group of Alumni come in and have tutorials with us about our final major projects, we could discuss ideas for the Graduate show and any areas that need developing etc.

Sam Welburn:
I booked a tutorial with Sam as I had one with him on the first Alumni Day last year so thought it would be interesting to re visit now my project has developed has he has seen it before. He picked out how my work is now showing things that are recognisable to other people (for example the wallpaper I had photographed in the image below were also familiar to him). I also spoke of re shooting this, as when taking this I had my ISO slightly high with has resulted in slight grain. However, he said to re shoot, but don't discard this one as I may prefer the aesthetic of this image even with the slight grain.

I also showed him my first dummy book which he said worked really well, but to make more until the sequencing is just right. (He pointed out the book needed more of the 'Around the house' images which I hadn't realised weren't in the book). I will take this into consideration when making my next dummy book, to make sure I have each aspect of my project which is relevant to be included in the book.

Josh Wilde:
I also booked a tutorial with Josh who I hadn't seen previously. I was aware that Josh's practice was commercial based so very different to my own, however I think it's also useful to get a completely different perspective on it and it was really useful to hear Josh's feedback.
He picked out the image of the dog cushion below straight away has he had seen it in the interim which was useful as the interim was the starting point to the tutorial. Like Sam, he had also commented on the familiarity to his own grandparents through some of the objects I was photographing. This was useful as it allowed me to realise that the objects I am photographing are personal but they are also common within a specific generation of people, therefore not only making this project personal to me but it is also starting to reach a wider audience.

I also showed him my dummy book and as he was looking through it, he picked out a few points. The studio images within my book worked nicely in breaking up the sequence and isolating the objects. I mentioned the influence of Liza Dracup's animal studies and he instantly saw the link in how I've photographed them. Also with these images, he commented on the museum/archival link and the way I've photographed it on the black background makes the object feel precious and adds value to it unlike the photographs of it just in the home.

He also kept revisiting a specific image I had as a full page spread within my book that can be seen below. The reason I added this initially were to break up the sequence within the book with a slightly more abstract image which also added texture with the book. However, Josh read this differently within the book, and described it as being trapped/isolated in some way. This is interesting as my Grandma doesn't really leave her home, and when she does leave, she is never alone, so in a way this does reflect her as a person which I thought were interesting and something that I hadn't considered before.

Also following this page in the book were shown on the right. I had made the link in adding the same image of the glass on the next page but collaged with others from the bathroom. Josh also made some links on here which I hadn't thought of when placing them on the page. Through my sequencing he had linked the hot tap and the radiator which I had placed on one side of the page and the cold tap with the 'cold' atmosphere of the window image on the right.

Overall, this was a really successful insight into my own work and how it is viewed by others. It also provided me with points I can now use to develop my project into the final show and the final book which will also be included within my display.

Rachel Brown // Work Review

This friday we had a group tutorial with Rachel Brown. Rachel is an artist and is currently working on a solo show. As well as being the photography director of Harpers Bazaar and Town & Country.

This was the first time I had met Rachel as I didn't make it to her last review so I took recent work, and also a few from Term 1 so she could see my project from the various approaches I have done throughout both Terms so far.

As it was a group tutorial, it was also interesting listening to the feedback she gave on others work as well as my own, and overall was just interesting to sit with and listen.

She gave me some great advice on the strengths of my project and what is working, and also areas to develop and experiment with, which I'm sure to take note of and follow in the next coming weeks.

The talk also got me thinking of the final exhibition and what images I include and different ways in how they can be displayed. An example she gave was to display them in old style frames, following this was advice to visit the 2nd hand outdoor market thats on a Thursday in Huddersfield. So this is on my places to visit when I get the chance to have a look and see what I can find. Even if not for my project, it may just be an interesting place to visit and see what's there.

Also suggested was displaying them in an album which I will take into consideration also, as I also would like to create a photo book to go alongside this project. Also looking at the images, she also spoke of how comfortable my Grandma seemed to be with me photographing her and this coming through the imagery. This is an interesting point as if anyone else were to take photographs of my Grandma she would hate it and most likely wouldn't allow it, so therefore, with me having the advantage and relationship with her to be able to take such photos, is more motivation to do it. 

She also picked up a few themes that was coming through the work so far:

• Looking at ageing through relatives
• Use of an existing archive
• Creation of my own archive of my Grandmother that can be kept in years to come

View Rachel's work here

Danny Treacy // Work Review

After talking about his own work, I attended one of the group tutorials to show some of my own work. He made some very interesting points that I can consider in the development of the project.

• Occupy the space without my Grandmother there. I thought this was an interesting point as so far I haven't been in the house alone whilst photographing, although I have been photographing in rooms within the house alone. This is something that may effect the images, and is something to experiment with to see if it affects the outcome.

• In terms of using the archive, this can be very personal, yet it can also be contemporary

• The photograph of the ornament with the finger broken was picked out. He said this demonstrated life within the home and is something visually that I can experiment with to portray the life lived in the house.

• Within my images of the ornaments with the black backgrounds, I could look into the way archives (museums etc) document objects in varied way. For example, the black background could contribute a certain value to the object. 

• I included the portraits I took of my Grandmother and this was also picked up on. That maybe I don't necessarily need these as the objects alone could be used to describe the person I'm portraying. 

• He commented on the variety of styles of photo I had produced and stated this is a good position to be in as there are now several different ways I can explore my project, and I could experiment with combining more than one way of photographing to see how they work together.

• Throughout the project, as well as it being personal, I also need to disconnect myself from it at times and not to be too precious about what or how I photograph and just see what works.

• Letting the viewer piece together who the person is rather than showing them. This is another interesting point as a lot of my work so far is quite specific so taking a step back and letting the viewer ask questions is something I can experiment with.

• The unexplained gives images greater life and not everything needs a title or to be explained. Which so far in the project, I feel like I haven't left much room for interpretation which is something I can experiment with in future shoots.

• Use texts as research to inform the work throughout doing it, this will allow a wider understanding of the themes and media that I am experimenting with.

• The archival imagery can be used to inform the work but not necessarily be the centre of it. 

• And finally, He also mentioned the scale of the work, and to consider this in ways of what I want to achieve with the final piece. 

Overall, I got some great Feedback on my own work, that I can review and consider when shooting and researching from now, and how these ideas can help develop my project.