Evaluation - Minor Project

This project was so hard to get motivated on. I had no ideas and really no interest in the course anymore. If I’m completely honest that’s the same view I have after the project, although I am really happy with my outcomes and proud of my prints, I feel they have been produced to hit a target rather than out of passion and enthusiasm. This is a sad thought but it’s the truth.

Apart from the lack of inspiration, I also ran into many problems, both technical and also the direction I wanted to take my work. The main issue at the start was subject matter, this took many weeks and a lot of dead ends to come up with a subject matter that I felt I could work with and something I felt confident that I would be able to carry over such a long period of time. As well as problems surrounding the direction I was taking my work, I also had technical difficulties that included breaking equipment. This was a major upset and something that I feel really set me back. However I overcame these problems and managed to get myself back on track.

I did get some positives out of the minor project experience. My main goal was to start thinking more about my images especially when using film. I began slowing down, considering composition and style of the image. The aim for this was to make some really well presented contact sheet with the intent of making the contact sheets my final prints. Although this turned out not to be the case, I think by the end I really achieved this and I was creating contact sheets that where thought out, told a story and were well executed. I feel that this is a skill that I will be able to take on into my major project should I choose to use film.

Time management is something that I have considered a lot in this project, and often made changes to keep me on track so that I didn't fall behind. This is something I have struggled with in the past but feel I have really kept on top of throughout this project. I have been able to do this by making decisions such as not to print in the darkroom but instead scanning and sending the images to print. This really saved me time and helped me to get my final prints exactly how I wanted them in a much more time effective manner.

If I was to start this project from the beginning I think that I would have not spent so much time worrying about the subject matter, and instead taken a camera and just experimented and explored the contact sheet idea more. I feel that if I did this I would have found a subject matter from my exploration and been able to get straight into the minor project without the bumps at the beginning.

Overall I think that this project has been a real struggle for me, but at the same time a learning curve. I have discovered that I should express myself through my photography, and do what I feel comfortable with rather than trying to please others. By doing this I am building a style for myself that I like to work to and represents me.  I have found this to be the most self-directed project that I have done so far, and I really like the freedom and independence that I have had in the last 9 weeks. I hope to carry this over into my major project. 

Final Images

IM SO MAD AT MYSELF!!!!!!!!!

So I have sent my images to print to only now realise once they have arrived back that the framing is different on 2 of them. I had so many guides on the image that in the panic of making sure that they are sent of to print in time I have chosen the wrong guide to use to frame my image. This means that the gap between the two images is totally different. It’s only a slight different but now I have noticed it its so frustrating. I’m so annoyed at myself. Below shows the silly amount of guides I was using this is so frustrating.

Editing & Framing

My intention for this project was to print in the darkroom, however a lot of my negatives where either really dark or light due to exposure issues, so I decided that I would scan my negatives in, as printing in the darkroom would be both costly and time consuming.

Scanning my negatives in was straight forward. I had done this many times before and new what I would have to do, this also meant that I could get on top of my blog while I scanned the negatives in. I wasn't sure what images I was going to use, so I made sure that every image I scanned had a high PPI, however this then meant that it would take a while to scan. 

After my images where scanned in the next step was to edit them. I didn't really want to do much to them apart from get the exposure correct, this I did by using the curve tool. I had to do this with the majority of my images, just to make sure that they all had the same exposure and that they worked together both in pairs but also as a set.  

Another main part of the editing process was to spot heal my images. This was to get rid of any dust that was created from scanning the images, but also any scratches or blemishes on the negatives themselves.  This was time consuming, but I think that it is really important part because it does make the images look a lot cleaner and crisp. 

Framing:

Framing the images was as simple as it’s always been. I just created a page on Photoshop the same size as I wanted my prints, then used the rulers to create a guide what I then dropped my images into. As I wanted two images per page and the images where square this meant that I had to have a big boarder around the images. But I kind of like this so I’m not bothered.  

 

A Look At Shoot 13

I didn’t really want to put this contact sheet on my blog because it really upsets me. So my granddad suffers from dementia, and recently due to the face he’s going through a divorce it’s really taken it out him. I think that its really noticeable in this shoot, he looks confused, scared and to me he looks lost, looking at these images really really upsets me, I don’t want to think of my granddad like this.  I don’t want to talk about these images but I have put them in to show the shoot.

Shoot 12

The original idea was to have the image of my dad in his shed or something of that nature. But when looking at the rest of the images I feel that there was an underlying theme and the images with the shed just didn't fit this theme. So I decided to take a roll of film of my dad in his ‘spot’ too.      

Already from looking at the images they are clearer and now have a similar style to the rest. I think that it’s been able to capture more detail in the subject and it doesn't look as posed or awkward. I think that this was the right decision to make for my work and now can see a clear link with all the images.       

Again I used some modeling lights with soft boxes just to add light on the subject. This was because the room was dark without it and I just thought it needed that extra depth. 

        

So the addition to the dog was not intentional, Marley just wouldn't leave my dad alone so in the end I decided to just let her be in the shot.        

NOTES

when looking at the enlargement’s I have noticed that the more I have been shooting I have started to try and get variations of the same image, rather than getting images that are all completely different.  I think this is because I so often kick myself when I look at an image and like it, but maybe there’s something slightly off about it, or if I would have just took a step back it would be better. I have experienced this so much that I think I have trained myself to be thorough and make sure I get what I want.     

Shoot 11

FINALLY I managed to get a set of negatives close up of my dad that doesn't making him look like a floating head! First thing I did was making him take a black top off, and put a white one on, unfortunately he chose his worktop.

I think that this is a good contact sheet, clear and all the images are exposed correctly. The only problem is where my mam dropped the sheet. Think that I am starting to think about the images more and take time with the shoot. Something that I really didn't do before this project began. 

This is the best image from the shoot. Mainly because of the expression on the subjects face. I have realized that I am drawn to the smiling images because it makes me happy looking at these people who I really look up to, it makes the viewer smile.  

When looking at these images they almost tell a story, the 3 enlargements show the progression of normal to laughing. I think that these would work really well as a set of 3 printed on one page.   

Shoot 10

The slight difference is just the intensity of the subjects smile in the image.  The main reason for creating this variation is that I really wanted to capture the subject smiling as this is what I feel truly represents him, however I wasn’t too sure what one would work best. I also wanted to make sure that I got as much detail from the image a possible. I would edit this image, and when ding so I think I would crop some of the negative space from the top of the image so that its framed the same as the other close up images that I have done of other subjects. I’m not too sure what image I want to use yet, I will look at them more closely and then make my decision after editing.

I don’t like this image; I think that he looks reserved and rather unwelcoming. Not at all what I was wanting. I think after looking at this image and considering it I have defiantly made my mind up and decided to use on of the smiling images.