#fcp4

Fcp4 at first was a bumpy road, i panicked and didn't really know what to do. I knew i wanted to carry on the campaign portrait photography, so after a tutorial and some research i decided to so a Sun damage campaign to warn people to look after their skin. After researching into how dermatologist take UV photographs of peoples skin i worked out a way to do it a lot cheaper then using very high tech equipment. 

Cara Phillips was a big inspiration to me as she imitated a dermatologist skin photograph and did a series called 'ultraviolet beauties' which in fact is trying to horrify people on what lurks underneath the skin. What you cant see in normal daylight. Having done all the research before i experimented i knew what i need to do and get.

The shoots were very organized and everything went smoothly, except for a few cancellations with people, but that is expected. I am really proud of myself for getting 11 people involved in the project. As soon as i started to explain what my project was about to my models, they all seemed up for it as they are intrigued to know what 'lurks underneath'. I did promise them all a print of themselves for there own interest. 

I don't feel this project is as strong as my body image piece but i feel i could improve on it after the project is handed in and that's what i intend to do. I like producing portraits which are for a reason, an issue, something to help people feel better about themselves or even to just help with a health issue. I feel that my portrait photograph is unique enough to campaign with. 

I worked really hard when i did the shoots and especially on the research, but because no one has really attempted it as a project before there was no research into it except for articles which i have linked up on my blog. This i feel helped me more than anything in understanding what i was looking for in the photography. I think like my body image piece it defiantly needs a statement next to the photographs to briefly explain what it is. otherwise people will just think they are portraits of middle aged men and women with bad skin! 

I have followed my statement intent i feel for once, really well. It was straightforward and understandable for what i wanted to do. At first i was a little apprehensive especially with the first experiment with the film, i really wanted it to come out and when i developed it it came out really well.

I did say to Dan (tutor) that i wanted to get at least 6 finals with different people and i exceeded that and photographed 11 people but chose 10 finals for the evaluation. I am really proud of myself because i went outside my comfort zone asking people if they were willing to have a portrait done in the dark under UV light. I think i was incredibly lucky to be able to photograph that many people in such a small amount of time. Each person i did i did 3 photographs at different exposure times which worked well as it gave me more of a choice on which ones looked better. 

I did state that i wanted it to be only women, but after the women i photographed first asked why? and said i was being sexist i decided that i should have men in the project as its not just women that get sun damaged. 

The most research that had an impact was the Cara Phillips photography called 'ultraviolet beauties' which was an imitation of a dermatologist UV skin camera and set up to take photos and shock people on skin damage. Her work was fascinating and all done digitally, which i wasn't able to do. But i am glad i used film as i have become fond of it again. 

The articles inspired me too, as a health side of things reading journals on Sun damage for example; 

http://www.skincarephysicians.com/agingskinnet/uv_photography.html

http://www.ultravioletcameras.com/applications/3.html

I feel that the articles and Phillips work together inspired me. 

I have learnt a lot during this module, first of all was how to create the UV photography to show up sun damaged skin, researching into it i realized i could not do it with a digital camera, but with one that had had the infrared sensor taken out. That meant modding my camera which i was nit prepared for. So thinking about the infrared sensor i realized that you can get infrared black and white film, expensive available. This gave me a chance to see if the technique worked, which it did! After an experiment i went on to shoot 3 different shoots using all of my 5 films. 

MODULE EVALUATION

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How well have you realised /achieved your original aims as described in your Statement of Intent?

  My statement of intent has gone through two revisions for this module as I believe I had a sufficiently sound concept from an early point. It did need a subtle amendment as the project progressed into the technical stages. 

On the whole I am happy that my statement of intent follows on from my research and on into the actual body of work, however I am deeply disappointed with the aesthetic and technical quality of the images I have produced. This point I will elaborate upon in the last section of the module evaluation. 

Not to be too hard on myself I feel that my intentions for what the images connote to the audience are present and hopefully they will impart this to the viewer.

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Which research has had the most impact on the development of your work and why?

The research that I feel informed my practice the most I would have to admit is from the works of photographers such as Uta Barth and Pete Eckert who equate the physical process of vision to the more intangible notions of emotions and memory. Throughout my time researching this module I was constantly struck by the quality and concepts behind the works of a great number of both visually impaired and blind photographers from around the world and how little the visual arts require the eyes of the artist.

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What skills have you gained during this module?

The most valuable skill I feel that has come from this module and its outcome is a greater ability to reflect upon what the technical deficiencies were and how they may be addressed in any future project. On a non-technical note I believe I have learnt to be more confident in my approach towards communicating of my ideas to the subjects and pressing for what I envisage.

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How well did you manage your time?

This is perhaps the part of the module that I am most content with in regards to my performance. I believe that As with all of my previous modules my time management skills are good and even with a number of setbacks to do with late deliveries, rescheduled appointments and also a considerable amount of additional projects and modules to complete I was able to accomplish this module with time to reflect upon it.

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What could have improved the outcome of this module?

There are a number of points I have identified that would have improved both the outcome of the module and my satisfaction with it. The first as I've outlined above is of a technical nature and has to do with the actual quality of the images themselves.

I feel that the work has not measured up to how I initially envisaged the aesthetic quality of the work and in particular my intended use of the view camera's ability to shift its plains of focus. In short the focus was not where I intended it to be and in some images it was not there at all. I feel that my choice to use film came from a false assumption of it being superior to the digital process in its purest sense and will although not refrain from using it again in a future project, think very hard about its appropriateness and the likely outcome.

This leads on to another point of contention for me and this is my choice to only shoot with film and not have a digital camera as a backup for the whole project. I did take a small amount of digital images for publicity purposes but these would not be nearly enough to produce a whole project from. Lastly I would liked to have had more time and opportunities to interact with my subjects for the portraits but due to the facts of student life (for both me and my sitters) this was not feasible within the timescale for this module.

"I am proud to have been chosen to be a part of this collaborative project with the students of the Royal National College for the Blind and I relish the potential it has given me to help change peoples attitudes to what it means to be visually impaired". Jason Carden - HCA Student

   A group of students from RNC have teamed up with photography students from Hereford College of Art (HCA) and the charity organization ‘Fixers’ to put their artistic talents to the test and produce high quality photography exhibition held at Gardner Hall on Friday 28 June at 7.30pm. The project is called ‘Perception’ as it aims to give others the awareness of photography produced by young visually-impaired people.

  “I have chosen to create images that are abstract and not often seen by the naked eye – I find this fascinating as it allows me to look closer at detail which I am unable to see without my camera – it is as if I am using my camera as a visual aid.”  Tomas Gullick – RNC student

Students taking part include RNC students Rosemary Howell, Charles Bloch, Mollie Pritchard-Williams and Tomas Gullick, together with HCA Students Jade Clemens and Jason Carden. The group is also being supported by Barry Morris Personal and Social Development Officer for RNC and Documentary Photographer and Lecturer Dan Salter from HCA.

“This project is great as it combines the talents of both colleges during the handover of the old Victorian building which was home to the RNC but is being leased to HCA. It gives us as RNC students something to be part of and say ‘I created this…’

FCP4 - Negotiated Professional Practice

Second Statement of Intent 

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Project in Conjunction with The Royal National College for the Blind

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Intention: 

After much research and interaction with the students from the RNC - Royal National College for the Blind by overriding intention for this project have not changed and I still propose a series of portraits that question social misconception of what it means to be blind and the negative connotations of the language used to convey these inconsistancies. The mode of expression I have chosen to employ to capture this has gone through some reconsideration though and this I will highlight below. In the meantime the standard dictionary definition of the word blind is:

blind. adjective, blind·er, blind·est, verb, noun, adverb

Unable to see; lacking the sense of sight; sightless: a blind man.

Unwilling or unable to perceive or understand: They were blind to their children's faults. He was blind to all arguments.

Not characterized or determined by reason or control: blind tenacity; blind chance.

Not having or based on reason or intelligence; absolute and unquestioning: She had blind faith in his fidelity.

Lacking all consciousness or awareness: a blind stupor.

The above definitions connote a meaning over and above that of a physical disability and variously talk of a lack of mental faculties, a lack of control or simply a lack of sentients. 

The main problems associated with blindness are not so much issues associated with the individuals abilities and skills as these can be overcome to a large extent with learning and confidence. The real barrier to be overcome seems to be an ingrained misconception within society towards a negative connotation and meaning of what it is to be blind as the definition above demonstrates blindness is equated to darkness, ignorance and danger whereas sight has connotations of light, awareness and safety. 

Mode of Expression:

With the intended use of the 5x4 field camera comes the ability to shift the planes of focus which brings some areas into focus whilst leaving others with a certain amount blur. It was this control over focus that informed my original choice of camera and working method. I had considered the close cropping of the portraits to highlight certain aspects of the subject and their facial mannerisms but on reflection I concluded that this wouldn't correlate closely with the stated aims and outcome of the project. Instead I have revised my intention to include the whole of the subjects face and upper body to help create a better sense of the individual in the audience and help them confront the person they are presented with regardless. 

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Equipment:

For this project my intention is to shoot on location using the Wista large format 5x4 camera in conjunction some Kodak Professional Ektar 100 colour negative film to produce some potentially large scale images.