Assessors

Note to Assessors:

Welcome to my blog for Level 1 Context & Narrative . I have included a navigation page within my printed documents , in brief, it is as follows:
There are three main menus above; Assignments,  Coursework , Research & reflection
Under these menus there are further sub menus which will lead you to exercises, assignments (Planning, submissions, tutor reports and re-works), Exhibitions and books.

Self Evaluation:

I have chosen to submit all of my assignments for Context and Narrative in hard copy including prints, a contents list is included with my submission.

I was slightly daunted at the start of context and narrative but I have found it has helped me to grow immensely. I have enjoyed researching more about my ideas and feeling more confident in my selections, I feel that I am starting to understand what I enjoy.

This module focused more on understanding, research and writing so I did not really see any growth technically, hopefully I will continue to improve on this in future modules. My camera has been a little more idle than usual but I can honestly say that context & narrative has really altered my approach to my way of working and opened my eyes to a deeper level of understanding.

My tutor was extremely encouraging and really helped me to be more confident with my ideas.

Technically I have not grown as much as I would have liked but the difference between EYV and C&N in my level of understanding and commitment is vast. My observation and composition have worked well in all of my assignments and I have known when to change path. I think my ideas are communicated effectively and leave a question mark so that the viewer may want to discover more.

I think I have been creative with my ideas and also with my experiments surrounding presentation.

I look forward to continued growth in my next module.

Putting yourself in the picture – Shoe Boxes

I decided to explore my idea of little shoe boxes as a display for assessment. I’m quite pleased with the results, they highlight consumption as well as stereotypes and read a little like a dating ad.. a lot can be gleaned by looking at my shoes.

Inside is my image of the shoes, on the lid it read ‘If the shoes fits’. The shoes are labelled with their purpose and underneath it is described like a lonely hearts ad.
If we were to interchange the lids would we perceive them differently? Or of the lids were loose could we find their ‘matching pair’?

 

Assignment 2 – Re-work

Following my tutors advice regarding my selections I have reconsidered the images I have chosen.

My re-worked set:

I thought about the lay-out and colours and the final image of the hands resting feels like a perfect full stop to the set.

 

Assignment 5 – rework possibilities

After my feedback for assignment 5 I decided to have an attempt at casting shadow / throwing the door into darkness.

My limitations in technically ability are really hindering me but I attempted various configurations, as far as the huge hunk of a wardrobe would allow. I thought that if I mastered just the lighting whilst my daughter was on holiday I could hopefully convince her to pose one more time.

This was the best of the bunch.

I have managed to cast the door into shadow and add light to the desk area but if I re-create the exact same pose then  I will lose the objects on the bed into darkness too so I might need to consider where these can be placed instead. I might also need to add an additional light source or reflector to light up her face (Once she’s in the image).

Its worth another shot at it, after all I am still happy with my original image but this could focus the gaze and remove the unnecessary background.

 

Assignment 4 – Tutor Feedback

I had worked hard on researching my image, or so I had thought, which is why I was a little disappointed by my feedback.

Overall it was very good, positive feedback but I am still not quite getting there with the academic research. I think (hope) this will improve with practice, I had focused on researching what I could see in the image and the context surrounding when the photo was taken and events in history. I did not look to other practitioners of the time or academic writers on the same subject?

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A4_Wendy_Rose_C&N

Reflection

Reflection

I think that I finally achieved a set of images which convey how deafness felt to me during my research. I researched the history of the Deaf as well as took inspiration from my own mother who has been deaf since birth. I also spent a number of days and evenings with ear defenders on so that I could experience the feelings and frustrations first hand.

I was surprised during my research that I could not find any Deaf photographers that have tried to show Deafness in an image? I had a blank canvas to work with.

The images I took used a variety of techniques which I am not familiar with, however I tried to explore different ways of expressing the unseen feeling rather than documenting the deaf world which is not strictly unseen. I do also have some ideas for developing this series further using physical manipulation of the images, crops of just hands signing alongside sounds experienced by the deaf.

I did feel as though I had hit a wall with this assignment but I think this was mostly due to the images being in an unfamiliar style. After printing them out and living with them as well peer review I am seeing them in a different light. I did use my mother in some of the images but this proved difficult as she did not fully grasp what I was trying to achieve. She was more worried about what she should say despite a reminder that a still image was not going to capture what she was saying in one frame! I then resorted to putting myself in the frame, something else that I am not used to, this meant I could try to be more experimental in capturing exactly what I wanted.

This is a subject that is personal to me so maybe some of my frustrations were about not being able to include everything that I wanted to express in 7-10 images. After re-looking at them I realised that I did not need to include it all to convey the feelings and in fact but reducing to the 8 images the set appears stronger and more coherent. I may not has said everything about the Deaf world in just 8 images but hopefully it leaves the viewer wanting to find out more.

What would I do differently?

Perhaps I would explore more physical manipulation if I had more time. I would also look at the solitude as well as the community of deaf culture. I had hoped I would be visiting the Hearing Dog School with my mother before this assignment was due in but sadly this has been postponed. This might however offer me some alternative images for a future re-work.

Assignment 5 – Tutor Feedback

Really pleased yet again with the positive comments, I’m impressed that I made it to the end of Context and Narrative and surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I have learnt a lot during this unit, about myself as well as the need to step back and consider my choices. I have also learnt more about the power of research and exploration, which I hope to continue.

A5_Wendy_Rose_C&N (1)

I have a little work to do to try to improve the lighting in my image so I am going to make the most of my daughter being away for a week. I am going to set up some lights that I can more around and play with in the hope that I can cast the door in my image to darkness and make the  mirror area stand out. Once I get the winning combination I can hopefully convince her to spare me an hour or two for an attempted retake.

I have applied for November’s assessment as well as signed up for the next module, hopefully I can go back over this unit and tidy up loose ends and make any adjustments needed for assessment. I also need to print my images as so far throughout the entirety of Context and Narrative I have not printed a single image so I need to consider my presentation around this.

Assignment 5 – Making it up – Final Submission

‘To thine own self be true’ – Shakespeare

We are entering a new era of self-admiration and promotion , a never-ending circle of performance, persona, self-branding and status fuelled by our media-driven consumer society. A move from photographing others for self-consumption to photographing ourselves for consumption by others.

Our predecessors of ancient Greece and Rome believed in status and beauty, tales of Venus, Aphrodite and Narcissus are evidence of this. It was survival of the fittest and only the best would win, glory was for those who succeeded. How much has this shaped our current society. We are obsessed by identity, our ‘self’ is in a constant flux, our persona is changeable. In fact the word ‘persona’ is derived from the Latin word persona meaning mask of which we wear many.

We are constantly exposed to messages all around us that promise us, better, happier more successful lives. From houses and cars to plastic surgery and customised products which all promote the bigger better life you or ‘I’ could have.  Self-admiration has led to a fantasy world, sharing images on social media and creating communities where you are either  included or excluded, friends or not, liked or disliked, it is based on quantity over quality.

The mirror acts as a looking-glass between reality and fantasy, an illusion. People feel close to friends that only exist in a virtual world, the person is not real only the image. Society is becoming more and more obsessed by people / celebrities who are self-absorbed and people’s status and this can be as a result of social media, advertising and reality TV.

There is in fact a lack of self-love as young people try to emulate others, we have raised the self-esteem of this generation, telling them that they are perfect, the world is their oyster, they are beautiful inside and out but what happens when someone else tells them that things are not what they believe. Their inner narcissist persuades them that no-ones sees their faults, it paints a perfect image to the outside world and hides their ‘true’ self. Some people go to great lengths to ensure their social outward presence is ‘perfect’.

Is begs the question… Are we ever the same person when no-one is watching?

Process Evaluation:

I started this assignment with an idea around exploring ‘Selfies’ and how they are often not true representations of our ‘self’. I spent a great deal of time researching the history of Selfies and of the ‘self’ which also led me to explore other avenues.

I looked into ancient history and its relevance today as well as conditions such as Social Perfectionism, the theory of Lacking and Materialist entitlement.

I wanted to tell a story in my image using subtle clues which would suggest the theme and leave the viewer to consider the wider social picture.

I have depicted a young adult lounging in a bed in a pose resembling that of ancient paintings, innocent yet provocative. She gazes at her reflection yet she does not look happy. She appears almost vacant, tired of fitting in with a social norm. A magazine on the bed hints to the social demands on being body perfect and beautiful, a diet drink and pills rest nearby.

The multitude of mirrors suggest vanity and narcissism, the roses are symbolic of beauty and the goddess Venus as well as vanity and the colour yellow represents both optimism and cowardice. The orange towel was chosen as orange symbolises communication as well as superficiality.

On the dresser there is more references in a Vanitas style, rotting fruit to represent aging, something the modern society is trying to overcome with consumer products and media hype. The candle represents the soul, the hourglass shows vanity and the transience of life and the cowry shell is to represent Aphrodite the goddess of love. Her iPhone sits patiently on the dresser waiting to take the inevitable Selfie.

I had to completely rearrange the furniture in my daughters bedroom to achieve the layout and to be able to take the image with my reflection being seen. In this particular image I stood on a chair in the corner of the room to get as much as possible into the frame.

I manged to capture her reflection in the main mirror as well as the one she is holding, the other mirror image was edited in Photoshop to get the look that her reflection was everywhere.

I tried a variety of lighting options using flash, natural light and a reflector. The final image was taken at 28mm, f. 5, 1/40 sec using the flash.

The photo shoot went well and I found I was able to direct the image much better than I have in previous assignment, this is a result of much more focussed planning as well as research. My research had led me to create a list of items that I wanted to include in the image which also led me to know what I wanted to exclude. Not only did I move furniture around but I de-cluttered and removed items from the room which I did not want in the final image. A picture that was on the wall was also edited out as it did not belong in my vision.

In an ideal world I would have had more room for my location so that I could have more variety on my positioning and a better array of props but I worked with the space I had and what was available. I think I have succeeded in conveying my message although it is difficult to try to convey it all in one image.

Reflection:

This assignment was an ideal opportunity to explore everything that I had learnt in Context and Narrative. I had the chance to explore storytelling and narrative as well as learn the immense value of research.

The research had the biggest impact overall and really helped to focus my ideas and realise what I had envisaged. I also dipped my toe into Photoshop and manipulating my image to help achieve the end result.

I am pleased with my final image as it is as close to what I set out to achieve as I can get with my technical limitations, i.e. Photoshop. I feel that I have shown progression in my technical and visual skills and really embraced the context element with my research.

I have also explored another , more creative, idea that I may develop further following this submission, a lenticular image of the ‘true’ v’s ‘false’ Selfie, but I still think I have shown creativity in this assignment with my use of symbols and references.

Contact Sheets:

 

Peer feedback:

Assignment 5 – Peer feedback

Research:

Creative Options

Colour Psychology

https://wendyrosecontextnarrative.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/vanitas/https://wendyrosecontextnarrative.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/selfies/https://wendyrosecontextnarrative.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/mirrors/https://wendyrosecontextnarrative.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/narcissism/https://wendyrosecontextnarrative.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/the-gods/

The Old Masters

Selfie – How the West became self-obsessed

The Theory of Lacking

Research papers on ‘Selfies’

More research papers on Selfies

Editorial: Understanding Selfies – Composition

Assignment 5 – Research overview

Photo London

Social media

Changing faces!

The power of an App

Assignment 1 – Selfies

 

Assignment 5 – Peer feedback

After my little lenticular and overlay experiment I wanted to see what reaction it might garner. In fact after sleeping on it I decided that the overlays really were not working and If I wanted to add text I could look to a different style of presentation.

I am really excited by the lenticular idea however I hadn’t planned for it so my images are not quite right for the final outcome. Perhaps it should be a simpler portrait which is then over edited rather than a cliché pout?

Overall I think I am going to return to choosing one of my original images but perhaps consider the idea of a rework using the lenticular idea. I just need to think about how I could present it for assessment?

The feedback can be seen here:

https://discuss.oca-student.com/t/c-n-assignment-5/7504

Creative Options

I have been reviewing my selections and culling them further but at the same time I have had a few creative ideas around my images.

Unfortunately I am not very skilled at Photoshop or Lightroom but I have had a go at it, if I was asked to do it again I am not 100% sure I would remember how I got there but persistence seems to have paid off. I am also aware that I really need to get my assignment ready for my tutor by the end of today, latest tomorrow!

First I explored adding an overlay of Instagram messaging, although I think I prefer the wider view of the first one out of the first two images.

I used subtle Vanitas references in the images (Too subtle in hindsight) and I had a little play with Photoshop and the mirrors in the second image.

 

My only concern is that I can’t seem to get the text bright enough at the same time as keeping the screenshot background transparent.

Then I decided to explore making a lenticular image. I’m sure that there must be a professional approach to this however my approach was painstakingly awkward. I made a new image twice the width of my chosen image. then I used the rectangular marque tool and cut and pasted strips from each image to create one image. I then printed this and folded it. I really like the effect and it does illustrate the fluid nature of selfie’s and the narcissistic effect of perfection as one image shows the selfie ‘sans’ make-up and natural, the other shows an edited, filtered, Instagram worthy version of the same image (The power of apps and social media!) The Iphone’s image being the only static item between the two highlighting that images are frozen in time.

But…

How can I get this effect to look more ‘polished’ and less ‘crafty’?