Task:

Post an image to the forum that you think is an example of a good use of a photographic ‘faux pas’ or what we might traditionally think of as a ‘mistake’.
This might be a ‘happy accident’ or it could be when someone has deliberately subverted, or broken, the technical rules of photography. It could be one of your own images or a picture taken by someone else. 

My response:
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This photo was taken on a 1954 Voigtlander Vitessa (http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Vitessa). It has an unusual film winder mechanism in the form of a large plunger rod. For some reason on my camera the film does not always wind on, resulting in the occasional double exposure. I do like the randomness of not knowing when this will occur and the resulting ‘happy accident’.
This particular shot was taken at Fort la Latte in Brittany where I was on a high vantage point on the fort and so took a photograph of part of the fort and another of the surrounding scenery. The combined double exposure has blended these 2 shots giving a surrealist feeling to the resulting outcome and also created a layering effect to the background, giving a further sense of depth to the image.

These were the responses from other students:
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I like the multiple horizon lines almost looking like hills in the background behind the castle. Works in B&W but I don't think it would work in colour. 

Oh yes... a double exposure is a great example of a happy accident.. I had to think quite hard to get my head around what a 'happy accident' or faux pas would even look like.  Thank you for opening my mind!!

This really is a happy accident. I've had often had similar issues with my analog cameras and the accidental exposures have a special place in my heart. The unexpected and unintentional beauty is often the powerful. 

Task:

Write a short entry (c.150 words) to the forum below explaining, in your own words, how their methodologies contribute to how you interpret the work. Please insert an image or a hyperlink to examples of the work with your entry.   

My response:

​Brassai’s was inspired by the work of Eugene Atget, although whereas Atget’s is best known for capturing the disappearing architecture of ‘Old Paris’, Brassai was more intent on capturing the Parisian nightlife, especially the ‘shadier’ side of nightclubs, bars and brothels. Brassai’s methodology derived from his training as a painter and sculptor. Brassai framed his shots so that small areas of light pierced large areas of blacks and shadows. Light reflected in wet streets and diffused by fog, would define shapes within the dark.  This contrast gave his printed images richness and depth. In order to light the darker areas of Paris at nighttime, Brassai was equipped with a Voigtlander 6.5x9cm camera, a slow lens and a wooden tripod. He used harsh, direct lighting with long exposures, which were often given an excessive contrast from streetlights or car headlamps. This resulted in a cinematic quality to his images with a film noir feel to them that I find distinctive about his work.

Reflect:

• What challenged you?  

Trying to identify the methods, meaning and concepts behind my own work.  

• What surprised you?  

From the reading and research I have undertaken this week I have started getting a clearer idea of not only the methods and meaning in the photography I have undertaken so far, but also I have started to see a clearer direction of where I would like to now steer my personal work.

• What do you feel you learned?  

It was interesting to learn about Psychogeography as this is a concept that I feel could be introduced to my own work.
Consider also the points raised in the presentation:  

• What methods and methodologies have you consciously applied in your practice to date to communicate a concept or an intended meaning? 

Without realising it, I have been focussing on capturing what I see on a daily basis around the area where I live. I am fortunate to live in the South Downs National Park, which is the newest of the national parks. I initially started to try and walk at least 10.000 steps a day for both exercise and to cope with life in lockdown as well as losing my wife after a long battle with cancer at the start of lockdown. I found it very therapeutic to take my camera with me as a way of escapism and engrossing myself in the countryside around me. Over time I found it more challenging to find new or interesting work and so started exploring different photographic techniques and utilising vintage lenses to give more of a timeless quality to my images.

• Can you identify and describe methods in your practice that convey meaning, which you might not have intended at the time?

More recently I have (subconsciously) been endeavouring to capture more of an abstract or impressionistic feel to my images.

•  Have any of the practitioners you looked at this week (including your peers) given you any inspiration for strategies or methods you might ‘impose’ upon yourself to expand the creative possibilities of your own work?  

This has been a very insightful week from both the reading this week and feedback given from the webinar by both Gem as tutor and suggestions from fellow students. I like the randomness in some of John Baldessari and would like to introduce the idea of randomness into where I take my images locally, maybe by using dice throws to determine direction? Gem also mentioned Duncan Wooldridge and his photo-dice,each describing a decision leading to a photograph. Gem also mention ‘Walking in the woods’ by Yoshifumi Miyazaki. This explores ‘forest bathing’ which is the practice of walking slowly through the woods, in no hurry, for a morning, an afternoon or a day. It is a practice that involves all the senses and as you gently walk and breathe deeply, the essential oils of the trees are absorbed by your body and have an extraordinary effect on positive feelings, stress hormone levels, parasympathetic nervous activity, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity. Other books mentioned to look at were Leeming and Paterson – Zero Footprint, Dennis Adams and Laurent Malone – Photographic Crossing of New York. I was also given the names of another couple of photographers to look at, Jem Southam and Chrystal Lebas. This should give me plenty of inspiration to expand the creative possibilities of my own work!

We were asked to post the following on the forum last week:

Post an image to this forum by way of an introduction to your peers and your tutors.  
Try and respond to ideas and examples discussed in the presentation. You could use a mirror quite literally, or think about views into your personal world that reveal something about yourself or your interests in photography. Include one or two lines about your concept and/or visual strategy. 

​This was my response:

I have chosen to use this 'selfie' for as I feel this both introduces myself and acts as an analogy for 'Mirrors and Windows'. This image was taken at the Goodwood Revival on Friday which is a celebration of bygone days, vintage fashion and motor racing around around the classic circuit from the 1948-1966 era. It was part of a series I was taking as a window on the event itself,  to try to capture the mood, atmosphere and context. I was using an Olympus Pen-F which is a retro camera based on the original 1960's Olympus film camera of the same name, but to get more of an authentic feeling to the images I used a vintage Asahi Takumar lens. This is shown in the reflection in the mirror which I feel also gives an insight into my interest in the evolution and history of photography. 

Here are a couple of responses, one from one of the tutors and another from a fellow student:

'I love that the camera (or the lens) has become the mark of the nostalgia of the even and that's reflected in the image itself and its out of focus swirls of red (Saul Leiter again).'

'The camera and lens immediately captured my attention... Your story about the image and the event has me wanting to see the entire series! There is a great reverence shown--photographing a vintage event with vintage gear... Profound. Thank you for sharing!'

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Topic 1: MIRRORS and WINDOWS: Reflection

What do you make of the ‘mirror’ and ‘window’ analogy? How helpful is this in understanding the nature of photography? 
I think that the ‘mirror and ‘window’ analogy really helps to break photography down to a very basic level, as it could be said that all photographers are showing you a window of the world as they see it and also mirroring their own vision, mood or feeling in the context of how they choose to show this. Photographers such as Niépce, Fox Talbot and Daguerre showed the use of windows both physically and metaphorically from the very beginnings of photography. Mirrors have also been widely used in photography in the physical sense from the first ever ‘selfie’ by Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna in 1913 to Brassai, through Brassai’s image ‘Couple Souriant, Balmusette des Quatre Saisons, Rue de Lappe, 1933’ to Elliot Erwitt’s California kiss, 1955.
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​The metaphorical mirror is not always as easy to highlight through a photographer’s work, although the clues are often there for you to interpret and get an insight into the photographer themselves. Robert Adams described landscape photography as being a mirror of what goes on inside you. In Beauty and Photography, Adams writes of ‘…something in the picture that tells us as much about who is behind the camera as about what is in front of it’ (Adams, 1996, p. 15.). Don McCullin’s landscapes are often dark, haunting vistas that reflect his inner turmoil after years as a war photographer.

As an image maker, do you identify more closely with one or the other? 
My own images tend to both show a window of my world and how I want my viewer to see it and I do like to use different photographic equipment and techniques to achieve the effect I am trying to get across in my work. I believe by doing this I am reflecting my own personality into my images. I have been inspired by a lot of photographers and I think I draw on this when taking my photographs and think this is also reflected in my work.
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What other metaphors do you know of, or can think of, that provide an insight into photography? 
Another metaphor which you often hear associated with photography is ‘Eyes are the window to the soul’. This is certainly true in the iconic Steve McCurry image, ‘Afghan Girl’. In portrait photography it’s the eyes more than any other part of the image which draw us in and make us feel connected to the person.

What is your motivation for photography? What do you want to learn about and how can photography help you get a greater understanding of it?
My motivation derived from working in a professional photographic laboratory after leaving college. I loved the whole process of creating photographs which made me realise that the camera is just part of the image making process. Through teaching photography I have myself learnt a lot more about the history and evolution of photography and I am fascinated with both historical processes and the latest technology and how photography is continuing to evolve.
Photographers are often using their images to highlight environmental issues such as global warming, but I am interested in looking at the environmental impact of photography itself with both the current digital technologies and historically through analogue photography and processes. I would like to explore the most eco-friendly approach to taking images using both current and past technologies.