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Evaluation BA3b

I am very happy with how BA3b has gone, there have been points that were hard but I feel that it is the case with most projects. There isn’t going to be a task that goes 100% smoothly. Part of me thinks that my positivity toward BA3b is purely because BA3a didn’t go well and this may be true but I’m proud of the work I have produced in terms of my portfolio, self-promotional package and set of images in the current project.

The main reason I am happy with my work is because I feel like I have taken a step in the right direction for what I want to achieve once I leave university. Exhibiting will allow me to display my fine art pieces for everyone to view my passion, my creativity. I feel I am ready to take that step with a professional looking self-promotional package that I have tweaked throughout the project to suit the style and feel of my work. My portfolio is strong collection of my best work and I feel incredibly proud to say I made it myself, for a first portfolio I wanted something handmade as most of my shoots are very DIY and throughout university I have worked to try and earn enough money and saved where I can. It is something I will carry with me and feel confident in showing. The final project was far more continuous in experimentation and I felt I was working toward something, whereas with the last project I jumped through different styles not really know what I wanted to achieve. I definitely haven’t got to a finishing point with it, it is something I will continue after university and I feel this is a good thing as I will not stop shooting, there is something there to push me to exhibit. My time management was good, there were certain points that I could have perhaps done better and worked harder but sometimes it is difficult working a full-time job and finding the energy to shoot or write.

The points that didn’t go well were overcome, challenges are good as it teaches me to find alternative ways of achieving something. I found my first portfolio to be too large and this set me back time wise, more research and perhaps asking for more opinions would have avoided this. I found challenges in achieving what I wanted with my images, I was able to physically soften the photograph with the net as I had used it in a previous project but I further needed that subtlty with the nude form. It needs more work, but is getting there.

Overall I’m pleased with the project, I am happy with my achievements and am looking forward to what the future holds. Hopefully some galleries will get back to me about exhibiting and I can take the next steps into my career. It is scary to think that this is the final post I will be writing for university.

Chosen Practice

Routes in to exhibiting begin by self-organising, for example Damien Hirst and some fellow students created the exhibtion Freeze in 1988 and this led to Charles Saatchi setting him on route to fame. Currently as a year group we are orgnasing not only the graduate exhibition but also Free Range which is in London and I feel that is a great starting point to gaining some experience and helping me with a route into my chosen practice. I believe some of it is timing and luck, much like with most creative practices but the work needs to be of good quality as well, particularly from me. This allows my own to stand out from the rest. My presentation must be professional and the way I present must reflect my work.

I can also take my work to ‘commercial galleries’ or also known as private galleries. I may face many rejections and would have to invest a lot of money into it but it can be very beneficial. Building a strong relationship with the gallery and owners and further the other people exhibiting can lead on to further work. I would need to submit a strong collection of work to various galleries in the hope that someone will be inspired to alolow my work.

I can also attend

residencies

international open submission shows

talks by visiting gallery directors and curators

workshops organised by artists collectives and studios.

These will boots my connections and experience and allow me to develop my understanding of being a strong photographer with the ability to exhibit well.

Chosen Practice

The images currently used within fine art photography and further exhibiting fine art photography are very diverse. There is a wide range of subjects and I love this at fine art photography as it is not defined but what the photographer is capturing but more as to why they are capturing it. Directly defining what fine art photography is, is difficult and I will need to research further into people’s opinions on what classes an image as fine art.

Imogen Cunningham is a photographer featured in Lumiere gallery and rightly so as her pieces are widely renowned for being incredibly soft and beautiful. Lumiere gallery offers a large selection of photographic prints from many fine art photographers and Imogen Cunningham works stand out to me because of their consistency and cohesiveness. The image above to someone may seem unintentional, accidental but it is not, the bed sheets mirror the shape of a nude form spread over the bed. Crumpled sheets leave suggestion of somone once having slept in that exact place, there is an essence of form and these leads on to her other works of the nudes and flowers all surrounding the body and life. An opening flower taking a similar shape to a vagina, smooth petals showing a similar texture to skin. There is always intention behind her pieces and I love the emotive throughout all her works.

Christopher Bucklow is featured in Jackson Fine Art gallery and iss a photographer whose work I wouldn’t say is a bad example of exhibting fine art photography but one that I perhaps dislike because of opinion. Jackson Fine Art Gallery specialises in contemporary works and would be something that I could consider aiming for, this level of gallery and potential to exhibit is very far off but something I could work hard toward reaching. Bucklow’s work just doesn’t excite me, yes they are consistent but they do not hold any questioning. I like a piece to draw the viewer in and want to discuss why the photogrpaher has chosen that subject, lighting or compositon, what were their intentions and ideas? I feel above is just a picture of a person contrasted with two block colours. But this is opinion, perhaps not correct in the yes of another and is that part of fine art photography?

What equipment is used?

In terms of equipment to actually take the images I feel there is a lot more versatility to fine art photography. All types of camera and lens can be used and the most basic or most advance of studio equipment or none at all can contribute to a shoot. This is because it is the phtoographer’s choice, a creation from their own idea. However it is not accidental, there is an element of experimentation when it comes to shooting but there is also informed decisions and planning much like someone who would be shooting still-life or documentary style photography. For me I use a variety of lighting, at the moment something as simple as fairy lights, a backdrop, a good quality DSLR camera and a range of lenses. For exhibiting I would need access to framing, printing and tools to hand my pictures.

What standard are images produced to?

I don’t believe there are many practices in photography that produce images to a low standard, exhibiting fine art photography particularly would need to be of very high standard. The piece is displayed to the public with the potential of 100s of people seeing this one piece and it needs to show who you are as a photographer and how professional you are. If I am exhibiting I will not be in an interview to justify my choices, I will hang the photograph and will be judged by the public.

What do I need to work on?

I believe I need to work on test printing my images, I use quite dark lighting with a lot of negative space and it doesn’t always print the same as it appears on the screen. This can set me back especially with exhibiting because an image I love may not come across that way when placed in the frame.

It is my dad’s 50th soon so I retouched the image above that he carries in his wallet every day, has done for 20 years. I am the baby!

I had a day of printing both today and last week, I wanted to spread the printing out to reduce the stress and workload and this was a great help. I could concentrate on certain prints at one time rather than becoming lost in all the images. I came across a problem when discovering the sleeves I had ordered weren’t as great quality as I had hoped and were incredibly shiny.

I opted for cheaper ones and it was a huge mistake, I had managed to save money in various other areas of my work but this is the one thing I will have to spend money on. Fortunately I ordered more of a different sleeve from Silverprint after Ross’ suggestion and despite being pricey they were a thousand times better. My work is much clearer and you can still see the matte texture whereas originally the shiny sleeves defeated the whole idea of having a matte finish.

With my previous portfolio I decided to varnish it and this wasn’t the best choice. It came out very streaky and looked like a bad orange tan on the wood. I simply wanted to allow the grain to pop and still appreciate the pine for its original form. After researching I found oil was the best thing to go for and you can see in the photograph above that it was the best decision. This is a picture I took whilst oiling and you can see the difference in the grain compared to the lighter parts.

The result of my new portfolio! This is before sanding and varnishing but I am pleased with the result. There is some minor changed from the last as I had some points I didn’t like about it, for example the lid did not slide on as smooth as I had hoped. Aaron suggested this is because it may not have been accurately square so insured this box was. Also there is now the addition of wood on the end of the lid, the last felt unfinished but this completes the box. It feels like the lid is hidden, it’s a surprise feature.

#gif

Borders?

I have been debating the idea of whether to have borders on my images. It makes it difficult as they need to be all the same size and some of my images are different sizes so I would have to take the time in chopping them down accurately. This shouldn’t be a problem as my portfolio is something I have dedicated a lot of time and effort to but at the same time I would like to save time where I can.

Looking at the two images above I can see that a border is going to be far more beneficial than not having one at all. The use of negative space in my photographs means that not having a white border has made the picture seem quite lost and further the subject becomes very lost and insignificant. My choice of composition is then no longer relevant as there is no stop to the negative space. Therefore a white border is going to work better, the first image you can see the use of negative space contributes to the image in a positive way and is there fore a reason, not just because there was nothing else to fill the photograph with. The viewer now takes in all elements to the image, not just directly the face of the model. It will take more time but it will be worth it for the final images.

After printing I decided it would be best to bring the number of my prints down, with displaying them in a box I feel less is more. Flicking through print after print for a long time, the viewer may get bored. Therefore I thought it best to choose my strongest works in both my own and other people’s opinions. Above is the finals, I rid of the top left as I felt the highlights were too harsh in this, they were not technically strong. The portrait of my dog Zero although following a similar style did not fit the theme. The next print was very dark, despite being printed a few times I couldn’t quite get it on paper how it was on screen. The next was far too red in comparison with the colour pallette of the following images, the model on the chair was far too romanticized in comparison with my more abstract nude pieces. Finally the bottom two although strong created too much gold/warmth throughout the portfolio, this leaves me with 19 prints which I’m very happy with. This way it leaves my portfolio open with the potential to be added to in the future as I continue my project.

I wanted to compare the matte and gloss prints in the digital darkroom, I had not printed on photorag before and the results were amazing. The texture to the print allows the viewer to handle it with lease caution due because it isn’t as easy to mark or scratch the paper. Because of this I feel the viewer feels more involved with the image, they can explore it better and not feel awkward in moving the print around. Pictured above is a print on gloss, the finish is beautiful and I feel it may be slightly better for detail but the sheen on the surface is ridiculous. I have to move it around a lot in different lights to be able to see what the actual photo is of and this wont be good for my work. I want it to be as easy as possible for when I take my portfolio to potential clients or galleries for people to look through my work and view the image as a whole. Photorag is definitely the route I’m going to take with my final prints.

Artist Statement

Rosalee is a photographer interested in the nude form and particularly how light and composition can change the viewer’s perception of the body. She is influenced by the smallest details in all kinds of works from sculptures to textile all the way through to photography, whether it is a tone or texture she is driven by all.

Rosalee creates pieces that allow the audience to engage both questioning and appreciating, thus producing a memorable image. Her passion for abstract images has grown during the last three years and works of this genre have become unforgettable. Rosalee will continue to contribute to this industry positively and will produce that one image that sticks in the mind of one other artist.

(final)

Time Management - May

Two weeks till hand in, I’m in a position where I feel I’m ready, my shooting took a backseat last month as I wanted to concentrate on my portfolio and self-promotional package. These are now very close to being finished so I want to get back into shooting again to allow myself to get into a good position for when I leave university and aim to take the first steps toward my chosen practice.

- Finish final touches to new portfolio

- 2 more shoots

- Finish final touches to my website

- Continue to contribute to reflective journal

- Continue to contribute to visual logbook

- Hand in and have a movie pyjama day

Ross’ Lecture - 24/04/17

Today’s lecture with Ross was simply outlining our aims for the exhibtion and what we want to gain from it. It made me really think about how excited I am to have a piece of my own work hanging on the wall. The idea of lots of people being able to view it and share their opinions without me knowing is exciting.

We were asked what we want to gain from it and I wrote the below...

- Create interest in my work, 2/3 people to be able to contact and discuss my work with.

- Gain experience and be given the chance to work with another photograher, assisting.

- Lead on to being able to exhibit again.

The targets I have set myself are small but achievable, I could put points in there about selling my work and exhibiting in high end galleries but I feel I need to start off small and work my way up.

Skills Audit - End of Project

Skills audit

Technical Skills

IT Skills - both Mac and Windows - iPad, Phone etc.

Camera Use - very confident with Canon in manual, small knowledge of Nikon.

Understanding of lenses, in both manual and automatic.

Both filming and editing moving image.

Good understanding of sound recording equipment

Photoshop - confident at using

Capture One - good knowledge

Illustrator - good knowledge

Mircosoft competent (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook/Email)

Understanding of studio lighting; Elinchrom, Bowens, HMI

Confident in setting up a shoot - backdrops, light meters etc.

Able to build website around my work

From the beggining of the project I aimed to develop my knowledge of the software commonly used on the Mac computers. This is because many jobs want to you to be more than capable of using things like lightroom and capture one and if I was to apply for one of these jobs and be incapable I could miss out. I made sure I worked on this and took the time to develop these skills. Also another skill I picked up from creating my self promotional package was building a website, I learnt what the file sizes and types needed to be amd how to arrange my work appropriately to the style.

Communication Skills

Polite and professional

Strong presentation skills

Working well within a team/collaborating

Listening and acting upon feedback and critiques

I wanted to improve my communication with people in the industry and I believe this has gone well, I contacted a few photographers and despite not hearing back yet I’m still proud as I took that step. I also contacted various people about building my portfolio and acted upon something I was thinking about for a long time. Before I would not have opted for the option of creating my own portfolio and would have just bought one online.

Organisational Skills/Time management

Organised/plan in advance

Manage time reasonably well

Meets deadlines

I have definitely factored in more elements of time keeping like how long it takes to drive to various places. I feel my time management could have been better for this project but it is difficult balancing this and a full-time job. Sometimes I get home and am tired so do not complete the tasks set out for that evening. There is always room for improvement and will be the same for my whole career.

Contextual Understanding

Good Understanding of industry, how it works and how I need to approach it to get a route in

Good understanding of the different areas of the industry and more focused on what I want to do and where my work could fit.

I’m happy with my research into where I want to go with my work, I feel I have a starting point for when I leave university in contacting exhibitions and galleries that will hopefully lead on to gaining experience and developing as a photographer. Contact is the main thing, networking.

Independent Learning Skills

Can work on my own competently

Pick up skills quickly

I found that being an independent learner can hold me back sometimes, and for this project I reached out for help when I needed it. Even small problems like debating whether my portfolio is too large, or whether to include the image of Zero in my portfolio, there was someone there and I asked for their opinion and it helped me progress. This is something I will take with me in the future.

Fine Art Photography - RJ

I feel the issues around fine art photography start with defining what fine art photography actually is, this comes into theoretical as when I tell people my work is fine art it opens up a huge range of questioning as to what defines it being fine art. I would say that I do not digitally record a subject, someone who captures fashion, still life or photo-journalism is recording something for a reason. However fine art is about me as an artist and capturing what I see, the camera is my tool much as a painters paintbrush.

Georgia O’keeffe produces works that are an expression of her view on landscapes, they are paintings that she has created as a result of her own vision. Photographer’s producing fine art works need the control that O’keeffe posses, to simply set up a tripod and lighting perfectly to record the scene, is simply a recording of the scene, not a piece of work.

Ansel Adams: “Art implies control of reality, for reality itself possesses no sense of the aesthetic. Photography becomes art when certain controls are applied.”

Because of this I believe quality comes into play with being an issue as creating something as a fine art photographer, despite the final image being an expression of the photographer’s view there stil needs to be control and intention.

Garry Winogrand and Walker Evans are examples of quality, despite there seemingly not being in control and more of an ‘accidental’ approach (Winogrand stumbling across these events and Evans taking these images on the subway without looking through the lens) this is not the case. There is control here and there is purpose, their style is consistent throughout both series and there is a great intention there. This is important to remember with Fine Art photographer as many assume the photographs are conjured up out of no where with little intention compared to someone who produces still-life or fashion photography but this is not the case.

Technique or craft is important among fine art photography, any technique used is to be justified and executed properly, this brings me back round to control. If an image is to be faded, burnt or distressed, even things placed or stuck on top post printing there needs to be reason behind this. It also needs ot be done properly despite distressing an image seeming like a simple thing it can become an issue as it may be too much, or too little, or the wrong type of distressing in terms of what the image is.

Erik Hoffman states “the process has no particular steps, only a motive to create an interesting looking image in my own eyes” when describing his approach to distressing his images. I disgree, I think this is a bad example of technique as there must be motive behind it, there is a reason he has decided to scratch this part, or tear that part. It may be simple because of composition and reflecting various leading lines throughout the image but there is definite intention that he does not realise.

Also part of technique is consistency, keeping a consistent technique throughout a body of work is important especially with my own as I would want my pieces displayed in a gallery. A set of images that are cohesive creates professionalism and shows that I as an artist know what my style is and who I am as a photographer. This is also part of aesthetic, a big issue and debate with fine art photography as images will be displayed to the public in a gallery. I need to be proud of what I produce and there needs to be passion to reflect my ideas and intentions

Business Cards?

I decided to change my business cards, I like the initial design but felt it didn’t stand out enough, now that my portfolio is close to being finished I feel I can tailor my cards more around the whole design. Everything needs to reflect of one another, my images to suit my portfolio, website and social media and all those things to suit my business and post cards.

The changes I made were for the font to be the same as not only the plaque on my portfolio but also the font on my website (it cannot be changed on social media platforms unfortunately) and this way everything feels very consistent. I reversed the black and white making the text white or light grey as I feel the negative space I use in my images a lot and my choice of a darker tone would work better on the business cards as well.

The only part I am unsure of as yet is whether to have an image on the back, I have postcards and these all feature a variety of photographs so would it be too much to include it on the business cards as well? Looking at the two above I believe so, I feel having just my logo is far simpler and more effective.This was another reason for changing my business cards as having a logo now it should be featured on my self promotional package.

My final changes is to have the business cards portrait, simply because every single image I take is portrait. The reason being is it is a preference of mine, I enjoy composing an image more in portrait and find the body in my style of work suits portait more. I debated between rounded or square corners, I finally went for square as I feel it mirrors no only a printed image but also the logo is square so suits the shape of it.

Website further improvements

www.rosaleemarshall.com

I needed to make some further improvements to my website, only minor tweaks so not too much work but after my 1:1 with Matt he mentioned some points that could be changed.

Something as simple as the order of my images, I had considered this throughout and he felt that the other categories on my website were good but this one of the portraits needed to be reversed. Originally I had the dog as the first portrait as you click on the page, however Matt suggested having the female model first to continue the theme of people throughout and then the puppy second as the eyes line up beautifully as you click from one to the other.

I also debated the idea of including my logo, this was not a suggestion by Matt but something I thought I could try. However I don’t think it has as much impact as my name does. It doesn’t stand out and flow with the rest of the text. Therefore I will save my logo for the physical parts of my self-promotional package.

The final changes I made were updating my artist statement to the new text after showing Matt and him making some points of improvement. I originally had it in first person but third is more professional and flows better. Also there were parts of the artist statement in which I put lines like ‘hope to achieve, ‘determined to work hard’ and it needed to be literal. I will achieve, and I will work hard.

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