Final Major Project

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PDF Document to Tutors

To make sure the tutors know how I would like my work installed, I have sent them a PDF document of the layout, instructions and also the Free Range installations. The screenshots of the PDF have been included below.

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Installation layout for Assessment & Free Range Show

As the assessment will take place on 21st May in Borough Road gallery, we have been informed that we will need to display a sample of the work on the wall due to limited space, with the rest of the body of work mounted, packed and ready to be assessed and hung. This will allow the tutors and also the external examiner to be able to see a sample on the wall and also see the rest of the work when it comes to marking. 

As I have four 20x16 prints in frames, there might be a possibility that I could exhibit all four frames prints if there is enough room. To give an indication of how I want it for both Borough Road Gallery and Free Range if space allows, I have included a screenshot of my layout below.

Chosen Installation Layout for Free Range

The sequence of the images appear the same as the photo book which I wanted to replicate the journey I have taken, which I feel makes more sense rather than mixing the order up. As the pairs are quite similar, I have decided to leave a small gap between the sequence as each pair create a sense of panorama of the landscape. 

I will be placing my artist statement to the left of the image with a plinth placed in the middle under the photographs to display my photo book. I am hoping for the ‘X’ shaped plinth as this was the suitable height for the book to be displayed. I will also place protective gloves on the plinth for people to wear when they are handling the book to avoid any fingerprints.

If my work takes up too much space in the gallery, there are three different ways I could exhibit which are shown below.

Choice No. 1

Choice No. 2

Choice No. 3

Out of all three choices, the one I would pick least is the grid format. This is due to breaking up the sequence which I have been following throughout this project and reflects this in my photobook. It doesn’t give the sense of journey I have made and if I was to present it like this then any four images could have been chosen from the whole body of work rather than a specific part of the book. If I had to display all the work in Borough Road Gallery for assessment and there was limited space this would be the only option.

I will be sending Donald and my other tutors a PDF of the layout I would want once I have chosen which one I will want exhibited as I wont be present. This will include the height of the work, positioning etc.

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Installing the Fixings on the Frames

Now that the mirror plates were delivered, my next step was to secure the mirror plates to the frames. As previously mentioned I was going to use the standard fixings that were supplied with the frame which consisted of string being attached to either side of the frame, but as this could be time consuming with getting them the right length throughout, I thought it was much easier mirror plating the frames. 

The mirror plates will be secured in the centre of the frame on both sides of the image, with two small screws securing it to the back of the frame, and one screw used to hold it in the wall. To make sure the plate was in the middle, I firstly measured up the size of the frame which was 57cm. This was divided to get the middle of the frame which I marked at 28.5cm. 

I then marked the mirror plate half way and lined it up with the marker on the frame and then penciled in the hole for the screws so I knew exactly where I needed to drill.

I then chose a drill-bit small enough to make the hole as I didn’t want to make it too big and then the screw would then not grip the wood frames.

I then secured the mirror plates to the frames with small screws as shown below.

 I repeated the same process for all the frames and they were then packaged up ready to be taken to uni for assessment on 21st May. AS I won’t be present for hanging as previously mentioned, it has been agreed that Donald and possibly Dave or Simon will help with installation of my work for the assessment. To give them an idea how I ant it present in the space, I will be creating a pdf document of the exhibition consideration for the space to allow them to install the work as I want it. This will be sent to them via email and I will also explain the considerations in a blog post. 

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Arrival of Prints, Frames and Framing

Several days later, my frames and print had arrived via courier. Both items were well packed to avoid any damage in transit and also what was good there wasn’t lots of cardboard or packaging waste to throw away. 

I decided to check the items over thoroughly first to make sure there weren’t any issues with them. Everything seemed as it should from the frame, mounting and materials. When it comes to things, I can be a bit picky and I was a little about the frames. They weren’t as deep as I had hoped but they still looked really nice and would do the job just fine. 

Before the process of framing, I double checked that the mounts did cater for my 20x16 prints as they did say 4mm all around the image would be lost to stop the picture from falling through. To make sure that this wouldn’t happen I did print my 20x16 images with a border of 2inches all round. This border would allow me to secure the photo easier to the mount with tape.

The next step was to line the photo up with the mount for it to be square. To get the image to line up I worked out there was about 3.5mm gap between the frame and the start of the print which would give a consistent space around each side. I then secured a tiny piece of tape to each corner of the frame and then would check if everything was okay. I would then secure the print down to the mount with archival brown tape.

As the acrylic glass is protected on both sides, I took one side off which would be the front of the image. This didn’t matter about getting any hairs or dust as this can be wiped off with a microfibre towel or something similar. The second side was a bit more tricky as this would form inside of the frame so I didn’t want to get any dirt or dust which would be highly visible against the mount and image.

Unfortunately, this was highly unavoidable for each print as soon as the protective film was lifted the static would attract to the surface. I spent a considerable amount of time on each frame to try and avoid it the best I can including putting the mount as close to the protective film as possible. The best way I found to cure this was to peel it back and let the static attract the materials. I would then wipe the surface with a microfibre cloth to move as much particles and static as possible, and then apply a hairdryer on its highest power but on the cool setting to remove any final marks, which seemed to do its job pretty well. 

The barrier board and backing board would then be applied to keep the image flat against the mount along with keeping all the materials secure with folding over the small lugs on the outer frame. 

I repeated the same method throughout the four frames which can be seen below as the finished items.

I am very happy how they have turned out and look of professional quality. When getting to this stage it is not only a sense of relief, but also a massive achievement that the amount of money and time that has gone into this project from to and from the locations, through testing images, gaining feedback from many people, all the way to the finished items. It has definitely been a learning curve but it has been worthwhile! 

Unfortunately, I wont be here for the assessment show at Borough Road Gallery as I will be away on holiday so I will only see photos of this from students who have taken them, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing them on the wall in Free Range along with my photobook and material.

The next step with this will be to attach mirror plates to the frames once they arrive. I did order a wall hanging kit with these frames but I am not keen on the method fixing where a piece of string is attached to two rings on either side of the frames. I have always preferred mirror plates not only for ease of installation, but security and most important safety.

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Receiving the Book (damage)

After waiting approximately 10 days, my photobook arrived via courier on Wednesday 2nd May. Unfortunately on unwrapping the book, I noticed a large dent in the cover that was instantly visible, which of course was frustrating. I decided to carry on looking through the book to make sure everything else was right before I sent Blurb a message and asked to assist me further on the matter.

From assessing the damage, it was clear to see this had happened in transit due to the scuff on the cardboard.

I contacted Blurb through my account online and within the hour I received a reply and a new one would be put into production. 

Shortly after, I was scanning through the book and noticed that I had put I was travelling east instead of west. While this might have been a small mistake where many might have not noticed, if somebody did happen to notice this while looking at the maps clearly and in detail, it would possibly put them off potentially enquiring or purchasing it. I decided I would ask Blurb seeing as they were reprinting it if I could make this change and order the new version.

They replied over an hour later and were quite reserved to do this as this was my mistake and not theirs, but as I would need to order a fresh one anyway they decided to cancel the order they had put through and allow me to upload a new version and cover the costs of express delivery. I cannot fault the customer service I have always received from Blurb even though I would want to avoid this problem from the beginning, but it is nice to know that some companies do go out their way to satisfy their customer.  

I will update when my new photobook arrives which is meant to be 9/10th May.

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Chosen photos for prints & order

Now that I had placed an order for my frames, the next step was to select four photos to exhibit on the wall. For the pilot major project, it was quite easy to pick one photograph as it was the one that clearly stood out for me, but when it comes to several prints, I have always struggled to select them. I usually know one print that I want as its usually my favourite from the whole project, but I find it hard to get the balance right to decide on other images that work well with that one, whether it be similar composition, location, colours, subject matter etc. 

The main image I like from the whole body of work is the one shown below. This is due to the composition and colour present throughout the photos and feel there is a lot of detail to be seen in the image.

As this image has been used on all of my material, from the cover of my book to promotional material, I felt that this needed to be on the wall due to its strength and use. 

As I was stuck in a rut, I decided to get advice off my tutors and mention what my dilemma was in terms of using this image. From showing my concertina dummy of the images in sequence, it was mentioned that to keep with the theme it would be best to keep the images in sequence for the wall as well, and to use this image, the layout would consist of four images below.

I felt by creating the concertina book had done more than helping me with the book layout, but also provide assistance in the sequence for the images on the wall. It also allowed me to examine certain sequences through the book through missing out certain images etc. 

To keep it true to the sequence of the book from walking the line, it was decided that the layout above. I originally thought the images were too similar, but I felt that this worked quite well as in a way they created a panorama view as I pretty much standing in the same spot where each pair was taken. I also like how the outer images don’t really hold any indication of the line while the two images between them hold details of the railway. 

Now that the photographs have been chosen, I will now correctly size them up on Photoshop and order them through Spectrum.

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Artist Statement

Few weeks prior to our submission and assessment show, we were given a workshop session where we would be writing our artist statements for the catalogue/statement next to our work, where Simon and Katrina gave important professional advice on how to write about and present your work for the public. We were required to bring in a draft statement of around 130 - 200 words to the workshop to allow us to develop this with guidance. 

The statement I brought with me was the statement I have included at the start of my photobook which is shown below.

In the session we were given a few slides as examples to give us guidance. One slide was a set of prompts to get us thinking what to include into our statement, and the second was a short statement written by Simon for his own project, ‘Crowd Theory’.

With the guidance of Donald and Katrina, I was able to shorten my long statement to only include the key details and straight to the point, which eliminated the ‘waffle’. The remastered version is show below.

This statement will now be used for the catalogue, next to my work in the space and also for promotional material I may create.

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Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway Books

From researching the disused railway line, I have come across a few books which have been written about this line in particular. The first book I discovered online was ‘Rails to Bala’ which was compiled by several people; D. W. Southern, H. J. Leadbetter and S. A. Weatherley. The book was published by Charter Publications who are based in Rhuddlan, Clwyd, , North Wales in May 1987.

This book sets out to record pictorially the atmosphere and character of the two Great Western Railway branch lines that for many years served their small rural communities and gave them access to the ‘outside world’.

The second book I managed to find was  ‘Scenes from the past 25 years: Railways of North Wales - Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog’. This book was compiled again by D. W. Southern and assisted by Norman Jones. First published in 1994, this reprinted version was re-published in 2014 with further photographs and information regarding the line. 

This book solely concentrates on the line I am documenting showing photographs over may years upt ot the day of closure in January 1960. It also gives various diagrams of the line through the landscape, original tickets photocopied into the book, along with pages of text of information for the reader. 

Many of the photographs in book are stunning to see as this book has been bought when pretty much all of my photographic shoots had taken place. The images are full of detail and allow me to fully distinguish the location of each shot. To give you an indication of various shots from the line, I have included several copies of the photos below along with images that i have taken in the present day so you are able to see the difference of the land and track. To avoid damaging the spine of the book only a certain amount of images have been copied, but have included a link to the book if you want to purchase it.

Bala Station

Frongoch Station

Tyddyn Bridge

Capel Celyn / Llyn Celyn

Capel Celyn Halt

Arenig

Arenig Station

Cwm Prysor Station

Cwm Prysor Viaduct

Cwm Prysor

Bryncelynog Halt

Rails to Bala book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rails-LEADBETTER-WILLIAMS-WEATHERLEY-SOUTHERN/dp/0907157033

Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bala-Junction-Blaenau-Ffestiniog-Southern/dp/190962537X

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Frames for prints

From viewing many exhibitions before the final major project and during, I knew from the start that the body of work I was creating, I wanted these to be displayed in the traditional frames and mounts. This is a new step for me as most of my previous work has been unframed and mounted onto aluminium or a similar material.

I had also seen a few frames which were up on the walls of the University which I liked. As I didn’t have a measuring tape and only saw these when it was coming up to ordering the frames, I took a few photos of them and also used my hand and fingers as a rough guide to what they were, which I then could measure to get a route measurement.

Length of mount from image to frame 

Estimate of the thickness of the frame

I had previously bought some frames for some of my work from a Home Store such as ‘The Range’ and ‘Ikea’ but I have felt for the general photo these frames are great, but for professional exhibitions, I don’t think the frames are up to standard. They also seem to only be in the usual dimensions of photographs, which would limit me as I am shooting everything in 5x4 ratio for that documentary/large format look to them. 

As I haven’t got a massive budget to spend on my work, I wouldn’t be able to go into a framing shop as most likely they would be quite expensive, so I need to find a company who would be able to produce good quality frames but at a smaller cost. As the ‘go-to’ place for anything seems to be google, I decided to see if I could find a few companies who would be able to do good quality made to measure frames for my work. 

The company I found was ‘Frames.co.uk’. They are a company based in Manchester and offer standard or made to measure frames which I was looking for and their prices are pretty reasonable also. The process of choosing your frame is simple and allows you to choose your frame and mount size, wood finish and colours in minutes.

As four frames are quite expensive, I decided to order a few samples of the ones I was considering which can be seen below.

The sample sizes were 19mm, 20mm and 24mm with a flat and textured finish.

From looking at the samples, I decided I would go for the 20mm frame with the smooth stained finish as I felt this was the best option out of the three. 

The process to order your frames was pretty simple.

1) Firstly, you tell them the size of your image, which will allow the software on their website to work around this.

2) You choose the colour frame you want then the size of the frame with various finishes which have different rebate and frame depths.

3) You are then able to insert the border size of the mount depending how thick you want it and can choose a variety of colours if you wish. The image of the frame on the right hand side will change if you are making any changes, giving you an idea how your frame will look. For my frames I decided to make the border 60mm all-round as this was the estimated size from the frame I saw in university and also the framing choices of Paul Hart’s work at the Photographers’ Gallery which I previously posted about on my blog.

Now that the frame and mount has been chosen, I now needed to decide the finish of the acrylic. As I am considering ordering matt prints, I knew I wanted something with a little bit of reflection to them rather than a diffused finished but at the same time I didn’t want it too reflective with the light entering the space at Free Range.

The company offer various glazing options as shown below.

I decided to pick the super clear reflective as this is in between what I didn’t want. It was inexpensive also and only £1.77 less than the standard option.

The next option was to choose the accessories for the frames.

As I need to secure the frames on the wall, I needed to purchase a wall hanging kit which consists of two D-rings which are screwed onto two sides on back of the frames and then string is attached to this which then is held onto the wall by a screw. I also needed to order foam bumpers to stop the bottom of the frame hitting the wall and also a barrier board to stop the print from curling or rippling up in the frame.

As I have just under three weeks to get the frames delivered and the photographs inserted, I decided to choose priority service. Their usual service take 5-7 working days but need to allow up to 10 working days, but with the weekend approaching and bank holiday I didn’t know if there would be a backlog of frames to be processed by them, so I paid extra for them to be here sooner up to 3 working days to be on the safe side.

To secure the work, I also ordered archival brown tape to secure the photo to the mount which will not only keep it in position but last a long time. I have included a copy of my order invoice below. 

I am expecting the order to arrive on 3rd May and will post about the quality and if any problems have occurred when they arrive. The next step is to decide the final four images for the wall which will be the ones framed.

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Lightroom Book Design & PDF Test

Now I have decided on a layout for my photobook through creating the dummy, I will now be able to create the book design through Adobe Lightroom.

For the book size, I have decided it will be 13x11 landscape. This was influenced by the Ferodo photobook I created for the pilot major project. I felt this size allowed the viewer to see the photographs clearly. I am not a fan of small photobooks as I feel this is where you want to see the image clearly and make an impact. The second decision for printing the book at 13x11 is that it will allow me to insert the chosen photos at 10x8 to replicate a large format negative and create that documentary/fine art type of look. I have also decided that the photographs will remain on the right hand side of the page throughout the book for consistency and also as the book will be quite thick, the fold of the page might start to restrict the image.

To make sure that all the images are the same size throughout the book, I decided I would export all of the chosen images from the Lightroom catalogue to Photoshop. All colour corrections and adjustments were made here and then the images were reduced in size to 10x8 and placed on a white canvas of 13x10. These were all then saved into a specific folder so I knew where they would be and could import these versions back into Lightroom ready to assemble in the book design. I have included screenshots of the process below.

The next step was the drop them into the book in sequence.

After arranging the sequence, I decided to try and decide on a title and the cover page. I have always struggled with cover pages when I have created books, with what image to use, the font and text size, if the image will cover the whole page or just a section, or if I remove an image all together and just have text. The Ferodo book was pretty straight forward as I was able to use the old folder as the cover to replicate its use, but with this one I felt I wanted to use an image as an image is what draws the individual to look and gives an indication to what its about. 

After much consideration, I decided that I would keep the text simple and one of the images from the book on the cover. This will be small and the rest of the page white. The title I have gone for is Eradication. Even though I feel this isn’t the strongest title, I didn’t have anything else to consider. As the documentation is just more than ‘the line’ (possible title), I didn’t want to make it railway specific as I am looking at the environment, the history and politics of the area and so forth. This lead me to eradication as the definition for this word in the dictionary is ‘the complete destruction of something.’ This is highly relevant for the railway line and also the flooding of the village in the Tryweryn Valley. As I had spent weeks trying to think of a title, I decided to go with this. 

I have included a screenshot of the chosen cover below.

I decided that this was the final cover which I replicated for the first page of the book. This is something I missed out on my Ferodo book which seems the norm in photobooks. The font chosen is Calibri and the title is slightly large than my name. On the back of the book I decided to include the url to my website if anyone wishes to see more of my work.

The next step after the cover page was to insert the text and the maps. Again, I decided on a simple method of the two maps one above each other to allow the viewer to compare these easily. I decided to include some text below the map to allow the viewer to know when they were produced.

From drawing on the history a found on the internet and books, I decided to write a statement to go on the opposite page. Similar to Ferodo, I felt this body of work needed explaining due to its history and politics which surround the area, and about the line and location itself. After several statements and getting tutors to read through it, I managed to write a statement just under 200 words. I think the text gives the viewer a clear indication what it is about an allow them to think about the history while looking through the photographs which follow.

The final thing to do in the book was the create the final page, which would include acknowledgements of permission from using the maps, copyright status and also the url to my website. The acknowledgments text was what I was given from the National Library of Scotland and Ordnance Survey to include in the book. By getting in contact and gaining permission and including this in the book shows I have done my research and followed the correct procedures to re-use the maps suitably. 

Due to the size of the book, I have included a link to the PDF version below to allow you to view the complete book. Please note the images appear slightly pixelated to avoid any copies of the book being produced.

Drop Box Link -

 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yazsntwqafxrh1j/AABbVQBR269c_lKeWgFe2Shka?dl=0

Even though I had created a dummy of some sort with the layout, I decided I would print off a small pamphlet of the design so I could assess how it will actually be.

Even though this dummy is very simple, it has allowed me to see how my book will be and decide on the font type etc. Now that I am happy with the overall design, I will export the book as a pdf and upload this to the Blurb website. This takes a couple of hours to do due to the book file size. I will blog about the book when it arrives from Blurb.

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Wall Diagram of Images

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Promotional Material for Free Range

I have visited many exhibitions over the years but I struggle to remember which ones I have seen after several months. This can be who’s or what the exhibition was about or even when and where I saw it, which many others probably suffer the same. On visiting these spaces, I always see if there are any information sheets or pamphlets I can take away with me. I find these are key things as this is the only piece of the exhibition I will always remember as I can keep it. This may be to reflect on what I saw, to jolt my memory, or even contact the artist months or years down the line. It could also be something I saw which has inspired me and gained inspiration from. 

Due to this, I have decided I want to create some promotional material myself which allow the viewer to take something away and remember my installation in Free Range. Presentation has always been something I always try to achieve the best and thrive on, and I feel this little detail can make a big difference.

Even though a lot of information is good on the material, I didn’t want something that was too large such as an A4 pieces of paper as I always find I fold them up and place them with many other pieces of paper I have. Due to this, I have decided I want something smaller around A5 size, which will include several details which include my name, title and artist statement of my project, name and date of the exhibition, and also my url to my website. I personally feel these are the most important details and less is sometime more because if they like my work then the link to my website can give them more info about my project(s), about myself and links to social media etc.

The next important step of this process it to find a suitable company to produce these leaflets which are of good quality but at the same time cost efficient. My ‘go-to’ company has always been MOO, who are an online print and design company London. They offer a variety of business cards and other printed materials to customers in over 190 countries, and has six locations across the United Kingdom and United States. They also offer templates to help you gain inspiration or simply allow you to create your own design from scratch. The quality and design of their products have always been good for me when I have ordered business cards in the past.

Before deciding on the type of promotional material I wanted, I decided to request sample packs of their business cards, flyers and other material they offer. These were a combination of print finishes, type of paper used etc.

I went through various templates of their A5 flyers but none seemed to be what I wanted, so I decided to create my own. On one side of the flyer, I decided I wanted an image from my project along with my name, title, location and date of the exhibition. On the back I included my website link and artist statement. The created template can be seen below which was the final design.

I really wanted something clean and to the point which I feel I have achieved in this flyer. As I am not entirely sure how many people will be visiting Free Range, or how many will take them, so I printed several hundred then at least I can distribute them pre and post event to the people I invite etc. 

I also decided to purchase some business cards which I will keep on me for the event and give to people if they are interested in my work etc.I also hadn’t had any made for my fine art work, and only my commercial site so I thought it would be more professional for what my work is and direct them to the correct site and not my commercial site. I have included a screenshot of the business cards below.

I have decided not to put business cards out as I feel it will start to become too much with the flyers and the body of work, as business cards are more of a contact ‘thing’ rather than handing them out without you actually giving it to a person. Where as with the flyer, it can be taken by the person and is more of a wider audience thing.

I feel these add to how attention to detail I am with my presentation of my work and hope that they do help in the promotion of my work.

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Free Wales Army & Movement for the Defence of Wales)

Free Wales Army and Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (Movement for the Defence of Wales), abbreviated as MAC, were two paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, which was responsible for a number of bombing incidents between 1963 and 1969. The group's activities primarily targeted infrastructure carrying water to the English city of Liverpool.

MAC was initially set up in response to the flooding of the Afon Tryweryn valley and the flooding of the village of Capel Celyn to provide water for Liverpool. Its founders were Owain Williams, John Albert Jones and Emyr Llywelyn Jones. On 10 February 1963 a transformer at the dam construction site was blown up by three men, of whom one, Emyr Llywelyn Jones, was identified, convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment. MAC blew up an electricity pylon at Gellilydan on the day of his conviction. This led to the arrest and conviction of Owain Williams and John Albert Jones.

The leadership of the organisation was later taken over by John Barnard Jenkins, a former non-commissioned officer in the British Army's Royal Army Medical Corps. Under his leadership, MAC was suspected by British police to have been behind the bombing of the Clywedog dam construction site in 1966. In 1967 a pipe carrying water from Lake Vyrnwy to Liverpool was blown up which was another valley that was flooded to supply water to Liverpool 80 years before Tryweryn. 

Later the same year MAC exploded a bomb at the Temple of Peace and Health in Cardiff's civic centre, close to a venue which was to be used for a conference to discuss the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. In 1968 a tax office in Cardiff was blown up, followed the same year by the Welsh Office building in the same city, then another water pipe at Helsby, Cheshire. In April 1969 a tax office in Chester was the next target. On 30 June 1969, the evening before the investiture, two members of MAC, Alwyn Jones and George Taylor, were killed when a bomb they had been placing near government offices exploded prematurely. On the day of the investiture, two other bombs were planted in Caernarfon, one in the local police constable's garden which exploded as the 21 gun salute was fired. Another was planted in an iron forge near the castle but failed to go off. The final bomb was placed on the Llandudno Pier and was designed to stop the Royal Yacht Britannia from docking - this too failed to explode. In November 1969 John Jenkins was arrested, and in April 1970 was convicted of eight offences involving explosives and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. In an interview shown on the BBC2 4 July 2009, John Jenkins repeated his intention that the bombs were never planted or timed to hurt people but just to disrupt the ceremony. Although there were further bombings, there is no evidence that MAC were involved.

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Ordering concertina book & 5x4 prints for book dummy

One of the most important parts when creating a photo book is creating a book dummy. It will allow you to transfer from what you regularly see on screen to print which in most cases has a different feel to it due to the physicality, the scale and dimensions of the images. It will allow you to analyse what you have created and see if the images work as a single image, in pairs or with text. From viewing the physical book, it will allow you to go back and edit out or adjust the images or text you feel doesn’t work as well and replace it with ease. By conducting this process, it will save you a considerable amount of money if your book goes to print and when it arrives back it is not exactly how you pictured it. 

After looking through thousands of images from my photoshoots of the location, I research several different companies which would allow me to print 5x4 ratio print, which included bonusprint, snapfish, photobox and truprint.

After looking at costs and offers they had on at the time, I purchased around 100 prints from Truprint. To allow me to play around with the layout and see the image one after the other, I ordered a A5 size concertina book from Amazon. 

As my project is a journey along the track through documenting what I see, I had decided that I wanted to keep all the images in sequence of the order I took them. This made the process of elimination slightly easier as I knew what I wanted to keep and what was not as appealing. 

Once all the items arrived, I placed all of the 5x4 images across the floor and then put them in sequence from start to finish. I would then eliminate the most similar images from the sequence and the ones which didn’t stand out for me. I wanted a combination of images of the tracked, the surrounding landscape and at other elevated positions which clearly show the route through the landscape.

Once I had decided on the images I wanted, I started placing them in the concertina book with Blu-tac to get a general layout of the images. This method allowed me to see if the images worked next to each other and allow me to quickly include ‘filler’ images or remove any images which didn’t fit in with the sequence.

The images above are the finished layout. I ran out of space on one side so had to continue the order on the opposite side. There is 39 images in total and then the maps and text at the start of the book.

Now that I have decided on the order of the book, I can now make final adjustments to the images through my Lightroom catalogue and start to put the images in order.

[jamiestevensphotographyfmp]

Eighth Shoot - Cwm Prysor to Bryncelynog Halt

Now that my time back in North Wales for Easter was coming to an end, I only had one day left to photograph the last section of track that I wanted to document which was from Cwm Prysor to Bryncelynog Halt. I had previously walked a section of this when I documented the viaduct but that was before I knew the direction of my project and was concentrating on just industrialisation locations across North Wales.

Unfortunately, the days leading up to photographing this section was not photographable due to extreme rain which lead to only this day being available to shoot, which promised rain and fog. On arrival at the location after an hours drive, the forecast was correct and extreme fog and light persistent rain was present through this area of Snowdonia. After stopping at the location for a few minutes, I continued passed where I would photograph and headed towards Bala to see if the fog was lifting in this direction but there weren’t any signs of it clearing any time soon.

This made me decide to turn back around and chance walking the location, simply because it was the last opportunity to do so. Suited up in my waterproofs, I headed along the trackbed in the direction of the viaduct. 

Like all previous shoots, I have included a link to DropBox below of the majority of the image captured from the section which are unedited - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h6f7srd4o28r7h0/AADnMpP3lrDcUvY1P3bhR1S5a?dl=0

With the same approach, I decided to photograph anything that seemed to stand out, from the smallest of details to the wide landscape, but not much could be seen due to the density of the fog. Even though this was a bit frustrating as I wanted consistent weather throughout the images, it would still fit in as this location was subject to some of the worse weather conditions in the area as the track is perched on the edge of the valley several hundred feet above sea level. I would like to add that due to the nature of the location and the thick fog, I was assessing the weather constantly and also my own safety walking this section, and if the weather did turn I would walk back and abandon the shoot.

The start of this section has been heavily reclaimed by nature with a forest plantation on the side of the existing route. I decided to take a few photos of this with myself going into the forest in one section and looking back towards the trackbed

I quite liked the frame of the small tree growing on the edge with the small pool of water and ‘bogginess’ in the foreground with the tree branchess looking like they are getting closer and closer to ‘close off’ the route as a way saying it is now reclaimed to previous. 

The extent of the fog can be seen in the image below.

Farmers tracks now occupying the trackbed

On arrival at the viaduct, the weather was getting worse with higher density fog working its way through the valley. This lead me to take a few images of the location but I knew they weren’t going to live up to expectation and that the ones I captured on the previous shoot here were much better due to the weather conditions. This lead me to keep shooting this area but would use the original images of this location, and only beyond this point would be the images from today. I have included a few shots of this area below showing the weather conditions.

Further along the route, the track is perched on the edge of Cwm Prysor, with a combination of sheer drops and large rock cuttings to keep the gradient of the trackbed as consistent as possible.

Nealry 60 years on, nature has reclaimed the majority of the trackbed. The image below we can see an intact platelayers’ hut built out of brick to withstand the harsh weather this location endures. 

I felt it was hard to photograph this section of line as most of it was either the same or ‘dead-footage’ due to the fog, but I continued towards the direction of Bryncelynog halt.

From the image above we can see the modernised A4212 road which was only a farm track back when the railway was running. The trackbed can be seen on the right hand side of the image.

Around about a quarter of a mile from Bryncelynog, part of the track was visible on the side of the path. I am unsure why this was here as the rest of the track was remove when it was decommissioned.

At this point was where I thought Bryncelynog station was from looking at old maps and the railway books, but only after I had gone home I realised that the halt was just beyond the bridge in the following photos. 

As the weather started to deteriorate, I headed back the way I came and decided to put the camera away as the rain started to get heavier. Many of the images I shot were covered in rain spots which has lead to a considerable amount of time spent removing these for the images.

Even though this section was harder to document due to the weather conditions, I feel that I could use several of the images beyond Cwm Prysor viaduct towards Bryncelynog halt, and could be incorporated into the photobook.

The next steps for me is to now print off all the images I feel that have potential to make the book and place them in a book dummy to start narrowing them down.

[jamiestevensphotographyfmp]

Free Wales Army

The drowning of the Cwm Celyn valley and the Capel Celyn village to make a reservoir for Liverpool despite all Welsh MP's voting against the scheme made many...

An interesting piece of archival film about the Free Wales Army which was started due to the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley.

[jamiestevensphotographyfmp]

Importance of Exhibitions

“An exhibition is an organised presentation and display of a carefully selected number of items.” - Eftaiha, 2010. Exhibitions can be permanent where they are displayed in museums or art galleries, or they can be temporary where a pre-scheduled date is organised for the work to be installed, exhibited and taken down.

There are many benefits into exhibiting you work. These include:

• Becoming recognised as an artist • Selling your work • Gaining feedback • Opening pathways • Celebrate

Becoming recognised as an artist

I feel that this is one of the main reasons you would want to exhibit as you want to show as many people as possible your work. This is why it is important to carefully consider your work in relation to a gallery context as many people including well known artists/photographers might see your work. If it is not of a high standard they wont be interested in your work. I feel that my work that was exhibited was of a professional standard by considering the equipment I used, the technical aspects of my imagery and also the final production to get the work printed and fixed to the wall.

Selling your work

Selling your work is very important in the art industry as this is the way you will make a career from it. Many artists struggle to make good amounts of money from their work unless you are well-known in the industry. Making sales would also give you an idea of what the public likes and what they don’t like. That said, it is important to not let this put you down, abandon your own style, or change your ideals. I decided that I wouldn’t advertise my work as for sale, but if somebody did approach me, I wouldn’t hesitate to say no because then your work can be seen by other people and help promote it forward.

Gaining feedback

It is important to gain feedback when exhibiting as this will help you consider the choices you have made and see what people think of these decisions. If they aren’t particularly keen, this shouldn’t be a negative thing as it could help improve and consider different ways you could exhibit. It doesn’t matter if feedback has been given by a friend or family member, all of the feedback received will help your decision making. It is also important to gain feedback from experts in the field as they were once in the same situation as you. It is important to communicate with them and take on board what people have to say as this is what will help develop your knowledge.

Opening pathways

Not many people will know what will come out from exhibiting your work, but if you do not put your work out to the public, you will never know. Pathways might not automatically open up once you have exhibit, but they could happen over the next few months/years as somebody who saw your work might remember and contact you at a later date. This is another reason why it is important to show your best work that contains a lot of quality as this will improve the chance of pathways opening up in the future.

Celebrate

Organising and exhibition and producing work in a short amount of time is very stressful and can become very expensive. It is important to celebrate the success of your work once it is complete and in the gallery space. It is important to invite friends, family and also professionals in the field to see your work which will also help you gain feedback. An opening evening is always a great way to open your exhibition and to celebrate your success as an artist.