Return to The Public (20th June):

My work plans in Birmingham changed over the three days giving me time to do some more photography before returning home. I decided I would try the sequence of composition and document my movement from the centre of the city out to The Public in West Bromwich. I had worked with The Public in the past and was aware of some of its troubled history so this felt like a very personal journey, it was the first time I had seen the building open and fully operational. I started with images of the hotel and my coats in the car. I then moved to my first sighting of the building, including the building works that seem to be taking place all around it. I particularly noted their notice that said they had now had 500,000 visitors which I framed behind the building works as for many visitors they are the first thing that can be seen.

Through the doors I then tried to capture some of the quirkiness of the interior, it is a building like no other and trying to convey that is quite difficult. The dominance of the colour pink on and in the building is certainly one of its more unusual features and seeing the red car parked in front of the pink window for some reason really made me laugh it was a shot I had to capture.

I was there first thing in the morning so there were very few people around and I felt quite conscious of taking images of people so tended to steer away from them. I did however, ask at reception if it was alright to take photographs in the building and they seemed more than happy for me to do so. There was a photographic exhibition on the ground floor of local students and I thought there was some really captivating work. One of the students had done some beautiful cityscapes around Birmingham capturing the feel of the canals and walkways.

It was good, after all the controversy, to see the building open and being able to document my visit visually seemed really important. I enjoyed working with the camera in this way and would like to work more on the ‘storytelling’ potential of my images.

Nesting Robin (29^th & 30^th May):

We were lucky to have a pair of Robin’s nesting in our hedge and every morning they would appear with sticks and moss and pause on the support cane before disappearing. I thought this would make an appealing subject for the exercise about exploring positioning within the frame. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get the exposure and the movement right. The first set were all over exposed so I tried again the following morning, while these were better and served to illustrate the point of the exercise they are still not as strong as I would have liked them to be. I guess I may not be a natural wildlife photographer!

While this was a subject I was interested in and engaged with its choice for this exercise was perhaps not the right one. I needed something more static with a relatively uniform background so that I didn’t have to work with too many variables at once. This has been valuable in helping me think more about what I am trying to achieve and how best to go about it. It has also shown me that I am still ‘consciously incompetent’ about some of the technical aspects of working with a DSLR. It was another useful step in getting me going though.

Barcelona Hotel (12^thJuly):

I had read through to the end of the chapter in the AoP workbook and knew what was required for the first formal assignment in terms of contrasting pairs. I was staying in Barcelona for a conference and had taken my camera so I could carry on with the exercises. My hotel room was long, thin and quite dark but it had an extraordinary bathroom. I was captivated by the arrangement of the toiletries, their colours, shapes and the play of light across the glass washbasin. This is the first image I took in the pairs set as I thought it might serve as the image for two contrasts in one – thick and thin. I think this set the scene for me wanting to create a set of images that are perhaps tongue in cheek and not what might be expected. There was a lot of light reflection so I was pleased to be able to get an image that had some clarity. It also served as a good warm up for thinking about and spotting contrasts in other contexts. I was feeling quite motivated about tackling the assignment.

Urban Flowers and Flight (19^th June):

I was in Birmingham over  a couple of days for work and couldn’t help noticing a number of flowers around my hotel growing out of pavements and behind railings and that were very much part of the urban landscape. As I was staying overnight I decided to take some photos of these urban flowers and then realised I could use it as an opportunity to try the positioning exercise again. I knew I wasn’t happy with the Robin images so this gave me a chance to try again. I found the white flowers set against the brickwork and took the images show on the exercises page. Unlike before both foreground and background were relatively static this time and the results were closer to what I think the exercise intended. In my opinion the flowers in the centre work lest well and I prefer the focal point to one side.

As I was wandering about and finding the flowers I also came across a group of Magpies who were hopping between the warehouses so I decided I would also try the panning exercise. I was highly sceptical that I would be able to do this easily and was pleased to find that I could track the birds as they flew. I need to do more work on getting the right balance of focus, shutter speed and exposure but I do feel more confident in trying it again. At least I know it is possible now.

WordPress Training (21^st May):

I have been looking through the blogs of some of the other AoP students and really like it as a medium for capturing my learning and development. I was also in the process of setting up Infinite Curiosity as a new enterprise and thought this would be a good combination. I had done some blogging as part of a group in the past but had done very little of the admin so thought it was time to build my WordPress understanding. In fact it had got to the point where everything seemed to have stopped until I had the right space to upload the work. I found a course in London and went along for my introductory day.

I found it a really useful grounding and it helped me get a sense of what was possible, as well as how much work is needed to keep generating content. I followed it up by buying the domain name and using the trainers as the host, so what held some trepidation initially was relatively easy. However, I did become somewhat overwhelmed by the time needed to take the images, negotiate WordPress, and utilise Photoshop. Ironically, while on the one hand I felt freed of the domination of technology in terms of the camera, the IT side did begin to take over. As a result I still tend to keep my learning log in the desktop and procrastinate about loading up the work.

I feel the course did give me a useful springboard but I still need further training in terms of using images and finding more flexibility in layout and the look and feel of the site. I am mindful of trying not to let it dominate actually doing the photography though.

Yellow Orbs (3rd May)

This exercise had been playing on my mind and I hadn’t been able to find time to get on with it. While I was out one afternoon the climbing frame really caught my eye from the moment I saw it. There was something in the shape and the colours that were really attractive and I thought it would make an unusual subject.

Unfortunately, all I had on me at the time was my iPhone so my ability to control the shots was limited, I had to physically move toward the climbing frame to change the position in the frame. I intended to go back with the DSLR and see what difference it would make but I that was for another day. Nonetheless, I felt it was still a helpful exercise for thinking about how the subject is framed and the impact different positioning can have. I have a natural inclination to a more abstract framing that keeps you guessing about what the subject is and so my preference is for the close up shot where the yellow orbs really dominate the frame and you are not really sure what it is.

Drought (1st May)

I really enjoyed doing this exercise. I had thought about possible subject matter for a few days, most of which was outside, but it had been pouring with rain for several days. I initially thought about going to the M3 motorway and then remembered the waterfall at Virginia Water. This afternoon the rain finally stopped and the sun appeared so I dashed over to the park. It turned out to be a good decision because the waterfall was far more boisterous than I had ever seen it before. The floodwater was obviously coming down from across the lakes. There were very few people in the park and I was able to set my tripod up and get almost solitary access to the space. I had seen incredibly beautiful shots of water taken by other people and I wanted to see how it was done.

I knew this meant slowing down the shutter speed, but found that with my first frames all this produced were some badly overexposed images. Following the rain the sun was now quite bright. I went as slow as the camera would allow adjusting the shutter speed manually but the problem remained and I was a bit flummoxed. Then I remembered what was once known as film speed and wondered what ISO setting I was using. As I suspected I had it on a relatively high ISO and once this was reduced I was able to slow down the shutter speed and start to achieve the motion blur I was looking for.

This was one of those instances where looking through the viewfinder was not enough, I needed to know how the camera worked in order to get close to what I wanted to take. Although I think there were a couple of overexposed spots where the sunlight was hitting the top of the waterfall I was pleased with the motion blur shots, they turn the water almost into fabric, like a veil sitting over the rocks. I think this is something I will come back to in future in terms of thinking about photographing movement.

The Aperture exercises (17^th & 18^th April): I just wanted to get going so started on the bookshelves and then went to the University carpark. I’m not overly pleased with the content of either of the sets of images but I guess I tended to treat it more as a technical exercise than an opportunity to be particularly creative. This is something I need to be mindful of in future as engagement with subject matter seems crucial to producing a good image.

My preferred image for Simon’s Cat is where that book is the main focal point. I think it carries more interest and draws the eye in more effectively than the others. The parking images are all a bit dull and I don’t find that any of them have a particularly strong focal point.

Different focal lengths (17^th April): Well this is it, toe in the water. Having read through the exercises I was clear on what was required and as I was sitting in the garden when I read through what was needed I decided to use the bird feeder hanging in the apple tree as the focal point.

I was doing fine until the requirement to close one eye, which threw me because I then couldn’t see very well through the other eye. I decided I would just have to do what I could and moved on to using the three focal lengths.

Holding the printed images against the subject is not something I had done before and it was really helpful in reinforcing the differences between the focal lengths.

Reading through the introduction I feel relatively comfortable with the approach. I was really pleased to read the section about equipment versus image as it made it clear that while technical ability has to be part of the process it is not going to be the sole focus. The text seems to suggest that it is important to strike a middle ground between knowing the equipment and seeing an image. Otherwise, for me there is a danger that you always need that extra lens, the latest gadget, which could become somewhat debilitating in terms of actually taking strong images.

I am probably one of those less interested in the equipment and more concerned with how I find a good image. I don’t think I am fearful of the technology but I do see it more as a tool and I know I quickly lose interest if there is too much talk of f.stops, stopping up and down, quantifying focal length etc.

I really liked the notion that ‘the most important piece of equipment you own is your camera’s viewfinder. How you use that makes the biggest difference of all.’ Freeman, M (2010) Photography 1: The Art of Photography, OCA: Barnsley, England