Final Evaluation -

Overall Evaluation Unit One - 

 The artist research that I have conducted has greatly inspired me in the formation of my own portfolio work. Some of the largest inspirations to me include: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Maier and Aaron Siskind. Bresson’s impact can best be seen in my documentary response series; the decisive moment, a term often employed by Bresson, allowed me to precisely capture images which accurately depicted the action of the moment within an individual frame. Additionally, the nature of the temporal context when Bresson was prevalent meant that his images were black and white which well linked to my theme of documenting the happy and more difficult times in family life. Bresson was a photographer who often depicted societal issues in his work whereas I chose to depict the more intimate issues of family life. Another influential photographer to me was Vivian Maier. Maier became well known, after her death, for documentary photography often depicting working class America but also for her intriguing deadpan self-portraits that were an exploration into a conflicted self-identity. Maier allowed me to experiment with portraiture in intriguing ways that challenged stereotypical pieces. I was able to take self-portraits in the style of Maier by using techniques such as shadow portraits, reflections and other such techniques. Siskind served as an extremely large inspiration in this process due to his abstract images of urban landscapes. Whilst photographing the formal elements Siskind’s work gave me the opportunity to practice with surreal ideas and close-up photographs of the modern landscape that was available to me.

Some of the technical skills that I have developed over the process are within the fields of camera, studio and editing. To begin with, I learnt the functionality of aperture, ISO and shutter speed and how they all work together in unison. I also learnt how to use my DSLR cameras settings. For instance, I learnt how to shoot in different settings so that in the printing process the quality would not be compromised. In relation to studio work I have learnt how to set up soft box lighting, backdrops and how to fire the lights using different channels. For example, the soft box lighting had to be given the correct settings, changed to the right channel to match the firing tool and I also had to calibrate it with my camera which was a new concept. Furthermore, I began using the software Photoshop CC 2014 for the first time at the start of this project. I learnt new techniques from simple tools such as ‘Spot Healing Brush’ to the more difficult ‘Levels’ tool.

Retrospectively looking back at my work I can see the development from an amateur, other than as a hobby, to someone with knowledge in the construction of a photograph. Originally, my knowledge in producing photographs was limited to fully manual settings and a simple understanding of composition such as the grid method.

I have experimented with a variety of techniques during the process of unit one including technical experiments, created using Photoshop, and physical manipulation inspired by photographers such as Dryden Goodwin. These extremes of manipulating photographs allowed me to develop my later photoshoots with more implicit similar techniques. A variety of techniques that I employed included using scissors to cut into images, liquify tools and selective colourisation.

I have discovered that the largest direction that my work has taken, or that I would further like to develop upon, is documentary photography. During the Christmas holiday period I carried a camera around with me at all times, much like Bresson and Maier, to capture the tribulations and ecstasies of everyday life. I use similar ideas as depicted by the two prior mentioned photographers in a modern way to create a timeless nature to the institute of the family. However, I would also like to practice using film cameras and developing my own film in a dark room to further understand the sub-category of documentary photography.

In my opinion, I believe that my most successful areas include documentary, studio portraiture and one of the formal elements of pattern. Documentary in the private sphere of family felt natural to me to depict the working class people in a relatable manner although it would be more difficult to capture strangers who fit into societal sub-categories to display personal opinions due to pragmatics understood by most people. On the other hand, my least successful areas included some of the earliest formal elements such as line and form. Now, after completing the unit one portfolio I believe that my understanding of the formal elements could improve the outcomes currently depicted. Overall, I believe that my project was mainly successful with a few areas for improvement.