Spent a lot of the time between Christmas and the New Year trying to create a book out of the large number of photographs I have taken in the past months on my chosen topic. Sometimes a lot of choice is too much choice and I found myself changing my mind both on the images selected and the overall structure. After a great deal of thought I came to the conclusion that much of the problem lay in trying to include too many different themes and ideas. Whilst each of these themes were valid they were incompatible in the sense that no matter how they were dealt with the change in emphasis caused confusion and uncertainty in the whole package.
After a great deal of angst I decided to go back to basics. It was whilst I was thinking through this strategy I was reminded that the overall title of the Course was "My own Portfolio". I believe that this is the key that it was my portfolio and that I should be at ease with the content and that it was a true representation of my work. Whilst acknowledging the input of others (and over the period of the Course I changed the main emphasis from the more obvious costume wearing of Morris Dancers and re-enactment Societies to looking at a much broader picture) it is important for me to own the work that I produce, The photo essay, produced in the form of a book, should be above all else my work to which I could happily put my name. It needs to be coherent, include material that illustrate the stance that I have taken, whilst engaging the viewer.
One outcome of this decision was that I recognised that I was wrestling with too much material much of which was included because of my attachment to it. There was duplication that did little to add to the story and on occasion was a negative element. More does not necessarily mean better and in this particular case it was obvious that it made things worse. I therefore had to re-think my overall strategy and whilst remaining within the agreed brief produce a piece of work that I could submit for assessment with a good chance of it being acceptable. This decision has allowed me to move on with greater confidence.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Sorting it All Out
Spent the last three days trying to sort out those images I wish to use in the final submission. I had about 1800 images that I had taken for the project over the past 10 months covering a wide range of 'costumes' and activities from around England. As stated in previous blogs I widened the scope of the project by including modern day wear on the grounds that we all make a statement about our perceived personality in the way that we dress. I also agreed with my Tutor, in his response to Assignment 4, on the way that the images could be presented. I moved from the original proposal to present the work in a purely linear form to a more complex, but more interesting, layout. These changes required an structured approach to resolving the various issues around which images to use and which to discard. As always there is the conflict between those images that best tell the story and those that I personally like that have a less certain relevance to what it is I want to produce.
I arrived at the decision as to how best to achieve my aim by returning to the original RAW files. I then discarded those images that 'failed' either because they were less relevant, similar images to others, because of technical issues or photographer failure ( I did take the opportunity of examining the photographer failures to learn from my mistakes). The remaining images (132) I printed as Contact Sheets. I cut up the contact sheets creating individual images and then placed the individual images into different groups that I felt offered the best chance to discover what I wanted. Using Lightroom I examined these and discarded those where the story I wished to tell was best served by other images. Currently I have 98 images that need further decision but I have l left the final decision to after I have mocked up a book to see the 'best fit'.
There is also the need to consider the text within the book and the best way to provide narrative and captions. To this end I have returned to a study of the book "Context and Narrative" [Short M (2011) "Context and Narrative" Lausanne AVA Publishing SA] as it offers a number of pointers and suggestions that will assist me in the provision of the text.
I arrived at the decision as to how best to achieve my aim by returning to the original RAW files. I then discarded those images that 'failed' either because they were less relevant, similar images to others, because of technical issues or photographer failure ( I did take the opportunity of examining the photographer failures to learn from my mistakes). The remaining images (132) I printed as Contact Sheets. I cut up the contact sheets creating individual images and then placed the individual images into different groups that I felt offered the best chance to discover what I wanted. Using Lightroom I examined these and discarded those where the story I wished to tell was best served by other images. Currently I have 98 images that need further decision but I have l left the final decision to after I have mocked up a book to see the 'best fit'.
There is also the need to consider the text within the book and the best way to provide narrative and captions. To this end I have returned to a study of the book "Context and Narrative" [Short M (2011) "Context and Narrative" Lausanne AVA Publishing SA] as it offers a number of pointers and suggestions that will assist me in the provision of the text.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Shooting the Single Picture and Luck
In their book [Jay B, Hurn D. (2008) "On Being a Photographer" Third Edition Lens WorkPublishing Anacortes WA] Hurn and Jay have a section entitled "Shooting the Single Picture" (pp 63 -78). In this section we read "I do believe that very often the difference between an average photographer and a really fine photographer is this willingness to admit doubt..........The fine photographer says in effect : Well thats a pretty good effort but I am willing to admit that many little subtleties of camera position, which I cannot pre-see, might make the difference between an adequate image and a good one"" (p.64) In the same paragraph Hurn goes on to assert that the fine photographer is willing to try all sorts of subtle permutations to achieve the best result. He then goes on to deny that this process is the same as shooting a lot of pictures in the hope that one works.
At first reading the statement appears to offer a sound reason why the fine photographer is more successful in getting the best picture and yet in actual practice there is no discernible difference between the two approaches. Here I assume that the average photographer is not simply pointing the camera at a particular spot and without moving the camera presses the shutter repeatedly. In the supposed thought processes of the fine photographer offered in the above paragraph it is recognised that s/he cannot pre-see what differences subtle changes will make. It follows that much depends upon luck and Hurn acknowledges this later in the section at p.73 when he says: "Paradoxically , the more static the scene the more images I tend to shoot. When there is only one moving element, say the hand of the person you are photographing , it is very, very difficult to decide which gesture, which position of the wrist or fingers is going to be the most significant.
It is often argued that the skilled worker makes his own luck - the harder I work the luckier I become - and yet, in a strict sense, this cannot be true. "Luck" is necessarily unpredictable as it is a chance event that cannot be predicted either because it is truly random or the complexities of the many interacting elements is beyond the power of the human mind to predict the outcome. The one thing that can be hoped for by a photographer is being in the right place at the right time and ready to shoot the photograph. One can never be certain that, even in the relatively short time necessary to 'subtly' change the position of the camera, the best shot has been missed. Hurn himself admits that only one shot in over 3000 is of exhibition standard and that he would anticipate shooting between 700 and 1000 images for a seven picture essay (p.100). It is difficult to equate these statements with the idea that the fine photographer is in some way marked out by his/her approach to how many shots taken when compared with the average photographer.
One thing that can effect the outcome of a shoot is the experience of the photographer. Practice does not necessarily make perfect (after all, unless corrected, the average photographer can continue to repeat the mistakes evident in early work) but it does provide the right mental responses to events if the lessons are learnt from earlier mistakes. Photography is essentially about light and how it is captured and, I make the reasonable assumption that, the more the photographer is exposed to the effect of shifting light and the subtle changes it will bring about in the image the more likely he will respond at the instinctive level where action precedes rational thought.
Yet there is also an intangible in the equation which is how the photographer sees the world and how it can be portrayed in photographs. I would argue that the fine photographer has a view of the world that can be expressed successfully in a photograph. We can all learn, almost by rote, the rules of photography and may apply them to our images yet the image is pedestrian and lacking in impact even where (and most likely because) all the rules have been applied slavishly without regard to their applicability to the single picture. I would suggest that the fine photographer instinctively knows when to break the rules to achieve the desired end.
At first reading the statement appears to offer a sound reason why the fine photographer is more successful in getting the best picture and yet in actual practice there is no discernible difference between the two approaches. Here I assume that the average photographer is not simply pointing the camera at a particular spot and without moving the camera presses the shutter repeatedly. In the supposed thought processes of the fine photographer offered in the above paragraph it is recognised that s/he cannot pre-see what differences subtle changes will make. It follows that much depends upon luck and Hurn acknowledges this later in the section at p.73 when he says: "Paradoxically , the more static the scene the more images I tend to shoot. When there is only one moving element, say the hand of the person you are photographing , it is very, very difficult to decide which gesture, which position of the wrist or fingers is going to be the most significant.
It is often argued that the skilled worker makes his own luck - the harder I work the luckier I become - and yet, in a strict sense, this cannot be true. "Luck" is necessarily unpredictable as it is a chance event that cannot be predicted either because it is truly random or the complexities of the many interacting elements is beyond the power of the human mind to predict the outcome. The one thing that can be hoped for by a photographer is being in the right place at the right time and ready to shoot the photograph. One can never be certain that, even in the relatively short time necessary to 'subtly' change the position of the camera, the best shot has been missed. Hurn himself admits that only one shot in over 3000 is of exhibition standard and that he would anticipate shooting between 700 and 1000 images for a seven picture essay (p.100). It is difficult to equate these statements with the idea that the fine photographer is in some way marked out by his/her approach to how many shots taken when compared with the average photographer.
One thing that can effect the outcome of a shoot is the experience of the photographer. Practice does not necessarily make perfect (after all, unless corrected, the average photographer can continue to repeat the mistakes evident in early work) but it does provide the right mental responses to events if the lessons are learnt from earlier mistakes. Photography is essentially about light and how it is captured and, I make the reasonable assumption that, the more the photographer is exposed to the effect of shifting light and the subtle changes it will bring about in the image the more likely he will respond at the instinctive level where action precedes rational thought.
Yet there is also an intangible in the equation which is how the photographer sees the world and how it can be portrayed in photographs. I would argue that the fine photographer has a view of the world that can be expressed successfully in a photograph. We can all learn, almost by rote, the rules of photography and may apply them to our images yet the image is pedestrian and lacking in impact even where (and most likely because) all the rules have been applied slavishly without regard to their applicability to the single picture. I would suggest that the fine photographer instinctively knows when to break the rules to achieve the desired end.
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Wonder Wall
This image is of a part of a wall in my house:-
The reason I named it as I did was because, having posted all the photographs, I wondered where to go from there!
When I decided upon my topic for the major project of this Course I chose "Peculiar Britain" in which I planned to look at the variety of costumes worn by groups such as re-enactment Societies or Morris Dancers. The more images I took and the more I thought about the whole subject I came to realise that although the aforementioned groups were 'obvious' examples of costume wearing it was true to say that we all wear costumes that reflect not only our own view of ourselves but also how we wish to be seen by the rest of the world. In part this is a natural desire within human beings to be seen as belonging to a group whether in terms of uniform such as police officers wear or a wide, possibly an amorphous, group where membership maybe ill defined and constantly changing such as 'youth of today'. My initial thoughts was to present a series of images that showed the differing costumes both obvious and less obvious.
It was in response that I re-considered this plan when my Tutor in his response to my Assignment 4 submission suggested that there would be value in juxtaposing images that would offer food for thought and invite a greater and more studied reaction by the viewer. By this time I was well into my project but the opportunities were there to present the images in a different way. I was now faced with choices about what images overall I wished to include and the combination/sequence of the chosen images within the final form of presentation that was going to be a book. Over a period of months I had taken well over 500 images and had selected the 'best' ones from each shoot but this still left me with a large number of possibles from which to make the final selection including those that I had submitted as part of earlier assignments..
I tackled this problem initially by reviewing all the images on the computer and at the same time identifying those that would be provide pairings or groupings that would meet the criteria I was now using for the final work. I decided that I would make 10 x 8 prints (or close approximations) of the chosen images as I felt that this would offer the best way of placing the images in some sort of coherent order. This initial sift highlighted some gaps either because there was a lack of relevant images or because the aspect of individual images were at odds with the others I wished to place with them. I had, therefore, to go out and take more images but this time with a specific aim in mind. By the end of this process I had some 90 to 100 prints that needed further sorting.
I had no real idea of what the best method was to best meet the challenge but I was reading Bill Jay and David Hurn's book "On being a Photographer" in which they talked of pin boards. Here is an example of where sometimes our obsession with modern technology blinds us to the tried and tested methods of the pre-digital world. The Wonder Wall was the outcome.
There are, I think, 57 images on the wall and I sorted them by starting with those I knew for certain how to use and ending up with those that, at the time of writing, did not fit naturally into the scheme of things. It was whilst I was carrying out this exercise that I discovered that I have a strong tendency to take portraits with the figure on the right hand side looking in towards the centre of the image. As I understand the consensus of opinion figures should be looking in to the centre of two pages in a book so that I had a predominance of right page figures and a dearth of left page figures. Fortunately there were sufficient images to be able to flip horizontally without obvious consequences such as lettering within the image becoming mirror writing. Lesson learnt - be aware of where you wish to end up before setting out on the road.
At this stage I now need to examine each chosen print to ensure that the final resulting print will be acceptable. I have retained all the original RAW images so that I can, where necessary, go back and eradicate any problems.
The reason I named it as I did was because, having posted all the photographs, I wondered where to go from there!
When I decided upon my topic for the major project of this Course I chose "Peculiar Britain" in which I planned to look at the variety of costumes worn by groups such as re-enactment Societies or Morris Dancers. The more images I took and the more I thought about the whole subject I came to realise that although the aforementioned groups were 'obvious' examples of costume wearing it was true to say that we all wear costumes that reflect not only our own view of ourselves but also how we wish to be seen by the rest of the world. In part this is a natural desire within human beings to be seen as belonging to a group whether in terms of uniform such as police officers wear or a wide, possibly an amorphous, group where membership maybe ill defined and constantly changing such as 'youth of today'. My initial thoughts was to present a series of images that showed the differing costumes both obvious and less obvious.
It was in response that I re-considered this plan when my Tutor in his response to my Assignment 4 submission suggested that there would be value in juxtaposing images that would offer food for thought and invite a greater and more studied reaction by the viewer. By this time I was well into my project but the opportunities were there to present the images in a different way. I was now faced with choices about what images overall I wished to include and the combination/sequence of the chosen images within the final form of presentation that was going to be a book. Over a period of months I had taken well over 500 images and had selected the 'best' ones from each shoot but this still left me with a large number of possibles from which to make the final selection including those that I had submitted as part of earlier assignments..
I tackled this problem initially by reviewing all the images on the computer and at the same time identifying those that would be provide pairings or groupings that would meet the criteria I was now using for the final work. I decided that I would make 10 x 8 prints (or close approximations) of the chosen images as I felt that this would offer the best way of placing the images in some sort of coherent order. This initial sift highlighted some gaps either because there was a lack of relevant images or because the aspect of individual images were at odds with the others I wished to place with them. I had, therefore, to go out and take more images but this time with a specific aim in mind. By the end of this process I had some 90 to 100 prints that needed further sorting.
I had no real idea of what the best method was to best meet the challenge but I was reading Bill Jay and David Hurn's book "On being a Photographer" in which they talked of pin boards. Here is an example of where sometimes our obsession with modern technology blinds us to the tried and tested methods of the pre-digital world. The Wonder Wall was the outcome.
There are, I think, 57 images on the wall and I sorted them by starting with those I knew for certain how to use and ending up with those that, at the time of writing, did not fit naturally into the scheme of things. It was whilst I was carrying out this exercise that I discovered that I have a strong tendency to take portraits with the figure on the right hand side looking in towards the centre of the image. As I understand the consensus of opinion figures should be looking in to the centre of two pages in a book so that I had a predominance of right page figures and a dearth of left page figures. Fortunately there were sufficient images to be able to flip horizontally without obvious consequences such as lettering within the image becoming mirror writing. Lesson learnt - be aware of where you wish to end up before setting out on the road.
At this stage I now need to examine each chosen print to ensure that the final resulting print will be acceptable. I have retained all the original RAW images so that I can, where necessary, go back and eradicate any problems.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Subject Matter - On Being a Photographer
One of the sections in the book "On Being a Photographer" [Jay B, Hurn D. (2008) Third Edition Lens WorkPublishing Anacortes WA] discusses the selection of the subject for any photograph. As Hurn says"...the photographer is, primarily, a subject selector.......a photographer's first decision is what to photograph. (p 49). It is, in one respect, a statement of the obvious and yet it is largely ignored in the teaching of photography. The impression is that the technical and qualitative elements of the photograph are more important than what was photographed. Whilst there is little doubt that the photographer has to pay attention to those elements it is debatable whether they should take precedence over the choice and capture of the subject. It is true to say that the vast majority of those who view photographs have no conscious awareness of the composition or technical quality of what they see when they view an image. Their reaction is very much at the emotional level and whether the image echoes their view of the world or casts a new light on a subject they thought they knew well. It is only when we venture into the world of judges, assessors, and selection committees that we start to hear a discussion that covers everything but what is in front of our eyes.
Hurn argues that as a photographer we should immerse ourselves in the subject matter that we plan to photograph. I know this to be true from my own personal experience - not as a photographer but as a spectator of a photographer in action. I was fortunate enough to be a member, for a time, of the Norfolk Photography Group a relatively small Camera Club one of whose members was a wildlife photographer of note. I had seen a lot of his work both as part of an exhibition and projected on screen at lectures. I had the opportunity to go with him, along with other keen wildlife photographers, on a days shoot. What was obvious to me was that our expert knew almost everything about the habits and life of the birds that he was shooting. In discussion he revealed that he had been studying the subject matter - one that fascinated him - since the age of 14 so his experience covered over 35 years. He knew instinctively what was the likely behaviour of the bird he was watching so that his camera was aimed, almost without thinking, to catch the decisive moment. Acquired knowledge about his chosen subject informed his photography and this was evident in the quality of the resultant image.
It may be worth mentioning that I have no natural affinity to wildlife in the raw or in photographs. I cannot relate to the subject matter of any wildlife image at an emotional level. When I was looking at my colleague's work I responded by admiring the quality of the print and the technical skills displayed. My admiration was largely related to the skills in the presentation.
There are two caveats that occur to me when thinking about Hurn's demand for total immersion in the subject. How does the professional photographer, faced with deadlines, cope with a subject in which he has only a passing knowledge or where new situations may arise of which he has no experience?One presumes that, unless he is in the very happy position of being able to pass up the commission, he goes and gives it his/her best shot relying heavily on the instincts of the photographer acquired over years in pursuing his trade. Intimate knowledge about the subject matter must be accompanied by an understanding of what makes a good photograph irrespective of what the camera is pointing at.
My second caveat is the danger of researching the subject over a significant period of time leading either to paralysis in starting the project or of being incapable of finishing it. An example of this is W. Eugene Smith's "Pittsburgh Project". In his foreword to the book [Stephenson Sam (ed.) ((2001) Dream Street W.Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project. Centre for Documentary Studies at Duke University New York. Norton & Co]. We are told (p.18) that "On each assignment Smith spent several days or weeks observing the the location and mingling with people before he took his first photograph". In other words he too believed in fully researching the subject matter. However his commission was to spend three weeks in Pittsburgh and produce 100 photographs for a book commemorating the city's biennial. In the end he had taken almost 17000 images of the city during the greater part of 1955 and on return trips in 1956 and 1957. In a speech to the American Society of Magazine Photographers' Photojournalism Conference in April 1959 Smith acknowledged that Pittsburgh, to him, was a failure. He said that "The main problem, I think, is that there is no end to such a subject asPittsburgh and no way to finish it". (p 17 sidebar). Whilst it would be fair to say that Smith had many other problems that contributed to the problem I do believe that he is an extreme example of a common problem amongst photographers.
I would not consider myself an obsessive person but perhaps I am not the best one to judge! In an earlier Course with the OCA I decided to produce a photographic essay on the 95th Foot Regiment who were heavily involved in the Peninsular Wars and also fought at Waterloo. I discovered a re-enactment Society that was holding a weekend re-enactment near to where I live. I realised that I needed to research the history of the Regiment and started the process by going online to review all the material available for study. I also visited the Regimental Museum in Winchester and spoke to the staff there who were very helpful. Having read some of the history online I purchased 4 books written by Officers and Men who had served with the Regiment during the time of the Peninsular Wars. As I read I found reference to other sources - my interest had been grabbed. The weekend and the chance to talk with the very knowledgeable members offered further avenues for research and well over 300 images. I began to pursue these further lines of enquiry until one day I realised I was drowning in information and an inability to tailor the work load to the Assignment requirements. My deadline was approaching fast and I came to realise that my interest in the subject matter had blinded me to the requirements of the Assignment. Fortunately I was able to step back and see where I should be going rather than where my heart was taking me. It was a lesson well learnt but even now I have to take stock of what I am doing and that my love of reading and research does not become the be all and end all of my time with the OCA.
Hurn argues that as a photographer we should immerse ourselves in the subject matter that we plan to photograph. I know this to be true from my own personal experience - not as a photographer but as a spectator of a photographer in action. I was fortunate enough to be a member, for a time, of the Norfolk Photography Group a relatively small Camera Club one of whose members was a wildlife photographer of note. I had seen a lot of his work both as part of an exhibition and projected on screen at lectures. I had the opportunity to go with him, along with other keen wildlife photographers, on a days shoot. What was obvious to me was that our expert knew almost everything about the habits and life of the birds that he was shooting. In discussion he revealed that he had been studying the subject matter - one that fascinated him - since the age of 14 so his experience covered over 35 years. He knew instinctively what was the likely behaviour of the bird he was watching so that his camera was aimed, almost without thinking, to catch the decisive moment. Acquired knowledge about his chosen subject informed his photography and this was evident in the quality of the resultant image.
It may be worth mentioning that I have no natural affinity to wildlife in the raw or in photographs. I cannot relate to the subject matter of any wildlife image at an emotional level. When I was looking at my colleague's work I responded by admiring the quality of the print and the technical skills displayed. My admiration was largely related to the skills in the presentation.
There are two caveats that occur to me when thinking about Hurn's demand for total immersion in the subject. How does the professional photographer, faced with deadlines, cope with a subject in which he has only a passing knowledge or where new situations may arise of which he has no experience?One presumes that, unless he is in the very happy position of being able to pass up the commission, he goes and gives it his/her best shot relying heavily on the instincts of the photographer acquired over years in pursuing his trade. Intimate knowledge about the subject matter must be accompanied by an understanding of what makes a good photograph irrespective of what the camera is pointing at.
My second caveat is the danger of researching the subject over a significant period of time leading either to paralysis in starting the project or of being incapable of finishing it. An example of this is W. Eugene Smith's "Pittsburgh Project". In his foreword to the book [Stephenson Sam (ed.) ((2001) Dream Street W.Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project. Centre for Documentary Studies at Duke University New York. Norton & Co]. We are told (p.18) that "On each assignment Smith spent several days or weeks observing the the location and mingling with people before he took his first photograph". In other words he too believed in fully researching the subject matter. However his commission was to spend three weeks in Pittsburgh and produce 100 photographs for a book commemorating the city's biennial. In the end he had taken almost 17000 images of the city during the greater part of 1955 and on return trips in 1956 and 1957. In a speech to the American Society of Magazine Photographers' Photojournalism Conference in April 1959 Smith acknowledged that Pittsburgh, to him, was a failure. He said that "The main problem, I think, is that there is no end to such a subject asPittsburgh and no way to finish it". (p 17 sidebar). Whilst it would be fair to say that Smith had many other problems that contributed to the problem I do believe that he is an extreme example of a common problem amongst photographers.
I would not consider myself an obsessive person but perhaps I am not the best one to judge! In an earlier Course with the OCA I decided to produce a photographic essay on the 95th Foot Regiment who were heavily involved in the Peninsular Wars and also fought at Waterloo. I discovered a re-enactment Society that was holding a weekend re-enactment near to where I live. I realised that I needed to research the history of the Regiment and started the process by going online to review all the material available for study. I also visited the Regimental Museum in Winchester and spoke to the staff there who were very helpful. Having read some of the history online I purchased 4 books written by Officers and Men who had served with the Regiment during the time of the Peninsular Wars. As I read I found reference to other sources - my interest had been grabbed. The weekend and the chance to talk with the very knowledgeable members offered further avenues for research and well over 300 images. I began to pursue these further lines of enquiry until one day I realised I was drowning in information and an inability to tailor the work load to the Assignment requirements. My deadline was approaching fast and I came to realise that my interest in the subject matter had blinded me to the requirements of the Assignment. Fortunately I was able to step back and see where I should be going rather than where my heart was taking me. It was a lesson well learnt but even now I have to take stock of what I am doing and that my love of reading and research does not become the be all and end all of my time with the OCA.
Friday, 29 November 2013
Quantity or Quality - "On being a Photographer"
Further to my earlier blog about the need to sort and select images from a large number ('large' in this case refers to my experience which is minute compared with what follows) I was, on the same day, reading "On being a photographer" [Hurn, D and Jay, B. (2008) 3rd ed. Anacortes WA: LensWork Publishing] In the section "The Picture Essay" I came across the following - "As a general guide I would guess that for a seven picture essay I would shoot 20 to 30 cassettes of 36-exposure 35mm film." (p 100). Spoken by David Hurn this suggests that he anticipates taking between 720 and 1080 individual photographs to have sufficient to produce the essay. A 'hit rate' of between approximately 1/100 and 1/150. Whilst I find this extraordinary he continues - "A single exhibition-quality image probably occurs every, say, 100 films". Doing the maths that is a hit rate of 1/3600. For a 45 image exhibition he would, based on these figures, anticipate taking 162,000 images which is a staggering amount. We are offered some sort of clue as to the output of Hurn over a year by an anecdote told by Jay (p.99) where he tells the story of Hurn going into a local photography dealer's shop and ordering 1000 films. Jay goes onto confirm that all 1000 films (36,000 frames) had been exposed within a year. In simple terms that means that to have sufficient images for an exhibition Hurn would take four and a half years to have sufficient material. Given this was before the advantages of the digital age where the photographer is able to shoot almost non stop at a very rapid rate without having to wind the film on or change the film after 36 shots it is an astonishing achievement.
These responses by Hurn were in answer to a comment made by Jay that "photography is a medium of quantity as well as quality" (p99). Jay offers the explanation that photography is about taking photographs and that it is learnt by taking photographs. He goes on "Like every other skill , photography is learned by continuous and dedicated practice (p.99). Hurn responds - "Thats true......You learn by concentrating on a subject, planning the actual shooting and critically evaluating the results. At face value these comments are statements of the obvious. Yet I am left wondering what 'critically evaluating' means in practice given the very large number of images produced by Hurn.
It has to be remembered that films had to be developed to produce the negatives and then these had to be developed to produce the positive image capable of being assessed. Even producing contact sheets took time if the thumbnails were to be of sufficient standard to make examination of each individual print worthwhile. The book provides us with a whole section on creating contact prints that, it is perhaps fair to say, is irrelevant in the digital age. However I am sure that some photographers will argue for a continuation of this method arguing that it provides benefit in the whole process of creating the perfect print. In the context of this blog I introduce the topic because the process described by Hurn makes the number of images he claims to use is a task that, I believe, is beyond the capability of one person. Further he argues that he would not simply discard those images he felt did not meet the criteria of the specific project but examine them to learn from his mistakes. To this end he argues that those images that are seen to be over or under exposed should be 'dodged' or 'burned' to achieve the exposure levels that allow an informed judgement of its worth.
Whilst it is possible that Hurn had an assistant(s) to do the technical work I assume that he would do the final selection himself and, because they would be his 'mistakes', study the rejects to see how he could improve his photography in the future. Frankly put he would never have time to produce the final images! Even the most practiced eye would require a finite amount of time to select the best shots and learn from the worst.
I would argue that quantity should never be the aim in the hope that somewhere in the day's shooting there is at least one image worthy of taking its place in the photographic essay or the exhibition. The student and amateur photographer is frequently exhorted to "get it right in the camera" even now when most have access to powerful software that can 'rescue' the most unpromising shot. The advice is good (although needs to be tempered with the overriding need to get the photograph) because it underlines the need to engage the mind at the same time as engaging the "inner eye". The benefits of taking an appropriate period of time in getting the image with its final place being part of the thinking far outweigh the machine gun approach to photography. Experience and practice will reduce the time to 'realise' the desired shot. It follows that we then increase the chances of an improved hit rate which if it moves from 1/100 to 1/50 doubles the time we have to improve our chances further.
In fairness to Hurn he argues that "...it is not a learning process to wander around banging off frames of film for the sheer fun of shooting pictures."(p99) Yet his bald statements about his success rate strongly implies that 'banging off frames' is what he does.
Being fairly free from other commitments, I am retired, I can and do spend a lot of time examining the output of a day's shooting. Rarely nowadays do I shoot for the fun of it concentrating instead on the requirements of a particular element of the Course I am studying. Shooting wholly in digital and using the RAW setting I am able to quickly download the images to my computer. I can then examine each individual shot (usually in Lightroom and at full size) and make a decision about what images I wish to work further on. Those that are obviously wrong e.g. a picture of the ground because I pressed the shutter release when walking or completely without detail because I took it with the lens cap still on. Others that are under or over exposed by a significant amount and are unlikely to benefit from further work in Photoshop are also discarded. I then look at groups or sets of photographs that are essentially the same shot but taken from a slightly different angle or other reason for the similarity and using Lightroom's 'Survey" facility select the best shot of that group. I work my way through the whole day's shoot in this way ending up with a selection that are worth keeping and are relevant to the project work I am doing. I will then carry out any necessary work to produce a 'final image' and save them in a separate folder keeping a safe copy elsewhere.
I will view the saved images a few days later and make a final choice. It is at this stage that I look at those which did not make the cut and try to decide why they failed to meet the criteria when compared with those that did. What I concentrate on is the framing, composition and lighting of the image as opposed to the actual subject matter. I noticed in a recent batch of images that I have a tendency to cut off people's feet because I am concentrating on the face. The lesson here is to take a fraction of time to look round the frame of the viewfinder to spot anything obvious such as cutting people off at the knees.
Over a period of time I will have accumulated a number of images greater than that required by the Assignment so that further selection is necessary. At this point I will often print the images as I personally find that having the physical photograph in my hand helps me in my decision making. This is the point I have reached in preparation for Assignment 5 of the 'Your Own Portfolio" Course. It should be pointed out that at this stage I have the benefit of my Tutor's comments on many of the images together with his suggestions. These always play a significant part in my decision making. I also value the opinion of my wife who has shown throughout my time with the OCA that her opinion should be taken note of as it more often chimes with that of the assessors. In essence I have tested my response against that of others whose emotional commitment is less than mine so that their views are more closely aligned to objectivity.
I have printed all the images that I feel are worthy of inclusion in my final submission having excluded some at this stage that made it through earlier selection but have been replaced by later images. Now comes the process of final selection and I shall blog about this process as I proceed.
These responses by Hurn were in answer to a comment made by Jay that "photography is a medium of quantity as well as quality" (p99). Jay offers the explanation that photography is about taking photographs and that it is learnt by taking photographs. He goes on "Like every other skill , photography is learned by continuous and dedicated practice (p.99). Hurn responds - "Thats true......You learn by concentrating on a subject, planning the actual shooting and critically evaluating the results. At face value these comments are statements of the obvious. Yet I am left wondering what 'critically evaluating' means in practice given the very large number of images produced by Hurn.
It has to be remembered that films had to be developed to produce the negatives and then these had to be developed to produce the positive image capable of being assessed. Even producing contact sheets took time if the thumbnails were to be of sufficient standard to make examination of each individual print worthwhile. The book provides us with a whole section on creating contact prints that, it is perhaps fair to say, is irrelevant in the digital age. However I am sure that some photographers will argue for a continuation of this method arguing that it provides benefit in the whole process of creating the perfect print. In the context of this blog I introduce the topic because the process described by Hurn makes the number of images he claims to use is a task that, I believe, is beyond the capability of one person. Further he argues that he would not simply discard those images he felt did not meet the criteria of the specific project but examine them to learn from his mistakes. To this end he argues that those images that are seen to be over or under exposed should be 'dodged' or 'burned' to achieve the exposure levels that allow an informed judgement of its worth.
Whilst it is possible that Hurn had an assistant(s) to do the technical work I assume that he would do the final selection himself and, because they would be his 'mistakes', study the rejects to see how he could improve his photography in the future. Frankly put he would never have time to produce the final images! Even the most practiced eye would require a finite amount of time to select the best shots and learn from the worst.
I would argue that quantity should never be the aim in the hope that somewhere in the day's shooting there is at least one image worthy of taking its place in the photographic essay or the exhibition. The student and amateur photographer is frequently exhorted to "get it right in the camera" even now when most have access to powerful software that can 'rescue' the most unpromising shot. The advice is good (although needs to be tempered with the overriding need to get the photograph) because it underlines the need to engage the mind at the same time as engaging the "inner eye". The benefits of taking an appropriate period of time in getting the image with its final place being part of the thinking far outweigh the machine gun approach to photography. Experience and practice will reduce the time to 'realise' the desired shot. It follows that we then increase the chances of an improved hit rate which if it moves from 1/100 to 1/50 doubles the time we have to improve our chances further.
In fairness to Hurn he argues that "...it is not a learning process to wander around banging off frames of film for the sheer fun of shooting pictures."(p99) Yet his bald statements about his success rate strongly implies that 'banging off frames' is what he does.
Being fairly free from other commitments, I am retired, I can and do spend a lot of time examining the output of a day's shooting. Rarely nowadays do I shoot for the fun of it concentrating instead on the requirements of a particular element of the Course I am studying. Shooting wholly in digital and using the RAW setting I am able to quickly download the images to my computer. I can then examine each individual shot (usually in Lightroom and at full size) and make a decision about what images I wish to work further on. Those that are obviously wrong e.g. a picture of the ground because I pressed the shutter release when walking or completely without detail because I took it with the lens cap still on. Others that are under or over exposed by a significant amount and are unlikely to benefit from further work in Photoshop are also discarded. I then look at groups or sets of photographs that are essentially the same shot but taken from a slightly different angle or other reason for the similarity and using Lightroom's 'Survey" facility select the best shot of that group. I work my way through the whole day's shoot in this way ending up with a selection that are worth keeping and are relevant to the project work I am doing. I will then carry out any necessary work to produce a 'final image' and save them in a separate folder keeping a safe copy elsewhere.
I will view the saved images a few days later and make a final choice. It is at this stage that I look at those which did not make the cut and try to decide why they failed to meet the criteria when compared with those that did. What I concentrate on is the framing, composition and lighting of the image as opposed to the actual subject matter. I noticed in a recent batch of images that I have a tendency to cut off people's feet because I am concentrating on the face. The lesson here is to take a fraction of time to look round the frame of the viewfinder to spot anything obvious such as cutting people off at the knees.
Over a period of time I will have accumulated a number of images greater than that required by the Assignment so that further selection is necessary. At this point I will often print the images as I personally find that having the physical photograph in my hand helps me in my decision making. This is the point I have reached in preparation for Assignment 5 of the 'Your Own Portfolio" Course. It should be pointed out that at this stage I have the benefit of my Tutor's comments on many of the images together with his suggestions. These always play a significant part in my decision making. I also value the opinion of my wife who has shown throughout my time with the OCA that her opinion should be taken note of as it more often chimes with that of the assessors. In essence I have tested my response against that of others whose emotional commitment is less than mine so that their views are more closely aligned to objectivity.
I have printed all the images that I feel are worthy of inclusion in my final submission having excluded some at this stage that made it through earlier selection but have been replaced by later images. Now comes the process of final selection and I shall blog about this process as I proceed.
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Sorting things Out
Spent the last few days getting together the material for the final assignment which is to be based on a book. As I look at what I have got now there is a quiet sense of mild panic as I realise the task that I face. The large number of photographs taken over the period of the Course which have been whittled down to about 100 need to be sorted so the final choice tells a story. Whilst I started with an outline plan this has been amended as I have widened the scope of the original project and now I find myself being drawn to a slightly different structure that, whilst remaining within the original remit, offers a better chance of achieving my final aim. I sense that on further sorting I will possibly need further images to fill some gaps but that is yet to be seen.
One wonders how the professionals work who probably work under stricter guidelines and certainly more definite deadlines. At least I have the luxury of some 3 months before I have to commit finally so I have some breathing space. I have also decided to print off actual copies of the most likely candidates so that I can physically place them in groups which at least allows me to easily make changes.
One wonders how the professionals work who probably work under stricter guidelines and certainly more definite deadlines. At least I have the luxury of some 3 months before I have to commit finally so I have some breathing space. I have also decided to print off actual copies of the most likely candidates so that I can physically place them in groups which at least allows me to easily make changes.
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