Final: Final Evaluation -

Final Evaluation - 

Research Influence on Final Series:

My photographic research, in respect of image bank and in depth analysis, has been a vital component to the construction and production of my work both in my preparatory photoshoots and my examination equivalents.

For example, my initial thoughts about the work of the photographers discussed on the exam paper in relation to connected images was very distant from the aesthetic that I knew I would be striving for but also as relation to the topics and purpose that each photographer and artist worked towards. I was moved by the works of Gordon Parks but felt that I was too distant from the temporal and spatial contexts of that ideology and therefore began adapting my ideas to a topic that was extremely relevant in my own life and therefore came the idea of identity which was partly as a result of Parks' study of segregation as a consequence of racial identity. Additionally, the photographic installations of Nobuhiro Nakanishi were inspiring in the idea of creating an installation but the theme was not as apt as some of my chosen photographers that I later researched. Despite this, the composite work of Patrick Winfield was inspiring in the use of polaroids and these was a technique that I was familiar with and therefore lead my path of research down a series of polaroid photographers such as Dash Snow and Julius D High who greatly influenced my final pieces. 

Development within the Project:

Technical:

Technically speaking I have furthered my understanding of multiple forms of photography in various formats. For instance, my project in both its preparation stage and examination stage utilised polaroid photography. Furthermore, I also used a film camera in one of my preparation photoshoots and instantly felt inspired by the technique and resulting aesthetic. The results of the polaroids and film worked in a similar vein of aesthetic as the resultant photographs from David Shama, specifically in his "7 Eleven" photoessay, and Julius D High's 35mm film series.

Consequently, I have also learnt the difficulties associated with specific styles of photography such as documentary. One issue that arose was the difficulty to incorporate natural and unbiased subjects as the majority of people do not react well to a camera pointed at them. Thus I had to adapt and develop ideas so that I could eventually capture the photographs that I had planned to. To do this I was inspired by the idea of David Shama who, in his "7 Eleven" shoot, hired one main model and allowed her to choose her co-subjects to create a more intimate atmosphere. Also due to the topics of discussion, such as youth and family, I was able to get closer with my camera both physically and metaphorically and create images of natural behaviour much like the way the Vivian Maier.

Aesthetic:
Aesthetically, I developed an idea for my stylisation early on with the link between my penultimate and final exam photoshoots being evidently showcased in my first five preparatory shoots with only a few minor adaptions being present. I have often admired the way that certain photographers and artists have been able to implement a style that is described as an "amateur aesthetic" and this is what I wanted to develop upon for my own final pieces. For example, the style that I have maintained for most of my project has been one of an amateur style scrapbooking aesthetic that also draws from the compositions and layouts of photoessays like those of Herman Krieger. 

Success in Response to Exam Topic:

I believe that I have been strong in my response, research, construction, development and production of my chosen exam topic "Connected images". The reason that I believe this is because of my maintained structure of photoshoots such as the photographic composite installation styles of preparatory shoots 1 to 5 and my examination shoots 3 to 4. Moreover, even the deviation and experimentations that I have taken within the project have still been linking photographs and themes. For example, the entirety of my project can be linked by the theme of identity and its various interpretations relating to the collective identities of age, gender, self and such else. 

Another more explicit reasoning of why my exam response is successful is that the connections between shoots are not only thematic or such but also aesthetic in the technical use of mediums such as polaroid or digital cameras. 

Despite all this, the beginning of my examination work and the desire to attempt to break from a concise stylisation lead me to return to a previously explored idea of photo joiners and studio portraiture. The images that resulted from the shoots were not aesthetically pleasing to my eye as I am someone who has very much chosen their style of documentary photography and the nostalgic aesthetic of mediums such as film and polaroids. I could possibly have improved how I felt about the first two shoots of my exam in that I could have, given the time, created the physical experiments that would have worked both more cohesively and effectively with my other series'. That is the one mini deviation from the connected images theme that I was not hugely pleased with. 

Given the opportunity to improve my work I would have like to create more dynamic installations, like those of Nobuhiro Nakanishi but using different themes and aesthetics, by using multiple mediums and expanding my horizons. For instance, Julius D High travels various American states to study the world and society through his photography whilst I was limited to a much smaller subject matter. I also would have loved to expand my technical skills more so by using various mediums. It has been a desire of mine to use a film camera and learn the development process so that I can use the skills that originated photography. Moreover, I believe that using film would have not only improved my overall aesthetic but also increased my skills of using software such as Photoshop CC 2014 due to the skills such as dodge and burn being terms that initially belonged to film development and editing alone. Therefore I could have improved my work in multiple small areas but I am pleased in my work and believe that it has accurately understood, imaginatively interpreted and developed the exam topic of connected images and allowed me to become a better photographer.