Expressing Your Vision Reflective Evaluation

The following video is what I have put together for my assessment as my reflection on the module.

After reflecting on what I’d produced in the video I decided that I would go for a written evaluation. The following is what I will be submitting.

Expressing Your Vision Reflection

Jenna Powell / Student Number 516808

Expressing Your Vision

Matthew Winterlich

September 2021

This is my reflection on the work that I undertook for the Open College of the Arts Photography Degree module Expressing Your Vision (EYV).

During this reflection I want to consider what I learned about myself and my photography.

I started the course prior to the Coronavirus pandemic and because of this had all the freedoms we enjoyed with respect to moving around, being able to be around people and not having restrictions placed upon us. As a result, my early work was not restrained by location, and I was able to take photographs around my home area and when away for work or pleasure.

I was able to go out and get materials that I might need to take photographs at home.

Then in spring 2020 we went into lockdown due to the pandemic.

Life became harder, restrictions made taking photographs more challenging because everyone found themselves unable to move about as freely, as we had been able to pre-pandemic.

These restrictions, however, forced me to think about ways to work within the restrictions to meet the aims of each exercise and assignment.

One of the hardest things to work around, however, was not being able to go to exhibitions. Even so, exhibitions are not the only way to study photographers and artists work, there are always books, especially photobooks, and catalogues that give a way to look at the work of photographers, without being restricted to the opening hours of galleries.

When I reflected on the work I produced for the exercises and assessments I found that there were several themes that ran through my work. I had not been aware of it at the time, and certainly not planned it that way. I suppose my subconscious had been doing its thing and, having picked up on the theme, worked in the background linking different aspects of my work in some way.

The first theme I identified was because of feedback I received for assignment 5.

“Although the work appears to be a random observation of things encountered during the day there are a number of potential themes inherent in it. As an example, the spider’s web sequence suggested looking behind the façade of the ordinary. “

When I looked back at my work for the module, I noticed that I had captured several images that we would normally miss unless we were looking for them. Rubbish hidden within pipes, homeless people living in tents on the streets of London, snails on flowers, the infinite possibilities of water droplets, spider webs.

Figure 1 Themes

The second theme in my work was social justice. I identified this after reflecting on the work that I undertook for the Foundations in Photography and the EYV courses.

Figure 2 Slavery

Figure 3 What can we find when we go out of our way to explore places?

This is one of the first images that I captured as part of EYV. What makes this image special for me is the reflection of the drain cover in the rainwater that was on the concrete below it. I hadn’t set out to capture this. I’d wanted to capture the cover because it wasn’t something I’d noticed before. Capturing the reflection was something that I deliberately included after taking several photographs before noticing it. I’ve seen numerous images where the photographer had captured an object and its’s reflection so I understand that this might be a bit of a cliché as an image.

I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with cliches, especially if you realise that you are doing is a cliché and you are happy to go ahead and do it. Part of learning any skill is learning how to do it according to the rules. Once you know those rules than you can consciously break them. Learning the rules may mean doing things that are like work that has been overdone by others. It is by doing this that you can compare what you have produced with others and see what you’ve done that works or doesn’t, and then make changes to improve it. The Homage exercise later in the course was a great opportunity to explore this in more detail.

After spotting this drain cover, I noticed another one at another location within the town. I’ve not managed to get a photograph of that one that I am happy with, but it is something that I plan to revisit as time allows.

Figure 4 When we go out of our way, we find interesting items.

This was also an image that I captured as part of the Square Mile assignment.

When I found this pipe, I was wandering along the bank of a stream that runs through a nearby housing estate. The pipe goes from somewhere and is a means of taking water from one place to another but where from. It can’t be a house because dumping waste into open water would be illegal. So, if we could trace this back where would it lead to? Does it lead anywhere? The pipe could end 6 inches into the muddy bank, or it could lead back hundreds of feet.

Sometimes the images we capture can lead to more questions that they answer. Whether the questions are ones we have to answer or are ones we leave for the viewer are decisions we make as part of the process of developing a project.

This image required editing in Lightroom and Photoshop until I was satisfied with it. The original image was too dark, and the pipe just blended in too much with the mud and ground surrounding it. Editing the image allowed me to bring out the details that I wanted.

Figure 5 What lies beneath

Another image from the first assignment. This was a lot trickier to take than I’d expected.

I’d spotted the pipe and because it was at a height where I could look inside, I’d noticed that there were objects inside.

The interior of the pipe was dark, and I needed to make use of flash to illuminate it.

I needed several test shots to get an idea that there might be a worthwhile picture. Getting the camera lens and the flash into a position where a successful image could be captured took further shots.

The image has been edited in Lightroom and it wasn’t until I was editing it that I noticed the faint traces of a spider’s web.

Developing the material for assignment 1 I made the conscious decision to look for things that people would normally miss. At the same time, I set out to follow the course of a stream that fed into the river that flows through the town where I live. In the end I only explored a small area of what I’d planned because where I started ended up being so fruitful for images.

Figure 6 If we don’t remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it. If we reflect on what has gone before we have a chance to be better.

Like many people I am aware of slavery. I know about the slave trade, but it was something that growing up was historical. My hometown wasn’t part of the slave trade. Its industries were centered on iron making and coal mining. The people that lived there were came from all over, but also went all over, the world. In the last few years, since the killing of George Floyd, slavery has been a topic that has been in the UK news. Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol was pulled down and thrown into the harbour, Cecil Rhodes statue at Oxford University needed netting fitting in front of it to protect it from damage. These men were lauded during their lifetimes, when slavery was not seen in the way that we view it now. Rather than concentrating on monuments to slave traders, and giving them more prominence, we should be letting them fade into history while quietly removing them. At the same time, we should be bringing to the public’s attention monuments to slaves and those that worked towards freeing them. Slavery might be illegal in the UK and many other countries, but that doesn’t mean that it has been eradicated completely.

I’ve been to London many times, but it wasn’t until I was doing one of the assignments for EYV and looking at monuments that I came across this memorial to slaves. It’s located out of the way and unless you knew it was there you could walk by and miss it.

Trying to take photographs of this was more difficult than I thought it would be. Almost like it was designed to make it as hard as possible to capture, in contrast to how easy it must have been for slaver traders to capture, and slave owners to recapture when they escaped, some of the slaves that it represents.

The words on the pillars show that it’s not just physical slavery that we should be conscious of, but also slavery to other concepts like money and addiction.

Figure 7 Droplet

One of the exercises I really enjoyed during the module was Exercise 3.1 entitled Freeze. The brief for the exercise was to use fast shutter speeds to try to isolate a frozen moment of time in a moving subject.

This was an opportunity for me to explore something that I’ve seen in photographs but never would have considered trying for myself.

I found that I was able to do all the work for the exercise from home. There was a fair amount of research for this exercise. Looking at photographers who had captured moments in time, finding photographer who had worked with water droplets and looking at the equipment and liquids they had used. I was surprised that it was possible to by equipment designed to be used with droplet photography. I would have expected it to be a niche area but there are companies making equipment that you can use.

In my case I put together a low tech set up that would allow me to get droplets to fall where I wanted them, but which still relied on me triggering the shutter at the right time.

Different liquids were tried, both with and without additional colouring being added. The resulting images are something I’m happy with and I might return to the subject at some point in the future when I can afford something a little bit higher tech so that it’s not as hit and miss as it was while I was doing this exercise.

Figure 8 Without light there is no darkness.

Throughout the course I was able to try and get experience with different techniques.

Exercise 4.3 Egg or Stone was another chance to develop technical skills and explore the use of lighting.

I opted to make use of natural light from a window to light a series of stones. I used different shaped stones and rotated them while keeping the camera in the same position, repositioning it to get a different set of images.

The effect of the light hitting the surfaces on the stones, the way the light highlighted parts while casting others into shadow was interesting to explore.

Like other activities within the module, this one has possibilities for further development simply by changing the light source so that is flash or artificial light, or direct sunlight outside.

Figure 9 Brian the Snail

Lockdown brought a lot of restrictions on people. One of which was the inability to travel very far. I also found that some things slowed down. Driving to the supermarket became a pleasant experience because of the lack of cars on the road. There was no hurry. Since we went into lockdown, I have found that my own pace of life has slowed, I drive slower than I used to. Even on high-speed roads I tend to stick to the speed limit, or even go just under it, rather than the couple of miles per hour over it that I would have done before.

Life has slowed.

I’ve had more time to notice things.

Like this snail which I spotted on our garden table in the mornings. It would venture out in the early morning before going back to its hiding place underneath the table. One morning I decided that I would capture it for posterity.

Figure 10 Like being a child again

One of the things that I loved about the homage exercise is that it gave me the chance to explore the way that images taken now could be made to look like images taken decades ago.

In the case of this image, I was paying homage to someone who I hadn’t realised was even a photographer. Edvard Munch had taken photographs of the area where he lived, especially the gardens and the fronts of his homes.

Paying homage to Munch’s work I took several images around my home and garden, using Black and White so that they were more in keeping with Munch’s. Of all the images I took this one was my favourite. I could say that it’s because it is a simple image. I could say that it’s because of the discarded look to the trolley. However, its none of them in the end. This image takes me back to my childhood. It takes me back to visiting my Nan’s house on a Saturday afternoon. Not because there was anything like this at her house but because it reminds me of the way that you would come out of the kitchen and there was a shed in front of you. The path from the garden gate leading between house and shed to the back garden.

The image brings up memories and those memories make me smile and in turn trigger more memories of visiting my Nan. Memories like the one that just came to mind of drinking tea and finding some of the skin from the milk was in my tea. Certainly, a yuck moment but one I remember fondly.

Someone else seeing this image wouldn’t have the same reaction, unless they were of a certain age, and from a certain social and economic background, but for someone of a similar background I wonder what thoughts and memories this image would trigger.

Figure 11 Claws Out

For the last 15 months I have had a lot of dealings with my neighbour’s cats. While exploring The Decisive Moment I managed to capture the indecisive moment with the help of one of the cats. Normally when the cats are climbing my garden fence, they are moving so fast that I don’t get to see much of what is happening with their paws. On this occasion the cat had paused before making the leap for the top of the panel and I was able to clearly see her claws gripping the piece of wood that she was holding on to. Small she might be, but you can understand why you wouldn’t want to bump into one of her bigger cousins.

Figure 12 Incy Wincy Spider…

A friend loves spider’s webs and because of that I found myself driving home one cold day and noticed spider’s webs glistening on some traffic lights. I’d not noticed them before but having gone through EYV and having gone through lockdown on the day in question I was more aware of things than I once would have been.

As part of my final assignment for EYV I had limited myself to using an old 35mm camera I’d been given by my parents as a teenager. I’d wanted to go back to basics for the assignment. I’d taken several photos by the time I got to taking this and the one that follows. I’d been trying to keep my eyes open and be more aware of my surroundings so that I might see things that would be worth taking photographs of. I set out on this occasion to photograph the webs I’d seen on the traffic light. In the end I found myself noticing far more webs around the area and the shoot ended up focusing on these.

I think this shows that even when we have pre-conceived ideas about what we are setting out to do, we, and certainly I do, need to be open to what other opportunities present themselves.

Figure 13 Thoughtful

Photographing people is something I struggle with. Not the act of photographing someone but given people direction, getting them to pose for me. Its why I prefer photographing people when they are doing things that they would normally do. My niece was looking particularly thoughtful when I managed to capture her with my camera. I’m glad I did as I was able to make use of this photo during one of the exercises when I decided that I would experiment with cyanotypes.

One of the things that I found during EYV was that as my knowledge of photography has grown, I’ve become more aware of different ways to make images. Some of which hark back to the beginning of photography. The exercises have allowed me the chance to experiment with some of these techniques, to see how difficult these techniques are, but also to get the glimmering of the possibilities that they provide.

Throughout the module several areas were highlighted by my tutor as worth considering for further exploration.

Assignment 1

Culverts – After working on Assignment 1 I came across a group on Facebook who celebrated manhole covers. The idea of doing something similar for culverts occurred when I found a second one further down the course of the stream that was central to the area I explored during the assignment.

Architectural studies – Some of the images for Assignment 1 had a feel that they were architectural studies. Hilla and Bernd Becher are known for their work documenting industrial structures in different parts of the world. Their grid like display of images of similar structures could be a way to group a series of studies of items like pipes, culverts, and tunnels.

Miniature landscapes – Several of the images appeared like miniature landscapes and this could be something that could be built on.

Following the stream – My initial plan for this assignment was to follow a stream that meandered through the town until it fed into the River Yeo. That is still a project that I need to complete. With the benefit of hindsight, I’ve become aware of groups that are interested in protecting the streams and river, some of which run guided walks. The project has several possibilities, for instance the area around the stream and river changes according to the season so it would be possible to follow the course, each season throughout the year, documenting what it looks like.

Assignment 2

The feedback for assignment 2 highlighted the images of the tents belonging to homeless people and the monument to the suffragette movement, and a child playing around some monuments and statues. The link between past and present, or even the contrast between them is something that could be further developed. With the image of the tents and the monument there are several topics that could be explored, the contrast between where we were and where we are now. How some people are still disenfranchised in society. Where women, once didn’t have the vote, they do now but we still have part of society who aren’t able to have their voice heard and this might be something worth exploring further.

Assignment 4

The feedback for assignment 4 suggested a couple of ways to improve on the submission. One of these I have already thought about and that is the individual images. I would like to redo the images using specific colours and to overlay the images with other images that represent countries for which the colour used with the image relates to death or mourning. Colours have different meaning in different parts of the world. Including symbology from these societies with what in some ways is a modern version of the death mask, would be a good way to draw a link between the colour, it’s symbolism and the societies what are associated with it.

Assignment 5

The feedback from assignment 5 was that there was the potential for a body of work exploring what lies behind the façade of the ordinary. What lies hidden or in unseen is a theme that has run through a lot of my work and so it makes perfect sense to draw this together in a single project.

Throughout the Expressing Your Vision module I was able to explore lots of different techniques. Exercise 3.1 – Freeze and Project 1 – The Frozen Moment, provided me the change to explore droplet photography and high-speed photography, and the work of Harold Edgerton. Edgerton was born the same day as me, over 60 years before me so there was a resonance for me with his work.

In Exercise 4.4 – Personal Voice I had the opportunity to explore another new technique, cyanotypes. When completing several of the exercises and assignments for EYV I set myself an objective. In Exercise 4.4. the objective was to produce images without using a camera, in assignment 5 I set out to use an automatic camera that my parents gave me when I was at university, and to shoot black and white film. Setting limitations and objectives made me think about the techniques that I wanted to use. In Personal Voice I learned how to produce cyanotypes, how to go about experimenting with them without having to invest in lots of chemicals and how to produce digital negatives using a printer so that I had an image to use for the cyanotype. There was a lot of trial and error before I produced something that I was happy with.

When not exploring techniques, I was able to examine and reflect on the work of various photographers and artists. My own interests came through in my reflections on the work of Mandy Barker, Nan Goldin, Sally Mann and Pedro Meyer. Through these photographers I was able to look at the affect that we have on the environment as a species (Mandy Barker) and look at how other photographers have dealt with memoirs (Goldin, Mann and Meyer).

Since completing the module, and starting Context and Narrative, I have found that where my interest lay towards landscapes rather than people, I still don’t feel comfortable directing people when photographing them, my interests are more towards telling a story through images. Something that the work of people like Goldin, Mann and Meyer have shown me is possible, and which I want to develop further.