2011-06-13

Seasons Portfolio Feedback

I have been away for a few weeks following my other hobby of triathlon racing. Whilst I was away my tutor sent through feedback on my Seasons Porfolio.

My tutor's feedback concentrated mostly on how the photographs worked together (or not) as a cohesive presentation. I must say that I had concentrated more on preparing individual photographs rather than the overall portfolio. This I now realise was a mistake.

My tutor commented on each of the seasons in turn, but her overriding observation was that it was not apparent that I had an underlying theme about what each season means to me visually. She also made comments on how I had sequenced the photographs. In particular she pointed out that in some cases I had presented images side by side which do not work well together and are not linked by being taken in a single season.

Looking back the failure to consider the idea of identifying the key signifiers of each season was an oversight. This is clearly an important lesson for the long run and one which I will keep returning to as my work progresses.

My tutor also suggested that I look at the print submission guidelines before submitting my work for accreditation. This I have done and I am reviewing options for presenting my photographs. I intend to test several different types of paper to improve my presentation.

I have represented the portfolio giving greater thought to sequencing and cohesiveness. I have also added an explanation of how I am perceive each of the seasons visually and how my photographs demonstrate this. In the case of the winter images, sadly, I would like to completely redo the portfolio - this is a project for later in the year.

Spring

For me Spring is the season of rebirth. New growth appears throughout the landscape. The days get longer and the skies bluer after the darkness of winter. The predominant colours are pale greens, yellows and pale blues. The three images I have presented all show signs of new growth, brightening skies and have a colour palette of yellows, pale greens and blue.

SPRING




























Summer

To my eyes the English summer time is a time of abundant growth (of crops, meadows and pastures, wild plants and flowers and cultivated gardens). Greens and deep yellows are the most prevalent colours.  Sadly the source of this richness is a less attractive feature of our weather - frequent  and heavy rainfall. It is this ironic twist which I have tried to depict in my photographs. I  have changed one photograph from my original submission, replacing a detail shot of poppies with a broad landscape shot of the Manger near Uffington (with dark clouds looming above).
SUMMER




























Autumn

In Autumn the sun gets lower in the sky, the shadows lengthen, the colours are rich yellows, reds and golds and the foliage falls from the trees and plants. My three images embody these elements.
AUTUMN




























Winter

In my set of images I  have depicted Winter as a time of now covered landscapes and in two of the images blue skies. The truth is that this is a cliche of the English Winter and as such I now realise that my depiction is not really how I perceive the English winter. The reality is that winter is more about dark, cold, barren  and sometimes foreboding landscapes! I need to redo my photographs completely  to illustrate this more realistic theme. That said I am not able to do this until later in the year and so for now my depiction of snow clad winter  landscapes with frequent blue skies will remain.
WINTER




























In this revision of the presentation of my portfolio I have drawn heavily on the comments from my tutor. I have learned a significant lesson - one which I plan to put to good use in the future.

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About Me

I have been taking photographs since I was young boy some 45 years ago, but only seriously since 2005 when I enrolled to study at the Open College of the Arts. I am working towards a BA in Photography. I am a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society. This log record details of my projects and assignments during my studies. It also records ideas, work by other artists/photographers, notes on books/websites/exhibitions, influences, discoveries, thoughts, research findings and observations as I work through my courses. You can contact me at keith.greenough@btinternet.com or simply leave a comment on one of my posts.

Landscape Photography Bibliography

  • Andrea G Stillman (2007), Ansel Adams 400 Photographs, Little Brown New York USA
  • Andy Grundberg (1999), Crisis of the Real, Aperture Foundation New York
  • Ansel Adams (2007), Examples The Making of 40 Photographs, Little Brown New York USA
  • Ben Maddow(1989), Edward Weston, His Life, Aperture Foundation New York USA
  • Charlie Waite (1989), Scottish Islands, Constable London
  • Charlie Waite (1992), The Making of Landscape Photographs, Collins and Brown London
  • Charlie Waite (1999), Seeing Landscapes, Collins and Brown London
  • Charlie Waite (2002), In My Minds Eye, Photographers Institute Press East Sussex UK
  • Charlie Waite (2005), Landscape, Collins and Brown London
  • Clive Minnitt and Phil Malpas(2009), Finding the Picture, Envisage Books London
  • David Noton (2008), PHOTOGRAPY ESSENTIALS: WAITING FOR THE LIGHT, David & Charles PLC, London
  • Fay Godwin(1985), Land, William Heinemann London
  • Fay Godwin(1990), Our Forbidden Land, Jonathan Cape London
  • Fay Godwin(1998), Glassworks & Secret Lives, Stella Press East Sussex UK
  • Fay Godwin(2001), Landmarks, Dewi Lewis Publishing Stockport UK
  • Galen Rowell (1995), Mountain Light, Sierra Club Books San Francisco USA
  • Galen Rowell (2001), Inner Game of Outdoor Photography, Norton & co New York USA
  • Galen Rowell (2002),Galen Rowell's Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography, University of California Press USA
  • Harry Callaghan (1993), Ansell Adams in Color, Little Brown New York USA
  • Hunter, Biver & Fuqua(2007), Light Science & Magic, Elsevier Oxford UK
  • James Bentley & Charlie Waite (1987), Languedoc, George Philip London
  • James Bentley & Charlie Waite (1987), Languedoc, George Philip London
  • Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, David Ward, Eddie Ephraums (2006), Working the Light, Argentum London
  • Joe Cornish, Charlie Waite, David Ward, Eddie Ephraums (2007), Developing Style and Vision, Argentum London
  • Joel Meyerowitz (2002), Cape Light, Little Brown and Company New York USA
  • John Berger, Ways of Seeing, Penguin Modern Classics
  • John P Schaefer (2007),The Ansel Adams Guide Book 2 Basic Techniques of Photography, Little Brown New York USA
  • John P Schaefer (2007),The Ansel Adams Guide Book I Basic Techniques of Photography, Little Brown New York USA
  • John Szarkowski (1981), American Landscapes, The Museum of Modern Art New York USA
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 01 (2007), AA Publishing
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 02 (2008), AA Publishing
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 03 (2009), AA Publishing
  • Liz Wells (1996), Photography:A Critical Introduction, Routledge Oxon
  • Liz Wells (2003), The Photography Reader, Routledge Oxon
  • Marc Garanger (1989), Louisiane, Kodak
  • Robert Adams (1996), Beauty in Photography, Aperture Foundation New York USA
  • Robert Adams et al (2009), New Topographics, Steidl Germany
  • Stephen Shaw (2004), Uncommon Places The Complete Works, Thames and Hudson, London
  • Susan Sontag, On Photography, Penguin Books London
  • Terence Pitts (2008), Edward Weston (Icons Series), Taschen
  • TPOTY Awards (2010), TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Journey Three, Travel Photographer of the Year Suffolk UK

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