Final Evaluation

For my work based learning it took me a while to get properly started on it. I find it hard sometimes to talk to and approach new people, which is why I started it late. One way that I tried to get over this was by going to Focus on Imagery and trying to speak to fellow students that were there and see what work they were doing. Focus on Imagery also helped me to solidify my ideas and what I wanted to pursue as a professional career and showed me what competitors are out there that can challenge me. I also learnt about new equipment that is available and different companies that do book making and normal printing.

After speaking to a lecturer about what I was interested in doing and that I wanted to focus on getting my confidence up around new people I decided to get in contact with Fotonow. After a meeting with them and getting to grips with what they do and who they work with, I was asked to do 10 days’ work in the records office doing picture research for a current project they are running about the Pannier Market and its history. On my first day in the record’s office I was shown around and shown how to request items that I wanted to look at, I was also allowed behind the scenes where the public aren’t normally allowed into and was shown the oldest item they have which is over 900 years old and an item with Queen Elizabeth’s seal on which I found very interesting. Whilst at the records office I looked at items such as photographs of the market area from 1959 and 1960 when it was being built, plans of the building itself and newspaper cuttings that were about the market to show what people thought about it at the time and how important it was. I also looked at a large document called emergency minutes but found that the item was related to my research and couldn’t find anything useful in it. Overall my experience in the records office and working with Fotonow has been very positive as I was able to do something I hadn’t done before and didn’t know about the records office until now which means that I am able to go there myself if I wish to for personal research or research that could help with my projects.

Whilst working for Fotonow I received an e-mail from my auntie asking if I could take photos for her of my cousin Seth’s christening which I was paid to do. I was very nervous to begin with as I hadn’t done a christening before of worked with a large amount of people that I know for a whole day, I was also excited about the new experience and wanted to show her my skills so that she could pass my business card on to help me get more work. I think that the photographs that I took turned out successful but could have been better as I didn’t think to bring a portable flash which meant that, even with a tripod, I couldn’t get the lighting that I wanted in the church which meant that my images came out slightly orange. The images at the cricket club were more successful though as I was more comfortable and less nervous than I was in the church as I had already taken everyone’s photograph at least once. I was able to get people to be where I wanted and managed to take the group shots pretty easily without too much complaint, I was surprised at how well behaved Seth was as I wasn’t expecting him to last as long as he did and managed to get several really good shots of him. I think that the images that I created worked really well after a slight edit to the white balance and slight colour change to make the images less orange from the church and to make them slightly lighter in places in the images from the cricket club. My auntie was also happy with my images and I am waiting to hear back from her which ones she would like me to print as she is on holiday at the moment.

For my work based learning I also helped for a day at the exhibition, I could only do the single day as I was still working in the records office and went back to Cornwall the following week to shoot. On the day that I assisted I helped to choose where the images would be and what would go next to each other, although I was a bit particular about my image in the end I was happy where it was and thought that it worked well. I think that the organisation of who should have been helping what day as at the start of the day a lot of people turned up which meant that the space to work in was too crowded and people were sent away to come back in the afternoon, although quite a few didn't come back at all. The space was a bit small due to the amount of people in the rooms which sometimes meant that sometimes people were more of a hindrance than a help. Next time we orchestrate an exhibition I will make sure what days people are helping and how many people they need so that the working space doesn't get too busy. I will also plan my trips home ahead of time so that I am able to help out more.

As I sometimes struggle to get my ideas and voice across, work based learning has always been a bit of a struggle for me but through perseverance and help from lecturers, friends and family I have been able to create some new contacts through Fotonow and giving my business card to my auntie to pass on and spread around. Although I am still a bit shy with new people I feel that this has been a successful module and I’m happy with the outcomes that I have reached. If I could do it again I would broaden my horizons more by going to more than one place and try to see who I could work with to improve my career aspects.