Lydford castle

On arrival to Lydford castle I didn't think much of it, in comparison to the stereotypical ideal of castles it is very small and hidden. I decided to shoot the outside of the castle first as I was very nervous once inside and felt that once I had started taking pictures outside, I would be more confident in exploring the interior to get stronger images.

Floating Pillow, Lydford Castle, Lydford

Reflecting on Freud's theory of the uncanny, I wanted to create interesting images in which it was clear that I had intervened. I want to show the main structure of the castle as a background feature, whilst still being a large part in the image. There is a strong contrast between the object and it's surroundings which draw the viewer in and break the image up which makes it more interesting.

  Hidden Pillow, Lydford castle, Lydford

Michael Andrew's 5th Annual International Photo Contest

For this contest I have also entered the image of High Tor, this image is for the landscape category as I want my landscape images to be seen by people so that I can improve my network and be known as a landscape photographer.

The image stands out as it isn't one that you can easily get, through editing and exploring different areas I was able to create this image alongside others that link together.

Entering A New Competition

After looking into what competitions are available in at this moment in time, I decided to enter the Print Space's competition 'Give Us Your Best Shot' which is open to everyone with no specific theme. This meant that I could choose any image that I preferred to show my work.

View From High Tor, Dartmoor

I have chosen this image that I took whilst exploring Dartmoor for a previous project, which involved researching into prehistoric and Iron Age areas in Dartmoor.

Looking for volunteer work

After looking at what areas of photography I'd like to go into, to further my CV and to improve my skills I have decided to look into volunteer work with the National Trust and possibly Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery. Through working for these institutes I will be able to expand on my knowledge of the area whilst improving on my people skills. I will also be able to work on my networking skills so that I am able to get more work in the future.

My interests are landscape and the history of the land with historical landmarks that have affected the landscape. Through documenting these places I will create bodies of work that can inform and educate people about the landscape that they live near and may be interested in. I also like to explore new areas as I am inspired by new areas that I haven't been to before.

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.

Showing In an Exhibtion

The image that I chose to show in our college exhibition, "The Best So Far", I chose this image out of my finals as I think that this image is the strongest and can be interpreted in different ways which means that it has the biggest selling point. With regards to the exhibition itself I think that it was successful but felt that the space was a bit small at times when it was especially busy.

For my part of the exhibition I helped with the organisation of images and getting hooks needed to hang the images themselves. I also helped with hanging of some images and was a bit meticulous when it came to hanging my image as I was worried about it getting damaged or marks to be made on it which meant that I would have to clean it. At times it was slightly stressful as there was too many people in such a small space at times and sometimes there wasn't enough jobs for people so they left in the afternoon and didn't come back.

I know now for next time to plan my trips home more in advance so that I don't miss out on the exhibition so much as I was only able to work on the first day. I will also look more into when people are helping so that I can help to the best of my ability without being a hindrance and to get a better understanding of what will be put in the exhibition. This exhibition was successful as a wide range of people saw our work which was emphasised by the wide range of work that was on show.

Chosen Images from Seth's Christening

These images are a select few from the Christening that I took pictures for. I am happy with the outcome and like how natural the subjects look. Although I didn't use a flash I was still able to get a good exposure and use the lighting that was available. My favorite image out of this set if the one of Seth on his own at the top of the page, the focus is on him and he looks relaxed and happy. I know now for next time I am paid to shoot like this to bring a portable flash to get better lighting in areas and to think more about my compositions in advance so that I can create even better images.