Over the last week, whilst on holiday from work, My husband and I went for a few walks. One for the exercise and two (my main reason!) to get some photography practice.

I used my canon 1300d, EFS 55-250mm lens.

We headed over to Kidderminster, after a recommendation from my aunty, to photograph a poppy field. It only flowers with poppies once every 8 years – they rotate what they plant, year on, year off. When I first got there, my aperture was set to f/5.6. which from my research, would mean Large aperture = Large blur. I then moved to f/22, Small aperture = small blur (this research can be found in my learning log, here). The difference can be seen in my photos below.

The following day we walked along the river Severn, near Bridgnorth. Again, I used different aperture settings to see the change in background.

The following day, we walked down the canal towpath in Wombourne. I only took my 55-250mm lens. For some of the photos this worked. However, I wasn’t expecting to find animals over a fence, which would have been much easier to capture with a wider lens!

From this, I would say for a wider shot such as a landscape, a small aperture keeps the scene in focus, which would / did work better within some of these shots. However, with the poppy fields, although the small aperture shots work, so do the large aperture. Keeping the foreground in focus and blurring the back helps the eye to focus on the bit you were intending, rather than the whole scene.

The mood of a photo can change because of the aperture. As it is the key for the focus of the photo. Background blur can create that lovely smoothness over an uninteresting scene, can gloss over the parts you don’t want people to see. As a filter, it can blur out an ugly backdrop or a “photo bomb”.

A small aperture can give a sharpness to an image. A total view of what was in front of the camera when the frame was taken. All of it can be seen and explored.

I’ve spent time in the past looking into all 3 key elements of photography. 1, aperture, 2, shutter speed, 3, ISO.

Although I’ve looked in to them before, I feel the need to re look at them as I progress through this course.

For part 2, the instruction is to put my camera in aperture priority – AV. I felt it appropriate to include my notes on AV, to update my learning log, but also as a link for me to be able to refer to if I feel the need…

After completing the square mile project and receiving some good feedback from my tutor, I was really excited to get started on part one.

The one exercise I seemed to spend most time on was 1.2 point. For some reason I couldn’t get to grips with what it was asking of me. Eventually, after reading it over and over again, I think I got the point.

From that, I took the learning forward to part two. Stop thinking, go out and shoot. That was the moment I got the point. When I took myself off to a bigger area and just tried. instead of trying to figure it out in my head first. I tend to overthink. I found myself thinking about part one everyday, even if I didn’t physically do any work, I was figuring out, jotting down locations, thinking of objects to shoot for 1.3 line, going for walks with my camera on the off chance I’d find something suitable for an upcoming exercise.

I set myself the target of getting part one completed by 31st March… a goal which, happily, I met (even if the last piece was put on to my blog on that date!). The 31st was quite a late finish because I started that write up with the intention of finishing the whole part on that day. Unfortunately that meant by the time I was done, I forgot to let my tutor know!

April was busy. So busy at work that I didn’t have time for much else. I had set myself a target to get to Assignment two: Collecting, by 1st May, meaning the other exercises needed doing by 30th April. This hasn’t happened. I knew there would be times when work and life in general would take over. Things happen, workloads up and priorities change. Now that workload is done, I’m aiming to get back in to EYV. I’ve completed exercise 2.1. Just 3 more exercises, lots of research and (most importantly) lots of practice shots to get done before reaching the Assignment. Good job my head is back in it… I’m looking forward to working through this part too.

So far in part one, I have looked at the point exercise and the Line exercise. For some reason with the point exercise, I could not get it in my head what was being asked of me.

I kept thinking it over, and getting nothing. However the Line exercise I seemed to have ideas for, had already looked for photo opportunities and had then been and taken photos on a number of occasions.
I started over thinking the point and was getting frustrated that I could not move on and get the Line project started because I couldn’t get the point exercise done.

I decided today to just start taking photos and trying to figure out the point of the “point” exercise that way. I took 3 sets of phots. The first were in my house and the point was a Tigger. This helped me to see that the point is the position within the frame. However, I thought the background was too busy to show the purpose.

I then took another set, which were a plain background, and a bowl being the point. however, the plain background didn’t work either. It didn’t give any purpose or excitement to the photos and therefore it became boring.

I then did a set of photos in my garden, which you can see here.

This has been a lesson for me. To just try if I’m not sure. Actually taking photos of what I thought was the point allowed me to see the actual point. I still need to do the exercise as I’m not happy with what I have so far, but feel I’m more confident in what is being asked of me.

For exercise 1.3 Line, I saw a potential opportunity to take photos on my way to work, early one morning. However, I only had my phone with me. I decided to snap a couple of photos anyway just to see how it looked in picture.

About a week later, I walked through this car park again. There was a leak. Again, I thought this would make a good photo but did not have my camera. I took some photos anyway and think they came out well for a camera phone!

I particularly like the one below. I think the colour came out well, with the yellow seeming quite bright against the dark water pooling on the floor below. I think this works well for showing perspective particularly, as the brief says, with a viewpoint close to the line. I think the lines of the ceiling also work well to guide you further in to the frame.

I went back again at a later date with my camera… but no water spilling this time. Still an interesting place for the line project though.  As asked, these were shot on auto mode, on a canon 1300D, with an 18-55mm standard kit lens.

From these photos, I’m not sure this truly works for the point of “the point”. It took me a while to find the actual meaning behind this exercise. I don’t think these photos show the understanding is there and for that reason, I will be reworking this exercise. I feel these frames are too full to see the “point”. although it has shown me that the positioning of the point does impact on the rest of the frame. I think this would work better if I moved the point, rather than moving the camera. this could be something I try too. also in these photos, as the rain was pouring, I took the photos from in the house. I am not happy with the reflection which can be seen in the middle of the frame f at least the bottom 3 photos.

For the reasons above, this post has been added to my learning log, rather than the coursework for part one of EYV. I wanted to add something for exercise 1.2 point, as I felt I was holding myself back from moving on to the next exercise, which I have already taken photos for…

Looking at all the exercises for project 1, there is a lot about composition. I’ve previously looked at a few videos but not necessarily taken in the information.
I decided to have a quick look at YouTube this morning whilst eating breakfast. I know composition will be important throughout this course and so I know I need to look in to it further. I watched the following :

Although I think you need an eye for a good photo opportunity, it seems you also need to know the “rules” to make a good photo.
Without even realising, we look at photographs and judge by whether they grab us. The reason they do so is the composition and the focus object in the photo.
I’m looking forward to practicing some of the suggestions I found within these 2 videos, in particular, reflection/ negative space. Some of the rules were things that seem obvious, but I hadn’t considered as a rule for a good photo, for example, lines/balance/symetry.
In the videos, I found a bit about lines within a photo. That’s particularly useful as the first exercises cover lines. I wanted to see how others work with these rules for good examples of putting them in to practice.

I have looked at some photos taken previously and the rules to see what I have done as instinct and what has changed after some researching.
Firstly, a sunrise over a Greek sea. This was taken August 2017

As you can see from the grid lines, this photo does follow the rule of thirds and symmetry. This was the first holiday I took my camera on. I hadn’t used it much before this. When looking for this photo, I thought I had caught the horizon line straight across the middle, which would go against the rule of thirds, but I didn’t. I think this composition works as the sun sits in the middle with the horizon below.

Secondly, a Ferris wheel

This was taken on a day in Torquay September 2018. Again, from the grid lines, this follows the rule of thirds. I think the lines of the wheel make the photo interesting and the trees make good darker tones over the right side.

Lastly, a bench

This was taken January 2019. I think the rule of thirds was used better this time, perhaps because the object was closer, and sits in the bottom corner which looks better than only being in one square of it.

I think the rule of thirds work well and I do feel I continually think about that when taking photos. From the videos I watched, it’s a good one to use but there are plenty more I need to be aware of. They were useful in making me think of other ways to view things and not to rely on one rule all the time. In my next shoots, I will try to step away from this, not altogether, but enough to try something new. To step out of my comfort zone and that may even allow me to capture something much better.

For this assignment, I chose to look at the practitioners suggested in the assignment. After having a quick look in to all of them, two stood out to me.

Peter Mansell: www.weareoca.com/photography/peter-mansell/

I found that the work here had a very ‘real’ feel to it, with a very personal touch to the photographs. They force you to think about the meaning behind them and imagine what that life must be like. They provoke a reaction in you to think about the way we live and how others manage their lives. Perhaps we are quite selfish with the things we take for granted and photos like those bring some realisation.

Jodi Taylor: www.weareoca.com/photography/photography- and-nostalgia/

When looking at these images, I saw the reasons behind them. They have the same feel that I will try to create with my photographs for this assignment. They are photos with a story behind them, if you have the imagination to see past just the thing photographed. They bring a feeling of “I used to do that” or “I used to go somewhere similar” and that allows people to connect with the photo.

After reading that article about Jodi Taylor, I researched in to a name mentioned within the piece and found that work quite interesting too.

Martin Parr: www.martinparr.com

In the introduction, Thomas Weski, writes “Parr’s term for the overwhelming power of published images is “propaganda”. He counters this propaganda with his own chosen weapons: criticism, seduction and humour. As a result, his photographs are original and entertaining, accessible and understandable. But at the same time they show us in a penetrating way how we live, how we present ourselves to others, and what we value”.

I think that’s an interesting way of looking at how we live our daily lives. With how much we care about what others see and think, especially with all the focus on social media lately, our real lives aren’t always represented truthfully by our social media feeds. Capturing moments in time as they happen, un-posed and natural, have always been the kind of photos I think work best.

*EDIT. I think this image works well as it shows a mixed group of people, not necessarily knowing each other, all standing in one place. These people all have their own lives but have a reason to be standing at the same bus stop at this time. This photo is taken from an exhibition called Martin Parr: Return to Manchester. This shows a look at his work from Manchester over the last 40 years. It is interesting to see the change over the years, which is perhaps a great way of looking at he square mile assignment… but I wasn’t born 40 years ago to have been able to do this! Although a different version of this could be changes in seasons, or revisiting again at a later date.*

I find the work of John Thomson interesting for the same reason as Martin Parr. He manages to capture a scene of everyday life in a way which tells its own story. He is described as a society photographer. According to an article in the Daily /mail, written by Tiffany Lo, “The Scottish photographer and writer was able to capture the individuality and humanity of the diverse people of Asia, whether royalty or street vendor” during a 10 year trip to Asia.

Lo, Tiffany, 11 April 2018, Inside a forgotten kingdom: Incredible unseen images of China, Cambodia and Thailand in the 19^th century go on show for the first time. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5603337/Images-captured-Scottish-photographer-John-Thomson-glimpse-life-Far-East.html

Make a series of six to twelve photographs in response to the concept of ‘the square mile’. Use this as an opportunity to take a fresh and experimental look at your surroundings. You may wish to re-trace places you know very well, examining how they might have changed; or, particularly, if you’re in a new environment, you may wish to use photography to explore your new surroundings and meet some of the people around you. 

The concept of “Y Filltir Sgwar” or “The square mile” to me, is the place we call / have called home. The area in which we grew up. The place we lived. The area we’re from. A place we explored. The place we used to or still do know “like the back of our hand”.

The brief for the assignment is to rediscover that place. Re trace steps I used to take and see the places I once knew so well, with a fresh pair of eyes. As an adult, the thought of where I grew up brings back good memories. Time spent playing with my brother and cousins. A family house where the garden was our playground.

As we grew older the streets we lived on became that playground. Gutter ball, Tag, Water fights, etc. Which then developed in to long days walking aimlessly with friends. We walked where ever our feet would take us.

Although I haven’t moved far from that home, I haven’t explored it for quite some time. Life has moved on and things have change. I’m looking forward to a fresh look at a place I used to love, which has just become a place I live.