Category: Assignment 2: Final Version

Assignment 2: A Journey – Final Version

The 2:30 to Cardiff Central, stopping at University, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester….

I was originally inspired to undertake a journey by train for this assignment when I spotted a Great Western Railway poster based around Enid Blyton’s Famous Five going on a train journey to the seaside. A chance visit to Birmingham provided the opportunity and this assignment is based on the return journey from Birmingham to Gloucester.

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Drawing on Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts’ book, ‘Edgelands: Journeys into England’s true wilderness’, (2012), I wanted to incorporate a mix of urban and rural landscapes as well as what lies between, reflecting the breadth of the landscape course and the reality of a train journey. I also wanted as far as possible, to reflect the journey as I experienced it from my normal seating position; dirty windows, the window frame and rails in many of the photographs, observing the interior as well as the exterior of the train as well as reflection in the windows as other trains flashed by.

This work was influenced by among others, Rolf Sachs, Paul Fusco, Lewis Baltz, Yan Wang Preston all of whom are discussed in the ‘Research and Influences’ post for this assignment – see link above.

I firmly believe that a slide show is the most appropriate vehicle for the presentation of this assignment as it allowed me to replicate the movement of the train through the transition from slide to slide. Having experimented with a number of tools including iMovie and Lightroom, settled on PowerPoint which I found to be both flexible and intuitive.  Having experimented with various sound tracks and failed to find anything remotely appropriate to accompany the photographs, I chose to record the sound from inside the train which I believe works well. The slide show consists of 48 photographs, many more than the suggested 12, however this has allowed me to reflect the speed of the train whilst keeping the total length of the slideshow to under 2 minutes.

Self evaluation against assessment criteria:

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

I am very much happier with this version of  Assignment 2 than the original one. Having freed myself from unnecessary constraints and accepted the randomness of the situation, I was able to relax and enjoy the experience.  I have learnt that  I get a better result with my camera by using a fixed ISO and either fixing the shutter speed or aperture than I do by setting the aperture and shutter speed and leaving ISO on auto. In this instance ISO was set to 400 and shutter speed at 1/13 sec and aperture on auto which resulted in apertures ranging between f16 and f22.  The slow shutter speed demonstrated  that the train was travelling at speed whilst still retaining enough definition to identify the subject.  Arguably I didn’t need such small apertures but had learnt from previous experience not to start messing with the settings once they had been set.  Photographs from the railway station, the train interior and oncoming trains speeding past and even my cup of coffee are included as they add to the story and to my experience of the journey.

I have previously used Power-Point in a business environment but not for the presentation of photographs as a slide show and enjoyed exploring this. Although I initially had a problem inserting audio and then saving as a video, a little patience soon resolved this.

Quality of outcome

I have finally achieved what I set out to do, in that I have produced a series of photographs that reflect my experience of the rail journey, both in terms of images and sound.  I have included a mix of rural landscape, edgelands, station stops and passing trains as well as shots of the interior of the carriage. I believe that the blur resulting from the slow shutter speed is effective whilst still retaining some definition in the images.  From the beginning I felt that a slide show was the best means of communicating  my visual ideas for this assignment and I believe I have achieved this very well.

Demonstration of Creativity

This I believe, is to be the most creative and thought provoking project I have undertaken whilst studying with the OCA and almost certainly the reason I was less than happy with the results of my first shoot.  The following is an extract from my reflection on the work submitted to my tutor for feedback.

‘I had chosen to follow the example of Richard Long, Rolf Sachs and Yan Wang Preston, as discussing in my research post, where they decided in advance where or when to take their photographs regardless of what they would capture. This meant that the process became more important than the outcome and there was a randomness about the photographs I took.  I initially had concerns about the dirt on the windows of the train and reflections of the inside of the train in some of my photographs but now realise that, not only does this add another layer of interest, it is actually part of my experience of the journey. This has been a very experimental project in which I have had to relinquish some control, and although that has not been entirely comfortable, it is something I will explore further’.

My re-shooting of this assignment has resulted in a less-risky but better quality outcome and I understand that this is a boundary I have to keep pushing.   Getting both right has to start with confidence in my equipment (and myself) and a clear vision of what I want to achieve.  My dissatisfaction with the first series of images was largely to do with my unfamiliarity with a new  camera and how it would reacted under certain circumstances, such as the effect that having a barrier in the form of the train window between the camera and the subject would have on the light reaching the sensor. That said, Rolf Sachs took around 15000 photographs over a 12 month period for his work  ‘Camera in Motion –  Churn to Tirano’ ( Sachs, 2013)

As I re-read my draft submission I fear I have sacrificed too much of my original bravery and inspiration in a bid for a better outcome – only time will tell.

Context

I researched this project thoroughly bringing into it, a range of different aspects of landscape photography explored in the course materials. I have drawn on a variety of artists whose work is influenced by journeys or aspects of landscapes not usually photographed; Richard Long, Yan Wang Preston, Rolf Sachs, Paul Fusco, Lewis Baltz and where possible I have tried to apply some of the practices and techniques used by these artists in my assignment.  I reflect and analyse my work as a matter of course, perhaps over analysing at times but always wanting to improve my work as a result of my learning.

Sources:

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