News.
Sunday 7th February 2010.
Phew! It's been a busy few weeks back in Falmouth town. With the holiday season fading from memory, this is the point where things get serious. In 24 hours I sit down to my first formal assessment at UCF. Hopefully all of my hard work will be met with encouragement and I'll be able to take this years new found enthusiasm forward into the spring.
This is the time for positive thought and I'm really happy with the images I've managed to produce over the last month. This year I'm looking into the subject of consumerism, or more specifically, why are we increasingly compelled to be defined by the things that we own. Why are we driven to upgrade and trade up? How have we allowed ourselves to fall under the spell of advertisers? And why am I seeking to establish my individuality through the acquisition of mass produced items that, if anything, make me less of an individual and more like everyone else?
It's a huge subject and I've found myself reading and researching to a far greater extent than ever before - which is a very good thing. I've been particularly struck by the Marxist idea of commodity fetishism, which is the mystification of a products meaning, undertaken to remove it from its actual origin (the place where it was made, the people who made it and its true function), in order to elevate it to the status of a fetish object. An example would be a designer branded shirt that we're sold, not on the basis that it is made well, of the finest cloth, by people that are skilled in the ways of clothing manufacture, but because of it's value as a designer object, its label and the elevated status you will accrue by buying and wearing it.
I still have some way to go in clarifying my ideas on this vast subject, but as a start I decided to look at the power we have, as photographers, to imbue objects with a meaning that they don't normally posses, through the process of photographing them. I want to know if it's possible to elevate a discarded object, something that is no longer needed nor desired, back up to the heights of desirability through the medium of photography.
It's early days, but I've really been bitten by this idea and I think it has the potential to be explored to a huge extent in my future work.
Monday 28th December 2009.
The last six months have seen some pretty big changes in both my life and photographic practice. After becoming increasingly frustrated with the experience of studying photography at Anglia Ruskin University, I made the decision to relocate to Falmouth in Cornwall.
University College Falmouth is home to one of the most well regarded photographic courses in the UK. Both their facilities and teaching staff are top notch, and the opportunity to join their undergraduate pathway was too good to miss.
So I've taken the hard won experiences from the last two years, along with boxes of kit and chemistry, and have moved the whole lot three hundred miles south to the seaside.
As I write this I've just completed my first semester. Has the move been worthwhile? Well it's early days, but I think my practice will benefit in the long run. I've traded a further year of apathetic teaching at Anglia Ruskin for two years of intensive study at Falmouth. And whilst the extra money will need to be found to keep me in education for a year longer than planned, I think the potential for learning is far greater here in my new surroundings.
One thing is eminently clear though. If I intend to get the best out of my degree studies, I need to be committed to following my own path.
I've spent the first thirteen weeks in Falmouth orienting myself to my new surroundings, making new friends and learning what's expected of me by my new faculty. But in my attempts to make a good first impression, I seem to have lost sight of the elements of photography that really interest and inspire me. So, in attempt to get back on track, 2010 will see my return to alternate photographic processes. I intend to further explore the convergence of digital technology with traditional printing methods and I hope that my efforts will be well received.
For the first time in a long time, I'm feeling both inspired and excited.
Wednesday 22nd April, 2009.
It's been far too long since my last update! This semester's workload has been huge, but all of the hard work is beginning to pay off. I have a new portfolio of flower images, produced in conjunction with my ongoing Platinum Printing efforts. There will be a whole new section of the site up shortly, which will detail some of the more eccentric efforts I've had to undertake. And there's also exciting exhibition news on the horizon... Stay tuned for further developments!!!
Saturday 24th January, 2009.
With the festive season now a distant memory I find myself eager to get started on all manner of new photographic projects. Work on the website has started well and I hope to continue adding to it as the year progresses. I'm particularly proud of the Creative Retouching section, which is now up and running complete with videos! Take a look and tell me what you think.
