Evaluation.

Evaluation.

For me this major project was a chance to redeem myself for what I produced in my minor project which has weighed on me since handing it in. Going into the project I was confident that I could do much better as I had all the research and inspiration behind me from my dissertation which I planned to apply to the project, rather than basing my project on a less substantial idea and research. Despite my project having a better foundation of research, unlike last time I had to contend with a surgery recovery which made things interesting in the first few months of the project.

Right from the off I had to make some modifications to the project, the main change being the switch to digital which I had no real choice in, otherwise I could have missed a lot of time shooting in the early months. However I feel as if this was ultimately a positive as it gave me a lot more freedom in terms of shooting style which is clearly evident in my portrait format final images where I solely used the image stitching technique. This technique ultimately allowed me to take better images by letting me make a compromise between taking a high vantage point to attain God’s eye and expansive images. Even though my research was substantially undertaken in my dissertation I think it was a good idea to revisit, develop and isolate the different aspects of the photographers I talked about in the text to give myself a general frame work to base my images and style of photography.

Despite having to endure a lot of driving and walking on my leg, I think this has easily been the most enjoyable project I’ve done to date as I’ve visited so many different places in the country and indeed Scotland; photographed a vast range of subject matter and produced some good quality work. I think the best photo trip I went on was the fourth one where I visited three places in a day and experience three completely different types of weather. Even though I didn’t use any of the pictures from this shoot, I think that what I experienced on the day with driving in the snow, exploring the unknown and being in the landscape for the day is why I’ve always enjoyed this type of photography. I think my best images are of the chalk mine and also the image of the pipes in seal sands. It is these images that best fulfil my brief because they balance aesthetics and narrative as I explained within the photoshoot write ups.

No matter what, or however well I think a project had gone, there’s always things that I would change if I was able to do it all over again. I wish I had discovered the book ‘Altered Landscapes’ earlier, or even had it when I was writing my dissertation. The book contained some fantastic images of a range of subject matter that took a conceptual style. While I wouldn’t have completely abandoned the style I’ve photographed the project in, I would have definitely applied it to diversify my outcomes. Whether I ended up using them or not is a different matter because they might not have conformed to my brief, but having more good images is only ever a good thing when building a portfolio and I could always have revised the parameters of the brief a bit like I’ve already done.

   

In summary for my last self-made project I still haven’t managed to complete my brief to the exact original plan however I think this project has evolved, and is now something that I can develop outside of University. With this said and the final images I’ve handed in I think I can say that I’ve redeemed myself for my last project and hopefully get myself back on track for a first.