Final Thoughts.

As I come to the end of the course it's time to reflect on what I've found a truly enjoyable process that has helped me to progress as a photographer learning a lot about myself and my view of the world. Focusing on the area where I live helped me to see the place in a very different light and when I look at what I produced for my Major Project I still feel that there's more life in this idea. By this I mean there's still different elements of the area that could be looked at and some of the sections could be expanded by looking say at the way thinks change for the better or the worse as the year goes on. One fact about my Major Project that did surprises me as it evolved was the very bleak undertones to the whole thing, maybe it's just because I'm heading towards 30 and already I'm looking at the world with the view that things seemed better when I was growing up and this is then reflected in my work with the changing landscape of my home village. I never original intended my project to be this way as I've said before but it was just how the idea matured and evolved during the process, having never done a project on this scale before it was to begin with a very daunting proposition but with the help of a very good tutor she was able to keep me on track and give me the support and encouragement that was needed to end up with a collection of photo's that I'm very proud of regardless of the mark I end up with after assessment. I'm even considering showing them to the rest of the village in some way which is a bit odd for me as usually I'm very shy about letting other see large amounts of my work, I'm my own worst critic but I feel much more comfortable about what I've produced here so I find myself asking why shouldn't I show my personal view of the village? It might even have an effect on how others who live here view the area and some of the problems I've highlighted might actual be resolved, so here's to the future and who know's where my photography will take me next.


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Presenting My Major Project.

Now I've reach the point where I'm ready to get my Major Project ready for assessment I need to present it in a way which gets the best out of the work and to do this I've decided to use the Blurb website (www.blurb.com) to create a book. I used this site to present my last course (although I wasn't happy with how some of the colours appear this shouldn't be an issue this time) because it gives you such great creative control while produce a very professional end product. Over the years I've tried a number of different ways of bring my work together for assessment but I find when producing a book if done right it can be the most rewarding because it can help you see you're work in a different light especially with this course for example because you have to make design decisions regarding which sections work best together and which photos sit well together on opposite pages. One of my favorite parts of creating a book is picking what to put on the front cover, a cover should convey a message about what you're going to find within the pages so it's a very important decision which you just can't rush, get this wrong and it really effects the presentation of your work. For this book I'm going with the photo below-

This is part of a mural created by the local art group and I think in one image it says quiet a lot about the diversity in the landscape and wildlife in the area but also I like the representation of the church and the names of place's in the village. Its one of them things that you notice something different each time you look at it, you might feel its a bit busy looking for a cover shot because some argue that a cover should be simple and to the point but in this case I feel that it gets you view interested enough that they want to open up the book and see what follows.

Now the real fun begins in picking what order the sections should appear in, when I do this I tend to look for way in which two section can reinforces the ideas of each other so to help the intended view gain a greater understanding of the subjects. This at least is the general idea I try to follow, I wouldn't say it always work best in this manner but for this book I felt it was the best approach to take. So following this way of presenting my work the first section I wanted the viewer to see was The Village, this gives a basic view of Yoxall and the surrounding landscape then when you add the next section People to it together you get an idea of the place and the people living here. The next two sections Agriculture and The National Forest focus on land use around the village giving a better insight into the surrounding landscape, then the final two sections River and Abandoned focus on how local and more broader issues are effecting the local area. All together the final results can be see below.

YOXALL by A Study Of A Modern Village. | Make Your Own Book

Thoughts On Tutors Feedback On Assignment 5

Having had feedback on my 5th Assignment I'm now left with a bit more work to do before I come to the end of this very much enjoyable course. The main point to take from the feedback I've received is that may River section still needs a little more work just to focus the idea that I'm looking at how poor maintenance by landowners and the Environment Agency is leading to increased flooding in the area in the future. This is where I see the use of having a good tutor because originally I thought this section was pretty good with a clear message but after having a read through the feedback and then returning with a fresh view to this part of my project I can see that it isn't as clear as I maybe thought. The second issue that she raised was with navigating my blog and finding the relevant parts, now I've made alterations before but still feel fairly constricted by the options available on the Blogger site. Whether this is down to a poor knowledge of how to use the site (which at this point I don't think is the issue) or more likely the fact it just doesn't give you enough control to group parts together as I'd like I don't know, what I do know is that what's presented before is my very best effort and I just hope that you as the reader don't find it too hard to find and take away with you what you need. Other than these points my tutor seems fairly pleased with where my work is heading, now my aim is to get these final images captured so I can begin the process of producing a book using the Blurb site to present my final collection in the best possible way.


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Thoughts On My Major Project.

As I'm now waiting to hear back from my tutor on my final assignment I find myself looking at my Major Project an feeling pretty happy with what I've produced but at the same time being surprised at what it evolved into during its creation. When I started I intended it to be a fairly mild manner reflective piece looking at the village I live in at a time when I'm in the process of considering moving away for the first time in my life. By the end though when I now look back it's become something much more, it now is almost a study of a changing area that reflects alot of what's happening throughout the country because we all going through hard economic times that is changing landscapes and life's everywhere. I'm glad I approached the subject in the way that I have  because some of the imagery personally I find very strong and the use of black and white photography only makes the mood of the work even stronger. I feel that Fay Godwin's work has probably had the most influence on my major project but also my study on Ansel Adams work also played a part on some of the decisions that I made. I think one of the major point's about my own personal photographic preferences is that I'm still not happy or particular that comfortable when it comes to photographing people, I think this has a lot to do with my natural shines as a person and this I think is then reflected in my work. Leaving the People section till last was defiantly not the best idea I've had, if I'd started with this section I could have slowly added to it throughout the course building it up as I went. Instead I created a lot of unneeded pressure on myself by trying to do it all as the final part of my project and this meant that this part isn't at the same standard as the rest of my work. I now look forward to reading my tutors final comments on my 5th assignment and on my work as a whole, but at the same time I hope anyone else looking at my work can take as much away from it as I have because if you can I know that I've defiantly done a good job of illustrating the feelings I have about my home.

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Final Selection For Major Project.

After much thought I'm displaying here my final selection of work for my Major Project, I've broken it down into the individual sections with a brief description of what each part depicts.

The Village.

With this section I tried to stay away from the more traditional photo's you see of  villages, I'm taking about the kind of chocolate box stuff you see a lot of if you have a search around on any photo site. What I've ended up with gives a slightly different view of a village but equally creates enough interest that you want to see more.

People.

With anywhere be it a City, Town or Village it's the people who live there that will effect and shape the place so what I have here is a depiction of what we as residents make of Yoxall.

Agriculture.

Yoxall being a rural community means that it's Agriculture landscape forms much of it's character, it has it's issues in this area but where can you live that does have hidden problems. 

The National Forest.

The National Forest Project offers a life line to farmers in the area who wish to reduce their holding but at the same time increase their income. In this section I've shown how this is changing the landscape, making it more diverse in many areas, some for the better other maybe for the worse.

The River.

Another factor to what shapes the landscape in and around Yoxall is the River Swarbourne flowing through on it's way to the Trent. Again there are issues with it's up keep and the problems this produces.

Abandoned.

You could take multiple meaning's from this final section but the main aim for me was to show how hard economic times are effecting the area and how we are losing so much.

  

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New Work For Major Project Part 6.

Below are a few more images I'm considering for use in part 6 of my Major Project based around the idea of People.

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/14

Expo- 1600sec

ISO- 2000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

The next couple of shots are from the same bungee jump that I've already included one from but both are a little different. In the first image above I wanted to capture the moment just before the jump, to get the expression of fear as the person see just how high up they are and how far away the ground is. I think you can see this above but the light conditions spoil the end results because there was too much shadow covering the face so I had to use a fair amount of the dodge tool to make it visible enough to catch the expression. To me it just seems a bit to grey making it not that great a shot.

The second image is a combination of 5 images I've layered together to produce and end result which shows the whole process of a single jump. I like this shot a lot because of the way it captures the whole activity of the jump, i produced it by simple copying selected sections from each image onto the very first photo of the man standing in the basket ready to jump. Then using the eraser tool on each layer I've produced a pretty good blend of all the shots, the only place where I don't feel it works as well is around the cord area because I could decided on the best way to blend them together. The end result in this area isn't great but its still good enough not to distract from the main body of the photo. In the end I decided not to use this photo because although I like it I didn't feel it fitted in with the rest in the collection as it didn't reflect the reality and Straight photography approach I'd taken in documenting the rest of my shots.

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/16

Expo- 640sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 27mm

In  previous entry's I've spoken about how the main road through being closed through the village had effected it so now I wanted to somehow illustrate just how busy the road can be now it's opened again. I think this view perfectly capture the weight of traffic that can be found plowing through the village at certain times of the day, also you can see it's not just car but huge great lorries as well that choose to squeeze through. I did consider a slightly longer exposure but felt this didn't quiet capture the situation in the right light as it isn't necessarily the speed of the traffic which is the problem but more the weight. I could have used this in my final selection but I'm not to sure it'll work.

  

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 800sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

In the next two image above and below I wanted to capture a more typical village scene that main associated with village life, the local Cricket team in action. With these two shots I felt it important that they contained this sense of action and that they didn't feel to static and I'm very happy that I've achieved this in both. I think I'll use one in my final selection but before I do they still need a small tweak because the whites to me seem a bit grey (bad light again at play) so some brightening is need other then that really happy with how they turned out.

   

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 640sec

ISO- 640

Expo. Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 100mm

Tech. Details
F-stops- f/10
Expo- 1250sec
ISO- 500
Expo Bias- 0 steps
Focal Length- 190mm

Here I've tried maybe to be a bit to clever with the connection being between the Antiques sign and the old man. Again here I'm illustrating the older population in the village and I just liked the way these two elements work together within the field to create a good photo that I feel should be considered for my final selection. Another point to make about this shot is the use of his eye line, although its looking more towards the King Street sign it still leads your eye in the right direction to connect with the Antiques board.

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Major Project Part 6- People.

With any community the people that live in it make up a large part of what makes the place like it is and Yoxall is know different in that respect. I've said before how it has an aging population dew to the fact that it's beyond the realm's of anyone on what I'd call a normal wage to be able to afford buy or rent here. If you brought here during my parents generation you tended to stay thus the aging population, while the majority of people I grew up with have slowly moved away for one reason or another. This is now pretty much the norm in any small rural community so what you see today here is alot of people moving into the area from the Tamworth-Birmingham areas looking for a change of life, the majority of these people are welcomed with open arms and fit into the area easily but you do now and again get the type that come in and want to change things that have been running smoothly for years, this obviously can cause tensions because they fail to consider how there actions effect other people. Anyway I'm getting a little off point here again, in this section I wanted to capture some of the activities that take place and the people who live here to help you understand even more what kind of place Yoxall is.

   Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 250sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 38mm

For my first shot in this section I used a common event throughout the country, Remembrance Sunday to illustrate how the village history is still remembered and is as important today as it ever was that we remember our past. As I was standing in the crowd it parted for a few seconds and I saw this couple holding hands and it made a real impression on me and in away is symbolic of how the village comes together at this time.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 21mm

This was taken at the same event but what I like about this shot was the way everyone is focused on the monument except the little on the right in her parent arms who's looking in completely the opposite direction at something else. What it also gives you is more idea of the scale to which the community comes together at this time. Its not the best shot in this section but I feel it adds to the overall picture. 

Tech. Details
F-stops- f/13
Expo- 1000sec
ISO- 500
Expo Bias- 0 steps
Focal Length- 75mm

What I wanted to show next was the more lighter side to life, after looking at how the village remembers its war dead its an change of direction to then look at another local event in the shape of a charity Bungee jump that took place over the Easter weekend. In the shot above I've tried to capture the exact moment of realization as the person takes the leap. In away I was a little disappointing because the light conditions meant I could capture the facial expressions as he jumped because this would have really added to the feel of the shot. You can see a little evidence of this but not the amount I'd have liked. I'd like to think this gives some idea of the fun loving nature that also existent in the area.     

Tech. Details
F-stops- f/4.5
Expo- 500sec
ISO- 160
Expo Bias- 0 steps
Focal Length- 15mm

Taken back in the late summer this shows a couple of the local farmers hard at work. As I've said many times during this project farming still makes up part of a way of life in the area (if not a much as it once would have) so I felt it important to include some reference to this fact because it wouldn't be a true study of the people in this area without. I've tried to get up close to the scene while at the same time leaving a little space so as to see the wider picture of what there doing.

Tech. Details
F-stops- f/10
Expo- 160sec
ISO- 400
Expo Bias- 0 steps
Focal Length- 51mm

Taken along the river bank during the summer what I like to think this reflect the laid back easy going attitude that can be found a lot of the time here. One thing you discover soon when living here is that nothing really happens in a hurry. I think this possibly reflects the fact that Yoxall has an aging population which doesn't feel the need to be in the rat race anymore. I like this shot because the tree frames the couple nicely while not over powering the whole thing too much plus the angle of the river bank helps to stop the view feeling to flat. To me its a very easy calming view although it'd possibly work better in colour because the colours would give it a warmer summery feel that's lost in black and white.

As with all the sections I've produced this is by no means the final selection of photos, I'll continue to try and improve and build on what I have here but I am aware that this is possibly the weakest collection I've produced so far. To me personally it shows some signs of what life is like here but I'm not completely happy that to anyone outside it gives a clear enough picture so in that respect I've still got something to work towards with this section.

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New Work For Major Project Part 5.

Below are a few more images for my section focusing on the local River.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 160sec

ISO- 500

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 55mm

This photo again focuses on a problem area on the river where you can see how tree roots in the water get coated in a gunge that slowly builds up coursing blockages to form. What actually produces this build up I don't really know but my theory (probably wrong) is that there's the local sewage works located on the banks of the river and it could be produced from run off from there. Its a good image, again it's a little abstract but it doesn't  really work that well for me.

 Tech Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 800sec

ISO- 1000

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

I've looked at how messed up parts of the river are but what I also wanted to show was it isn't all bad new, on the section that runs through the actual village there's still plenty of life present and in the above and below shot's I've tried to capture this. In the above image I capture a Moorhen and its chick, not as easy as you think as there easily scared so it was more a case of sitting very still and waiting to see what came along. Its not the best wildlife shot I've ever taken but it capture the idea well, in a ideal world I would've loved to get a lot closer but this just wasn't going to be possible.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/5.6

Expo- 400sec

ISO- 1000

Expo. Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 300mm

I stood for a while watching the fish swimming around in the shadows near one of the bridges that cross the river when I noticed this one fish that was very interested in a fly that had landed on the water, as fast as I could I set my self up for the shot you see above which isn't half bad but there are a couple of issues I have with it. First in my haste I didn't quiet get my focus right so unfortunately the fly is in focus but the fish below the water is just a little out. My final problem is that maybe it would have been better if I'd actually captured it striking out to catch the fly. Its not perfect but it's not bad I suppose for the hast I composed and took it in.

 Tech. Details

F-stops- f/32

Expo- 13 sec

ISO- 400

Expo. Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 85mm

I wanted a good reflection shot but with something a little different about it, here with the added rain drops covering the scene I think I found it. The only problem I have with the end results is that again I've struggled to get the focus right, yes I've captured the reflection well but I also wanted the patterns formed by the rain drops to also be in focus which sadly on closer inspection it just isn't. This seems to be an area where I could do with some more practice at this stage because I don't seem to be able to find the happy medium with the focus in these kind of shots.

The photos that follow are ones taken and added after reflecting on Tutors comments for my 5th Assignment.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/9

Expo- 200sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 22mm

With this photo I wanted to focus on the bank erosion, what I think this image does well is that it clear shows the degradation of the bank but it also gives insight into one of the reasons for this problem with the clear footprints left by cattle in the forground.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/8

Expo- 200secs

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 24mm

I think this is one of the better photos illustrating the problems along the river because in it I've capture two of the main factors in the erosion and lack of up keep of the banks and at this time of year especially the clogging up of the river with fresh reed growth. Its a good image for these reasons but also with the reeds in the river being flatten in flow of the water it also gives a sense of movement without the use of a long exposure.

  Tech. Details

F-stops- f/10

Expo- 200secs

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 37mm

Here I simply wanted to focus on the reeds that grow and block the river during the summer month increasing the risk of flooding, again as above I feel there's a sense of movement created by the direction the reed is being forced in but also I liked the added reflections giving another layer of depth to the shot.

Tech. Details

F-stops- f/7.1

Expo- 160sec

ISO- 640

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

Above I wanted to illustrate how the village being so close to the river can produce issues, here you can clearly see that the flood plain of the Swarbourne has greatly been reduced by the fact that development has been aloud to take place on it. The majority of this has happen in the past 50 years or so when less concern to these kind of problems were ever given but now we have to live with the problems created.

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