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Exhibition Questions - Transitions

Name of exhibition –  Transitions

 Location of exhibition –  Theatre Royal, Glasgow

  How does the flyer/poster advertise the exhibition?

 The poster is brightly coloured and eye-catching. It advertises the group of photographers who are featured, the duration of the event and the location.

  What is the suitability of the gallery space? How is the exhibition laid out?

 The gallery space was excellent, albeit slightly awkward for moving display boards into and out of. The rooms were spacious and well lit (although the second floor benefited from being airier and lighter).

 How has the work been mounted? Is this appropriate for the work?

All work was printed with a thin black outline and white border, then put into identical frames. This consistency in presentation helped to bring together work which was otherwise quite disparate in style, subject and tone. The frames and prints looked good quality which no doubt helped some of them to sell.

  Who made the work?

 The second year of City of Glasgow College’s Photography HND, with printing and framing by Deadly Digital.

  Who did they make it for, who is the audience?

 The audience would be anyone interested in high-end or developing photography. The style of photographs was very much in keeping with the venue and quality of presentation.

 How does it make you feel?

 I feel quite encouraged that the work I submitted did not look out of place, albeit I’d have been quite daunted organising something on that scale myself!

 If the work has a title does it make you think about the image/s differently?

 I didn’t really think too much about the transitions title – as it applies more to the stage that we are at as photographers rather than anything meaningful about the work itself.

 How would I describe it to someone later?

 A high-quality exhibition in a beautiful venue, well worth whiling away an hour at.

 Does the photograph make you want to ask questions, what are these questions?

 Not really.

 Is the photograph valuable? How do you know?

 Unsure – no information given about pricing. Although the quality of frames / prints would suggest a decent value.

 Is the work for sale and who might buy it?

 Unsure – no information given about pricing. Although the quality of frames / prints would suggest a decent value.

  What information is available about the artist/s?

 Names and the fact that HND2 students only. Some business cards available.

 Who organised the exhibition and who selected the work?

 Organised by COGC tutors in collaboration with students. Students responsible for selecting work subject to discussion with tutors.

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Research

As noted in my evaluation, I don't feel I did a huge amount of research for my personal project. That said, I don't feel like huge amounts of research were needed. I did look at the work of Joey Lawrence and Corey Arnold when putting together my project plan, and prior to putting together my book I researched a couple of documentary books to get a feeling for possible styles. These books were Cardiff After Dark by Maciej Dakowicz and Black and White by Robert Frank. In the end I wouldn't say my book adopts or borrows its style from either, but it was interesting to see how they'd been laid out. The Dakowicz book in particular interested me as it shows the length of time that documentary projects can last (his was shot over several years). I like the fact he has dedicated himself to an idea over a sustained period, sacrificing a lot of time and putting himself in risky situations to get really strong results.

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As some of my previous posts demonstrate, I took a LOT of photographs for my documentary project "Second Chances". I had to spend quite a bit of time sifting through them to find the ones I wanted to use for the book. The contact sheets above are the smaller set of possible images I contemplated using. I then broke these images down into sets - images of a nestling being collected from an RSPB centre, images of ducklings, images of animals being fed, images of a fox cub bring operate on, images of a rook being operated on, images of a deer being x-rayed, images of a seal being released into the wild, and detail shots of the centre and its operations. These were then further refined using the star rating system in Bridge until I was left with around fifty images I was really happy with. I edited these fifty images consistently, opening them all in Camera Raw and bumping up the contrast and detail by 20, vibrance by 13 and saturation by 7. I adjusted the exposure on an image-by-image basis. I also used the lens correction tab to get rid of any distortion. This was all the editing I did to the photographs - I wanted them to be as natural as possible. In terms of creative decisions with the book, all bar 9 of my images were landscape in orientation so I thought a landscape book would be best. I tried a few different combinations of images before ending up with my final layout. I think the final layout flows neatly from one subject to the next - I've left a visual or conceptual link between each image. There are a couple of design points which might raise eyebrows - the inclusion of portrait-orientation images or multiple images on a page where everything else is a single image or landscape-orientation, for example. But I felt the images in question added to the book and that was more important than the orientation. Plus by using four images (e.g. the fox cub being operated on) I was able to tell more of a story. The most controversial decision was to leave blank pages before the image of the blood and the image of the dead dove. I wanted to give these photographs space to breathe given the subject matter. I also deliberately placed these before images of cute ducklings and a badger cub to increase the effect of the darker images through clashing juxtaposition. I think there are some really strong images in my book - the fish in a plastic tub, the gannet, the fox cub operation in particular - and they work well as a set. I don't think there are any significant gaps in terms of content - I could perhaps have used more portraits but I don't think this would have been totally necessary and might have altered the overall tone of the book. Overall I'm proud of the finished article, albeit I did have problems with carrying out the project as I'll outline in my evaluation.

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Buddhist Bracelet 

So. This last few weeks have been a tad tricky in terms of my confidence and happiness with my work. I've been struggling to keep myself motivated because I've not been confident that what I'm doing is actually any good. A couple of weeks ago I tried to give myself a shake and perk myself up. And on my way to work that day I was stopped by a couple of Buddhist monks in the street. They offered me this bracelet in exchange for a donation for their church. I thought it would be a good reminder of my new positive mindset. So I've been wearing it all the time for the last few weeks to try and keep my spirits up. It's the old resilience question again, and I know I'm not the most resilient of people. So anything I can do to keep my mindset positive is useful.

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The Naming of the Book

Naming my book has proved one of the more challenging tasks. I went through a few different options, and downloaded a couple of new fonts from www.dafont.com to see if any of them stood out.

Options included “Helping Hands”, “Second Chances” and “Hessilhead”. I thought about “Rescued” as an option as well. I was looking for something quite punchy, to the point and emotive. In the end, I opted for “Second Chances” as my title with “Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue” as my subtitle. Second chances are what the Centre is aiming to give to the animals which end up there, so it seemed apt. And while in some cases there isn’t a happy ending for the creatures involved, the Centre does everything it can to ensure patients can be successfully released back to the wild. 

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A bit of street stuff from Barcelona.

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This rook had been brought into the Centre unable to stand or balance. It transpired that it had been shot with a pellet which only just missed its spine. The inflammation may have been affecting its ability to stand.

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Contact sheets from my first visit to the Wildlife Rescue Centre at Hessilhead.

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Personal Project Post 1

Text of email sent to Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre:-

Good afternoon,

Firstly, apologies for the email out of the blue. My name is Peter Stevenson, and I'm a photography student at City of Glasgow college, just about to complete my HND in Photography. I'm based in Dalry, and have lived in North Ayrshire for most of my life.

The final project brief college has given us, prior to (hopefully) graduating in summer, is to carry out a personal project based on an area of photography we enjoy. I plan on being a documentary / portrait photographer when I finish college, and since my photographic passions are wildlife and people, I had thought that a documentary project based around the work of Hessilhead would be a way to combine the types of photography I enjoy and be of benefit to yourselves in terms of raising awareness of the work that you do. The final images would be put into a book for submission to college, and a couple of the images would likely be included in our end-of-year exhibition in Glasgow. I would ideally have access to the Centre a couple of days a week, over a six-week period, with the intention of capturing images of the range of work you undertake, the species you care for, and, if they are willing, the people who work and volunteer with you. This is just a proposal at this point however - I can be available more often or less often as suits you, and would be happy to change the project outline if it made the project more acceptable to you. In terms of timescales, my hand-in date is the 20th May however I'd be looking to have the project wrapped up a few weeks before that in order to allow time for editing and preparation of the book.

If you have time, I would be happy to come to the Centre to discuss my proposal in more detail. I'm conscious that you will be very busy and I absolutely would not want to get in the way of your work at all. At the same time I'd be hugely, hugely grateful if you were able to consider this request as I think the results would be really interesting, have wide appeal, and be of benefit to the Centre. I would, of course, give you permission to use any images provided to promote your work and raise awareness of the Centre. If you wish to discuss this you can get hold of me on [NUMBERWANG] - alternatively I will come through to the Centre at your convenience.

Kind regards, Peter Stevenson

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Exhibition Questions

Exhibition  Questions

Name of exhibition – Cast

Location of exhibition – Gesso,  20-22 St George’s Road

How does the flyer/poster advertise the exhibition?

Quite simply – the photograph in the background is out of focus and doesn’t really represent the images on show in the exhibition. The medium, photographers, venue and running dates are all listed but nothing else.

What is the suitability of the gallery space? How is the exhibition laid out?

Unfortunately when we went in the lights were off in the exhibition space, which made it quite difficult to see some of the work. This was obviously quite disappointing. The lay-out of the exhibition was OK but not totally obvious whose work was whose, nor was there a clear pattern to them – there was a mix of fashion-style images, landscape-style images and what looked like abstract paintings.

How has the work been mounted? Is this appropriate for the work?

It looked like prints inside black IKEA frames. It looked good, although the light wasn’t great as above, and seemed appropriate for the type of exhibition – I can image the photographers didn’t want to spend a huge amount of money on the presentation side of things given the photographs are being shown in a coffee shop.

Who made the work?

Lindsey Goldie and Angela Graham

Who did they make it for, who is the audience?

Some of the fashion pieces were fairly editorial in nature, other pieces were closer to fine art.

How does it make you feel?

I like the concept of not being so precious about your own work, and collaborating with others for better results. The concept was put to good use – with a selection of varied and quality pieces on display. I would have liked to have known in which pieces Lindsey had done the editing and Angela taken the photograph, and vice versa. I don’t really know if it made me “feel” anything.

If the work has a title does it make you think about the image/s differently?

“Cast” is an interesting title I think – it doesn’t initially scream the concept at me but when I read the blurb in the gallery that explained why they’d called it that it made a lot of sense. The idea behind “cast” is to cast away your work to someone else and be more willing to collaborate.

How would I describe it to someone later?

I’d say it was an interesting exhibition, and you get the option of good coffee with it.

Does the photograph make you want to ask questions, what are these questions?

Not really, other than who had taken and who had edited on each photograph. It would have been interesting to see how the styles married up between the photographer taking one photo and editing another.

Is the photograph valuable? How do you know?

Unsure. The blurb in the gallery advised that the photographers could be contacted if one wished to buy a print – however no prices were provided.

Is the work for sale and who might buy it?

Yes – I’d imagine it would be of interest to people who are keen on the work of new photographers.

What information is available about the artist/s?

Very little – even the blurb in Gesso was more about the concept than the artists.

Who organised the exhibition and who selected the work?

The artists I think.

�

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Editorial Fashion - Contact Sheet set 1

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Fantasy Fashion Contact Sheets

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Creative Industries Research

Who is Minister for Culture in the Scottish Parliament?

Fiona Hyslop MSP is the relevant Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs

Who founded the Young Photographer’s Alliance?

Deborah Free and Jerry Tavin

Who is the CEO of Creative Scotland?

Janet Archer

What is the name of the Cultural Enterprise Office’s training programme for young creative entrepreneurs?

Starter for 6

What is the address of Business Gateway in Glasgow?

The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU

List 6 creative businesses in Glasgow

1. Mucky Puddle - multi-disciplinary web-design team

2. Art on Scotland - business which puts on art fairs and markets within Glasgow and environs

3. SoGo Magazine - Glasgow-based art / fashion / cultural magazine

4. MadeBrave - Digital Services agency based in Glasgow

5. BBC Scotland - Film & TV

6. Rabbie Denim Glasgow - Denim Design label based in Glasgow

Name two photographic galleries in Scotland.

1. National Portrait Gallery

2. Stills

Where do the following cultural events take place, what do they promote and who is the Director of each?

Glasgow International is held at Trongate 103, Glasgow, G1 5HD. It aims to showcase local and international art. The Director is Sarah McCrory.

Document 8 Festival is held at the Centre for Contemporary Art, 350 Sauchiehall Street,G2 3JD. It is an international human rights documentary film festival in Scotland. The Director is Cayley James.

Edinburgh International Film Festival is held at 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ. It aims to promote international cinema to a Scottish audience. The Director is Ken Hay.

Name a Stills photographer working in the film Industry in Glasgow?

Brant Adam - http://www.filmandtvpro.com/uk/crew/profile/brant-adam

List four places where you could have your photographs professionally printed in Glasgow.

1. Jessops (number one, naturally)

2. Deadly Digital

3. Loxley Colour

4. Snappy Snaps

Which Photographic magazine publishes the shortlisted photographers for the Jerwood Photography prize?

Portfolio Magazine

If you were involved in a fashion shoot at The Modern Institute what kind of Creative Institution would you be in?

An art gallery

List 3 Scottish based agencies where you might hire a model for a photoshoot

1. Superior Model Management

2. Model Team

3. Colours

Name three magazines devoted to the promotion of ‘new photography’

1. British Journal of Photography

2. Gooseflesh

3. In Bloom

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Documentary Project evaluation

N.B. there are no photographs to accompany this post at this time; pending delivery of my book and without access to my files at the time of writing. Documentary is the project which I put the most time into and which I enjoyed the most. Even from the initial disappointment of my original plan (steel plants) not being viable, I still felt engaged by the idea of getting deep into a particular subject and trying to engage meaningfully with another person or other people to get a good result. My backup idea of basing my project on the work of my friend Bernadette really interested me as I thought there was quite a lot of mileage in following someone else's creative process. It reminded me a bit of my short film for last year's moving images class. As noted in a previous post, her writing of this suite of music will be a lengthy process and my book will only show part of the wider project I met up with Bernadette four times to shoot: the first was a recording studio session, the second a walk in the west end and a visit to her flat to see where she works and what inspires her; the third was a short session with her and her friend at the side of the Clyde (her friend is designing artwork for Bernadette's album release); and the fourth was a writing session in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland building. I've taken several hundred images over these four sessions. I had attempted to lay the images out in some kind of order in class one day, and got a bit of feedback from Paul, Aileen and John as to possible ideas and areas of strength. In the end, however, my layout idea came to me while lying in bed. I realised there was a clear narrative linking natural elements which inspired Bernadette to man-made elements in her home and possessions, which in turn were linked to her music. With this in mind I sat in my office at 3.30am lasting the photos out till I found an order I liked. It was a tricky task as I had to discard a number of images I really liked and which I felt were strong, however I ended up with 20 images which linked together from one image to the next in some way - there is a literal flow or link between every image and it's successor in the set. I'm not going to reveal what it is as I think it would spoil or colour people's reading of the book. I was quite taken with the idea of colours and shapes and have deliberately picked a series of fairly vibrant images rather than resorting to the cliché of black and white documentary images. I also took the decision to only clearly show Bernadette's face in one image. That image is quite a severe close up of her, however I think it shows that she takes her passion very seriously so while it isn't perhaps the most attractive image of her I think it adds more to the overall story than a standard portrait would have. In terms of other creative choices, I decided to go with a square format for the book as I had a mix of landscape and portrait oriented images so thought this would be neutralised a bit In a square format. I went for matte paper as I prefer a matte finish to gloss. Images were minimally edited with no retouching - I felt a documentary image should be as realistic and true-to-life as possible. At the end of the day this book shows a smaller part of the wider project, and I've tried to show a full story without having a full story available to me. Given this, I'm happy with the creative choices I've made and feel my book is quite strong. Documentary is really a style of photography I enjoy, and I hope to do more of this for my personal project.

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https://uk.pinterest.com/mercenarygit/bloc-2-fashion-fantasy/ This image doesn't have a lot of background to it, as it was something that popped into my head out of the blue and seemed an idea worth pursuing. Claire put me onto the artist Slinkachu who is similar to what I've done here, but wasn't really much of an influence to the development of this image. The concept was to have tiny models cavorting around giant sweets. I wanted to create a fantastical, almost Narnia-esque, feel to the photo. Applying the idea of Narnia, I wanted my male model to be the "Mr Tumnus"-type character - resident of and unfazed by the world of sweets - and the female to be much more playful and amazed by the world she has found herself in. I shot the background first by layering icing sugar over various sweets, with a very simple lighting set-up so I could easily replicate the lighting with my models. This was quite straightforward (and allowed me plenty of snacks during the shoot!) I organised two models with Superior; Carla who I'd worked with before and knew would be able to achieve the look I wanted, and Fred who Paul had worked with and given me good reports of. Again, I made sure to give Superior plenty of information per Isla's instructions from her visit to class. I organised a makeup artist via Facebook, giving her an idea of the look I was going for via Pinterest (see link above). She was great to work with, arrived early and ready to go, and got both models ready efficiently and on time. I challenged myself to shoot both of them in one morning (since I was using a simple light setup and only wanted to achieve two photographs from the shoot). Both shoots were straightforward and allowed time for some simpler portraits for the agency. In terms of editing, this was probably the most complicated of this bloc. I used curves layers attached to each of the background layer and model layers to set consistent black and white points, I copied in another layer of the liquorice allsorts to improve the depth of field (I felt it looked too out of focus with Fred perched on top). I used two or three layers to adjust the tones and saturation of the overall image (hue /saturation, channel mixer, colour balance). It was tricky to get tones to match totally as Carla and Fred have quite different skin tones, plus the reds and pinks in the background were quite strong. Overall I'm quite happy with this image. I don't think I've quite achieved what popped into my mind originally but I do think what I've done works OK. In hindsight I'd maybe have then myself scope to make the models bigger in the frame as they're at risk of being lost in the frame; in addition I'm annoyed that I edited in shadows under the models in my first go at editing this but forgot to do it in the final version. I think this would have helped to sew it all together. But largely I think the poses, lighting and editing work well so on the whole I think the image has been a success.

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Editorial Fashion Canvases

I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to achieve from my editorial shoots - having looked at In Bloom magazine and a few photographers who principally used natural light, I was looking to try and get a consistent tone and feeling with daylight as my main light source. I got hold of a makeup artist named Christine Thompson and we had a chat about possibilities. I’d identified that I wanted to use a coffee shop as my location and she suggested using denim as the main clothing style and keeping makeup etc. quite natural as well.

My location for this shoot was Spitfire Espresso in the Merchant City. I emailed the owner and followed up a few days later to check that he was OK with the idea. Luckily he was happy for the shoot to go ahead. I chose Spitfire as it has large windows and a lot of light gets in - plus the windows face east so I knew it would get a lot of light from that as well.

I contacted Superior to get hold of a blonde model and they suggested Antonia. Antonia was great to work with - very friendly and confident in front of the camera. I made a point of providing Superior with all of the information which Isla had asked for when she came in to speak to us a couple of months ago.

There were no real problems on the day of the shoot - the weather was pretty consistent and we even managed to get outside to take a few shots. The internal shots were all lit with natural light; for the exteriors I used a flash and brolly to add a wee bit of light and make the images pop a bit more.

In post, I used the cinematic toning technique to add a cooler cast to the images - I thought that this would be a nice way to practice the technique and give the photographs a consistent feel. I also started using a curves layer clipped to my background layer to set the white and black points for the image - this helped to add consistency. The standard retouching was used - spot healing brush to get rid of skin blemishes - and then finally the image was sharpened subtly using the technique I posted below.

Overall I’m really pleased with these images - along with my documentary project these are my favourite set from this bloc.