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musings on the photographic experiences of keith greenough
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Project one Gestalt in composition
The YOP course notes explain how Gestalt theory has been valuable in its approach to visual recognition. Modern Gestalt theory takes an holistic approach to perception and proposes that in viewing an entire scene the mind can take a sudden leap from recognising the individual elements to understanding it in its entirety. A number of […]
Uncertain States 2013
November 25, 2013
I have been to a few exhibitions recently and have decided to capture some thoughts on these on the blog. The first port of call was the Uncertain States 2013 exhibition at The Bank on Whitechapel Road in the East End of London. (see here). I visited this exhibition with John Umney and Catherine Banks, […]
East End – facts and narratives
November 24, 2013
I have trying to figure out why certain of the image/text combinations for the East End project seem to work and others do not. In writing my proposal for a major project (see here) I realised that the work is in effect reflects on the history of immigration in the East End through a series […]
Women and Landscape – Update
November 22, 2013
The portraits I have made so far are shown below. From top left clockwise, Catherine Banks at Horsell Common Surrey, Gill Golding at Woolwich Arsenal London, Paddy Howe in the Blackdown Hills Devon and Rebecca Hughes at Loch Maree Wester Ross Scotland. All of these photographs were made with a Ebony SW45, 150mm lens and Kodak Portra 400. […]
Major Project Proposal
November 19, 2013
For assignment one of Your Own Portfolio I am required to submit a brief project proposal for my major project on a single page of A4. Below is my first draft…work still to do: Aims of the project My aim is to explore the history of immigration in London’s East End. I plan to do […]
Self Doubt and ‘Umbra Sumus’…
November 18, 2013
I have been thinking a lot about how I want viewers to respond to my East End work. At the moment I’m very concerned that it is coming over as a travelog or worse still a tourist brochure…this place is where this event took place and so on. This is absolutely NOT what I’m aiming […]
East End Work – Texts, copyright and books
November 15, 2013
I have been quoting texts from work by other authors to set alongside my images for the Always Follow Ur Dreams!! In fact, I have been considering whether to use only quotations rather than text I have written. I thought it would be wise to check on copyright restrictions and how this might affect my […]
Early Morning Shoot Spitalfields and Whitechapel
November 9, 2013
My idea for the urban landscapes for Always Follow Ur Dreams!! is to shoot urban scenes without people. People immediately attract a viewer’s attention and I want to avoid this. Rather I want the viewer to take the ideas put forward in the text and project these into the photograph. This is easier said than […]
Antique Black and White Version of Video
November 5, 2013
One of the projects I have to complete for YOP concerns using Photoshop’s channel mixer to alter the mood of a digital black and white image. I plan to use some images from my East End work for this project. However, rather than randomly playing with the colour sliders on the channel mixer I have […]
Always Follow Ur Dreams!! Latest work and Test Video Format
November 5, 2013
One of the key factors I need to consider with this project is how I will show text along with the images. There are many options. So far in presenting the work I have included the text as a side panel alongside each photograph. This option is quite common. For example it is the style […]
Always Follow Ur Dreams!! – More texts
November 2, 2013
I have been researching the history of immigration in the East End with a view to finding texts which direct me towards possible images for this project. This rather turns my normal approach upside down – I usually make the photographs and then think about the captions. I am not simply looking for captions in […]
YOP – Plan of Study
October 31, 2013
I prepared an outline plan of study or Learning Contract for discussion with my tutor Sharon. We discussed this the other day and this post sets out my plan of action as agreed with Sharon. Having recently completed the Advanced module that is in effect an open book my initial reaction to the course notes […]
YOP Critical Review….lots of indecision
October 26, 2013
In my last post on my plan of work for YOP I suggested a theme for the Critical Review which I have to undertake as part of YOP. My expressed intention was to explore ‘the issue of photographic meaning and how this is influenced by associating an image with other images and with text as […]
Another Hawaii
October 16, 2013
I have just returned from a holiday in Hawaii. The trip was not meant to be a major photographic expedition, but I could not resist the temptation to take a camera with me. I travelled light taking my Leica M9 with 35, 50 and 75 mm lenses. I had no particular project in mind before I […]
Place of Memories…video version with ambient sound
October 8, 2013
I have made a second version of this video with ambient sound from a jungle location…better still would have been to record the sounds at the place itself but I did not have the time nor the equipment to do this well. I think I prefer this version. Click on the photograph below to see […]
Place of Memories
October 8, 2013
I have been having fun with my photography whilst I have been on holiday in Hawaii. For the most part I have been working on a short series of images around Waimea in the North of Hawaii where I have been staying. I plan a separate post on this series later. I also made a […]
Always follow ur dreams! More work
September 21, 2013
I spent a day in London yesterday. My aim was to reconnoitre some locations for images I have in mind and possibly to capture one or maybe two ‘keepers’…. My first port of call was the Limehouse Basin and Regents canal. I wanted to consider whether a view of this former dock might produce a […]
Hacked
September 17, 2013
If anyone receives an unusual email from me, please ignore it….I sadly opened an email from a colleague which was infected….sorry about this.
Always Follow Ur Dreams!! – some test image/text combinations
September 8, 2013
I have been feeling my way with this project. I have started by identifying some events/places where I feel that an image/text combination would provide an interesting reflection on immigration in the London’s East End. I have then conducted desk research for some suitable text. Armed with the text my challenge is then to photograph […]
Ideas for YOP
August 26, 2013
I have not posted for a while but have been quietly thinking about how I will take forward my work on my final course Photography 3: Your Own Porfolio. The course is more structured than the Advanced module. I will be required to undertake a number of projects, a written critical review and a major […]
Les Rencontres Arles Photography 2013 – Part Two
August 1, 2013
This is my second post setting out my thoughts on my trip to Arles. The previous post is here. I indicated this post will cover my impressions of Pieter Hugo, Marion Gronier, John Davies, Wolfgang Tilmans and Gordon Parks along with my thoughts on the nominees for the 2013 Discovery Award. Pieter Hugo – There’s […]
Advanced Photography – Assessment Results
July 31, 2013
The results of the assessment of my Photography 3: Advanced Photography course have now been confirmed and I am very pleased to say that I was given a mark of 80%. I put a huge amount of work into this course, far more than any other that I have done with the OCA and it […]
Les Rencontres Arles Photography 2013 – Part One
July 13, 2013
I’ve just got back from a visit to the south of France. The trip combined a short family holiday with a trip to Arles to see some of the photography on offer at the Les Rencontres Arles Photography 2013 (LRAP13). This post is the first of two setting out my thoughts on what I found […]
First of all move me….
July 5, 2013
‘First of all move me, surprise me, rend my heart; make me tremble, weep, shudder; outrage me, delight my eyes afterwards, if you can.’ – Denis Diderot I was watching a BBC programme about the Louvre in Paris and the above quote by the 18th century French philosopher and critic Denis Diderot grabbed my attention. […]
That’s not really me!
June 14, 2013
I have been developing an idea for a new project for YOP. I find that I need to set down my thoughts in writing and by constantly revisiting the text I can start to move towards resolution. The project will explore the ‘What do I look like ? dimension within my broader theme of ‘Realism […]
Assignment 4: 45 Seconds… – Submission and Feedback
April 12, 2013
I have now completed my final assignment and received feedback from my tutor. My submission included my 45 Seconds… project, the first version of my reflective account (which I will submit for assessment) and my broad plan for pulling all my work together for assessment. In this post I will focus on the former and […]
Lee Friedlander
February 22, 2013
I wanted Uncle Vern standing by his new car (a Hudson) on a clear day. I got him and the car. I also got a bit of Aunt Mary’s laundry and Beau Jack, the dog, peeing on the fence, and a row of potted tuberous begonias on the porch and seventy-eight trees and a million […]
Paul Graham
February 18, 2013
Paul Graham’s Television Portraits was another reference for my Urban Artists at Work project. I have commented on this previously here. Graham’s influence on my work has however been much more profound. Graham is a photographer who is impossible to pigeonhole. He is perhaps Britain’s most revered art photographer, but his work has extended to documentary, portraiture and […]
Thoughts on the cultural significance of landscape
January 14, 2013
I have yet to enrol for Photography Your Own Portfolio which would be my last module on the OCA degree course. I expect to do so in a few months time and hope to complete the course by the middle of next year. Through research and reading I’ve been gathering ideas which could be of […]
Walker Evans
January 11, 2013
Walker Evans was one of my key references for my Museum project. In my supporting text for this work I commented on Evans as follows: “In the late 1930s Walker Evans made candid portraits of people on the New York subway. He later said that the Subway portraits were “[his] idea of what a portrait […]
Influences – 10 key photographers
January 10, 2013
Following on from the last post I have been reflecting on which photographers have most influenced my work since I began the Advanced course just over a year ago. I have identified 10 photographers who have been very important to my development. I want to make sure that my blog properly reflects my thoughts these […]
Portraits in the Landscape
January 9, 2013
At the beginning of February I am going on a photographic workshop in Scotland. The leaders of the workshop are Joe Cornish, David Ward, Eddie Ephraums and Adrian Hollister. I attended the workshop last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself. A particular highlight was learning about book production from Eddie who is a publisher – we […]
Assignment 6: Ironman Family – Submission and Feedback
January 7, 2013
Just before Xmas, I completed my selections of photographs for this long standing project, prepared my accompanying text and sent these off to Jesse Alexander my tutor for his feedback. “Ironman Family” is a series of portraits of friends who compete in the endurance sport Ironman Triathlon. My idea was to document this group of people […]
Klein and Moriyama
January 3, 2013
I have now been to Tate Modern’s Klein/Moriyama exhibition twice. I have delayed posting my thoughts on the exhibition because I was unsure if I might go again as part of the OCA Study Visit – I am on the waiting list for this. It now seems unlikely that I will be attending the OCA […]
Long Exposure Portraits – Update
December 16, 2012
In my last post on this project, here, I had outlined an approach for making pairs of portrait photographs of a group of Rotary colleagues where the exposures in each were to be around 45 seconds and the diptych presentation would allow the viewer to compare the two poses. The idea was to explore Walter […]
Initial Thoughts on Ebony
November 24, 2012
It is just a few weeks since I took the plunge and decided to start shooting portraits with my 4×5 large format camera. I thought it would be useful to set down my thoughts on my early experiences with the camera as a reference point for future reflection. The Camera First of all a bit […]
Assignment 5 Urban Artists at Work – Submission and Feedback
November 21, 2012
I recently sent off my work for Assignment 5 – Urban Artists at Work to Jesse Alexander for his review. Here is the note which I sent to Jesse along with the images which places it in context. My key references were Broomberg and Chanarin’s Trust, Lee Friedlander’s At Work, and Paul Graham’s Television Portraits. Assignment 5 Urban […]
Brighton Biennial
November 9, 2012
Last weekend I attended the OCA study visit to the Brighton Biennial Photo Festival. The event was very well attended with around 25 students, four tutors and Gareth. The theme for this year’s Festival was Agents of Change: Photography and the Politics of Space. The website for the event is here. University of Sussex Gallery We started […]
Assignment 6: Ironman Family
November 8, 2012
I have once again revisited my Artist’s Statement for my portraits series of friends who compete in ironman triathlon. I have been progressing the work throughout the last year and have now made around 24 portraits. I expect to make a few more before the end of the course but essentially the work now on […]
Long Exposure Portraits Update
November 7, 2012
This project is proving the most elusive I have undertaken so far. I have moved my ideas around quite a bit as I have tried things and they have not worked as well as I would have liked. This post sets out my latest thinking as a result of work I have recently undertaken. I […]
Pinhole Self Portraits
October 31, 2012
I am being very indecisive about the long exposure portrait project! I have now decided to pursue two avenues in parallel. The first will be the portraits of my Rotary colleagues in the style of David Octavius Hill as outlined in the last post. The second is the series of long exposure self portraits which […]
East End London – some images for discussion at OCA Brighton event
October 24, 2012
I plan to sign up for my second level 3 course in the new year. I have been continuing to scope out the nature of a major project for this course based on London’s East End. I have been carrying out some exploratory photography in different areas of the East End to clarify my thinking […]
Lee Friedlander – At Work
October 19, 2012
Born in 1934 Lee Friedlander has been a prolific photographer over the years. He is best known for his photographic documentation of the American social landscape. He has tended to work in long run series, leading to the eventual publication of a book. At Work is one such series. The book lee friedlander at work is a […]
Broomberg and Chanarin – Trust
October 18, 2012
I have decided to document on this blog the work of photographers who have influenced my own work, as evidenced by my assignments. My intention is to be able to bring these together into my Critical Review text document later in the year. The subject of my next assignments is Urban Artists at Work. This […]
Venezia
October 10, 2012
Just got back from Venice….I set myself a couple of small photo projects. First, I decided to try to capture Venice in black and white with my Zero 2000 6×6 pinhole camera. Somehow the soft focus and historical connotations of the pinhole seemed appropriate. I went out early in the mornings and concentrated on urban […]
Long Exposure Portraits comparison of different poses
September 18, 2012
I have been experimenting further with this idea. I have been examining the effect that long exposures have by making a series of self portraits. These portraits show a range of expressions which I have called stare, reflect, smile and read. For each, I kept the framing the same and midway through each long exposure […]
I am an Ironman Self Portraits – Big Issue of the North
September 13, 2012
A triptych of photographs from my I am an Ironman self portraits has been published in the Big Issue of the North. This came as a bit of a surprise as I had though the work would be a little too esoteric for such a publication….anyway here it is… Many thanks to Eileen who pointed […]
I am an Ironman Latest Thinking and updated Artists Statement
July 30, 2012
In the light of my developing understanding of this work as documented in my last post on the subject I have updated my artists statement for this work. ‘I am an Ironman’ remains the working title for the work which most likely will now be called ‘Ironman Family’. Artist’s Statement – I am an Ironman (Version […]
Visit to Frankfurt am Main
July 18, 2012
I have just returned from a visit to Frankfurt, where I competed in an Ironman triathlon…the race went as well as I could hope for as I don’t think that I was at peak fitness….too much photography!! (I finished in 12 hours 44 mins) Whilst I was in Frankfurt I had a break from the […]
photo-graph 
November 27, 2013
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