Continuing on from my AOP work, my idea is to concentrate on the smaller details in a landscape. Rather than the traditional landscape photograph which shows a wide expanse going on for miles into the horizon, I want to explore the smaller details in a large landscape.
After a tutorial with Richard where I explained this idea and discussed the possible location for displaying my work (The Shireburn Arms in Hurst Green) it was suggested that I should explore around Hurst Green and the surrounding area to keep a local feel to my photographs. This would also help my pitch to The Shireburn Arms as they could use the photographs to show off the area in which they are situated.
First Shoot
Venue
After a rethink about my first idea for a venue I have come to the conclusion that The Shireburn Arms isn't the place for me to display my photographs. Mainly due to the fact that there is no where to display them and that not many people will actually be able to see my work if I were to display there. So after realising this I will ask venues where the general public have greater access such as Tourist Information Centers and Libraries, so that my work will have greater exposure.
[Update] I have asked Clitheroe Library if it would be possible to display my work there and they seem very interested and happy for me to do that. The whole month of April is free, bar the first few days, so I will take them up on that offer. Here is how the exhibition space looks:
2nd Shoot- Clitheroe Castle
As I will be displaying my work in Clitheroe I have decided to shoot in the local area and then possibly spread out to cover more towns and villages near to Clitheroe. For my second shoot in order to capture closer detail I have used a macro lens, as the lenses I used for my first shoot had a limited focus capability.
My concept behind this shoot came from a discussion with Andy, the best way I can describe it is a "Where's Wally?" with a landscape. The first photo shows the landscape and then I go into that landscape and capture details within the landscape which normally go unnoticed.
I found that using the macro lens holds its own merits and disadvantages. The merits being able the focus incredibly closely on the subject, this enables you the create quite abstract photographs. However the close focusing ability has drawbacks, camera stability is an issue as the smallest movement becomes a very large movement through the lens so being able to hold yourself steady is vital. Depth of Field is also severely affected, with apertures like F/16 that would normally give a deep depth of field become incredibly shallow and this took some time getting used to.
I am very happy with the results I obtained from this shoot and I now what to try shoot in a different location.
Shoot 3- Sabden
As the light was amazing I chose to shoot the area around Sabden instead of in the town itself. While it looks beautiful, the wind was horrific so capturing sharp images became a challenge (trying to stand still was difficult). I'm not as keen on these photos as I am on the ones from Clitheroe Castle, but they may be useful in a way.
Tutorial
During a tutorial with Katy an issue about displaying the work was brought up that I hadn't thought about- the orientation of my work whether it should be horizontal or vertical, whether the work should be in black and white or colour and whether I should include the wide landscape photo at the beginning. After looking at a rough edit the Sabden shoot was dropped as it didn't fit in and having a limit of only 6 photos to exhibit using more than one location made the overall edit weaker, if more photos were displayed this wouldn't have been a problem. Out of the Clitheroe Castle shoot the decision to drop the first photo, of Clitheroe Castle, was the necessary one as I would only be using one location the need the show where they were taken became redundant. It also weakened the overall edit as it was the only photo which wasn't macro. So a purely macro based edit is now how I will continue to with this project, a re shoot is needed to bring a wider variety of subject matter to the edit and also going out with the intention for black and white photos as the end product changes how you shoot.
Shoot 4
For the re shoot I covered some new subject matter to add diversity to the edit as well as re shooting my favorites from the previous shoot from different angles. Also with the idea of having black and white final images it did change how I shot the subjects I chose.
It was suggested that I also shoot weathered surfaces in the castle grounds including walls and buildings etc. However I feel that the contrast between organic and inorganic subject matter wouldn't be balanced in my edit so decided not the shoot weathered surfaces.
Rough Edit
After converting my images to gray-scale I made a rough edit of those that suited gray scale the most.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
I have only done minor editing to keep the images looking as natural as possible, adding contrast and cloning out very small details that took away from the overall image.
I will print these and choose from the prints which will be in my submission edit and which will be in my exhibition edit.
Update: For my submission edit I have chosen 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
For my exhibition edit I have chosen 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Framing
For the frames I have decided to use a plain black wooden frame with window mounts. The frame inside size is 16"x20" with the window mount being 12"x16". The frames did not come with window mounts so I had them made at Artisan One in Whalley http://artisanone.co.uk/default.aspx they provide an amazing service, professional and very well priced. They also make their own frames which is a service I will be using for my end of year exhibition.
I have mounted the photographs myself and with a few minor injuries managed to produce 6 framed photographs ready to be hung in Clitheroe Library.
Advertising
I have been in contact with The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times who advertise all exhibitions that are put up at the library. A small statement containing information about who I am, what I do and why I created the work would be printed in the newspaper to help advertise the exhibition in the local community.Whilst writing the statement I came up with the name for my exhibition. Here is the statement:
Unnoticed
Adam French, 3rd Year Photographic Media BA (Hons) student at University Centre at Blackburn College.
I have been studying photography for 5 years at Blackburn College at both National Diploma and BA (Hons) level. During the course I have had many experiences-seeing cities and countries I have always wanted to see- New York in particular was an amazing experience. The most impacting destination I have been was Japan last year where I travel around the country photographing the traditional and modern culture which is still very strong there. That unforgettable journey helped me realise the importance of where I come from and what I want to do for my career- become a travel photographer. Where better to start then at home.
For the work I am displaying at Clitheroe Library I wanted a different take on the traditional landscape, rather than looking at a landscape as a whole I wanted to explore the finer details which go unnoticed every day. The most mundane scenes that we take for granted are the ones that often become more stunning if we take the time to look at them closer than usual and a new found beauty arises from within them. I hope that you will enjoy looking at my photographs as much as I have enjoyed capturing them.
All of the Photographs displayed were taken in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle over the past few months.
Exhibition
Behind the white wooden boards in the photographs of the exhibition space I posted earlier are hessian boards. I will cover the boards in material so that they blend in more with the walls behind and leave less distraction from my prints. after measuring the boards I sourced material from Abakhan in Preston.
The boards were still covered in paper from previous displays, so after removing this I cut the material to length and stapled it to the boards, making sure it was quite tight to give a smoother look.
One problem I faced was that each board was a completely different size; so when it came to nailing in the picture hooks I had to work out exactly where each hook should go so that I would have an even space between each frame, as well as making sure all of the frames were at the same height. Here is an example of how I did it.
Frame top from floor: 173cm
Board width:200cm
Frame Width (both frames): 116cm
200 - 116 = 86cm (this is the negative area which doesn't have a frame in it)
I need 3 equal spaces between the outside of the board and the frames as well as between both frames so;
86 ÷ 3 = 28.6cm
Now to measure inward from the outside of the board to the middle of the frame where the hook will be. Half of the frame is 29cm;
28.6 + 29 = 57.6cm
Using a tape measure I marked 57.6cm in horizontally from the edge of the board and measured 173cm from the floor and pinned my hooks at the cross section.
I repeated this process for each board.
Here are photos of my exhibition after adding my artists statement, titles to each photograph and business cards.
They are lit by ambient light coming from nearby windows and overhead lighting. I hope that those who see the exhibition enjoy the images I have created for it.
Evaluation
Through this assignment I have achieved my first solo exhibition which I am very proud of. At first I was reluctant that anyone would want to display my work, but from what I have heard from the general public as s far been very positive and has boosted my confidence in my ability to produce work that others enjoy. The concept itself could have been more refined at an earlier stage allowing more time for finding subject matter and shooting it. The actual exhibition itself took slightly longer than I planned to put up as I have never done anything like on my own before, it has definitely been a steep but positive learning curve. I would have liked to have displayed more photographs and in any future exhibitions I do I will take into account the actual size of the space I need to fill and how I will go about filling the space effectively.
