Conceptual Theme for Folio of work.

Okay so this was produced a few weeks back (see older posts) but i felt it was still very much relevant to how and why this collection of photographs came to be.


Hope it is well received.




D.

Presentation Statement.

The following document has been created to meet number 8 of the assessment criteria for this subject. It is brief, but relevant to all of my other development work throughout this semester and i feel it is realistic enough to use if i were to go ahead with an exhibition for this work in the future.


I had considered developing a floor and wall plan in addition to this, but realised i need to do further research into it all in order to do a good enough job, so for now it has been left out.


I welcome any comments regarding this.






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Invitation to exhibition.

Okay so i decided to add to the realism of all this by developing a invitation design that would be printed and distributed at numerous cultural establishments throughout Canberra to help promote this exhibition. The places are made-up obviously, but you get the idea :]


I feel it fit well with everything else i have developed.




D.

Exciting stuff.

It was great to be in class today and be a part of not only seeing some amazing work from my classmates and hearing their artist statements (good on you all) but also helping to see something extra special in Rebecca's collection of photographs.


It was also great to see how Dru's hand-made photo book was coming along. He mentioned he may have to re-make one due to the prints now being too large for the cardboard pages and the shoe-laces he has used not being quite effective enough. I hope he continues with it, because it is certainly unlike anything else we have sen before. 


Same goes for Rebecca, i look forward to her work developed further :]


GREAT JOB TODAY EVERYONE !!




D.






The following images are just a bunch of snapshots taken during class today.

Rebecca brought in a stack of her work which was so
good to see, because i do like her theme. Then we 
all helped to single-out the winners.

The same bunch of cool people, just standing around
looking cool. Wish i could be that cool :]

Rebecca's initial layout lacked that extra oumpff.

Then Sean saw something that totally radicalised 
everything and got everyone involved.

It was amazing how Rebecca's individual photographs
were able to merge together in weird, yet wonderful ways.

The results had everyone fascinated/blown away.
It was so cool to whiteness :]

So by selecting sets of two photographs that fit
together closely, Rebecca was left with 7-8 images
from 13 photographs. As Sean would say "that's mad".

Dru's mega-book sure was coming to life.
Good on him for putting in such an extra effort.

His photographs contrast well against the plain brown
cardboard used to create his mega-book.

Joel, Michael & Kiah each presented their statements
to class and i thought they were all pretty solid.
Well done guys.

Folio class - final stages of editing.

I can feel that everyone is close to finalising their folio of photographs for this class now. Good on those who had stuff ready to share in class shame about those who didn't, because i was looking forward to seeing your latest and hearing your thoughts.


Anyway, here is a bunch of snaps from today.




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Drew's hand-made book had everyone gob-smacked.

Drew will now double his print size to 8x10. Gr8 idea.

Bec has some fascinating shots of her
dogs play-fighting, but needs to produce
a bit more so it can all come together
nicely for her before deadline.. go Bec :]

Michael continues to stun me with his work, i really do
like his photographs and credit his determination.

Sean adding a bit of experience to Michael's original
selection did help the overall impact i felt.

Michael's most recent collection arranged together.

My collection finally printed at a decent size, they're
at A4 now, no more thumbnails, yay! A small change
of wording to my artist statement was suggested
(which has been done) and i also need to consider
whether or not to give each image a title, or just
something as simple as a number.

Artist Statement - finished !

Okay, so after some constructive feedback from last week's class. I was on the right track and had made a fair impression on Sean, but it was recommended that i re-visit my artist statement and consider ditching the image accompanying my statement for something more fitting to the theme itself.


I decided not to touch this since last week until tonight. When i had more time to sit down and tune into my thoughts and feelings a little more (last week was busy). Having a buny-n-cola after dinner may have also helped me tune in to my inner creative :]


Anyway, below is a revised artist statement and a new selection of images. I dropped the tree basking in afternoon sunlight and replaced the shot of my shadow with a photograph of my neighbours attempt to keep a potted plant alive and well amongst its cement jungle.


Emjoy.




D.

ARTIST STATEMENT - think i'm all done :]

supporting images and virtual gallery display.

In class editing.

Small class today, with some away sick, but this allowed for some good discussion and feedback amongst those present. Cheers to Sean for the little turkish treat - such a tasty little thing that (insert name of food that i have forgotten here).


Hopefully like my other classmates, I feel i have a clearer understanding of my collection and how i would like to re-word my artist statement now after this morning's class. So i will re-visit it all before next week ready for the next step of deciding on how i want to display / present it all. Must try visit either The Photography Room or Photo Access this Saturday regarding this.


Anyway, here are a few candid iPhone shots from this morning's class.




D.

Will getting in on the action - good to see.

A group of cool people standing around looking cool :]

Well done to Kiah for taking up 3 and a bit tables.

A lovely selection from Kiah's mass of photographs.

A selection from my collection of my final photographs.

Group editing.

(week 11)




Today was pretty beneficial. 


I enjoyed seeing everyone's progress with their collection of images for folio. They each have fantastic concepts / themes and i look forward to seeing it all come together. 


My progress is going okay, i have just been looking back over (and over again) my collection and have just now culled it down from 45 to only 20. It can be a tuff process this editing. A lot goes through your head, and you remember a lot of feedback from discussing it in class which makes you question images, but i need to remember to keep it raw and stick to what it is based around. If that makes sense.




What i now need to do is:

• Do any of them require additional enhancements..?
• Research a few possible ways of displaying / presenting my photographs..?
• Should they be hung on the wall of a gallery space, presented in a book or in some other totally radical way- researching this is something i MUST do. 
• What size do i want them displayed / presented..?
• How should they be hung / mounted / framed..?
• Gloss or matt finish prints..?

Here is a handful of candid photographs from today.




D.

A sample of Dru Maasepp's fascinating work.

Joint edit and discussion of supplied photographs. 

Joint edit and discussion of supplied photographs.

Artist's Statement (re-re-visited)

Happy to be living simply.

This collection of images aims to give you, the viewer, an insight into understanding that once  you find, and then pursue something you are truly passionate about, all the simple things in life just become that much more valued and appreciated.

No family. No big-screen television. No microwave. No large fridge, or even a proper bed to sleep on each night is all a part of my current day to day life, but personally.. it just doesn't seem to bother me. Why? Because i have fresh air in my lungs, food in my belly and i am living a life of photography in a stunning part of Australia with an un-known amount of possibilities ahead of me. And i love it !

Finally, it is important for me to balance a busy lifestyle with moments of solitude and reflection in order to refresh and do it all again with all that i have to give. I have tried to depict this in these photographs.


May you enjoy :]

D.

Further thoughts on this..

Even though at times it is difficult to "let go" of an image, I have enjoyed the whole editing process and feel i am continuing to make good progress towards finalising it all so i can then move on to considering how to present / print / display it all ready for submission.


A thought i had was to visit a local gallery space like The Photography Room  or PhotoAccess etc and take a collection of photographs of there walls, then return to my computer to clone out any work back to just a set of white walls and then super-impose in my final collection of images to give a virtual representation of my work as a whole on display in a gallery space to Sean and my class-mates. Might work well i reckon. See how i go..


Anyway, here is what i have ended up with now from the 570+ photographs i have taken so far for this assessment task.






D.

Artist's Statement (re-visited)

Simple-y living different-ly. 

_

This collection of images is aimed at depicting how uplifting my life has become now that i am finally living in the beautiful city of Canberra, pursuing my one true passion in life.

For most of my adult life, i have been to anxious to break free from that which i knew, trusted and possessed in order to feel at peace with the world. Now that i live in a completely new environment, with minimal belongings allows me the freedom to follow my dreams and truly express my inner desire to become a photographer.

The fact that i am only doing this now that i am 30 is irrelevant to me, the fact that i am doing it is what fills my life with an indescribable sense of enthusiasm each and every day. Even if i only have my shadow to share the buzz.

Even the 3º mornings in the middle of summer, working night-shifts, living with a cat or 5 floors up in an apartment with a decommissioned lift and neighbours closer to me than i could piss doesn't really upset my enthusiasm. In actual fact, rather than let it spoil my mood, i see it all as photographic opportunities to help inspire my work. Hence this exhibition.

In addition to my minimalist way of life, I chose to use what i saw as a simple camera - my iPhone 4s. This has allowed me to just enjoy capturing wonderful elements of my new environment without getting caught up in the complexity of technical adjustments and perfection my more advanced DSLR often demands.

May this collection of photographs help remind you, the viewer, to appreciate all that you have and not to over-look all the wonderful things in your life - because i bet they're likely to be all the simple things.

D.

Editing..

It has begun..


Surprisingly i don't have scissor-hand cramps after all that cutting out :)


On a serious note though, i have separated my selection of photographs into relative groups/themes for now and will begin to single-out those that suit my artists statement - which itself needs editing and refinement.

Speaking of my artists statement, the following list is simply a way for me to refer back to what lead me to make this series of photographs in the first place.

I feel making a list of things like this and referring back to it during the editing process, will help me select a collection of images (from the 200+ thumbnail print outs i have sitting on my lounge room floor at the moment) that best suits my theme different living = living differently

• life without my beloved dog.
• living so far away from family / friends and not being able to join with them in celebration. the colours of Autumn / leaves everywhere are new to me, but i like it.
• thick fog and cold mornings remind me that i'm alive.
• i like that i can now enjoy the sun's warmth instead of run from its fury like in QLD.
• not having a yard is so weird.
• how uninterested i am in politics even when Canberra is the heart of it all.
• tiled roofs with chimneys instead of a tin roof and breeze-airs.
• living in a town-house / inner-city apartment.
• all the interesting things about having a multi-cultural neighbourhood.
• the nice balance Canberra has of feeling like a small city and big country town.
• and how the fact that i have minimised my belongings (distractions) has allowed me to lose myself in photography (my true passion in life) leaving me more fulfilled than ever.

Anyway, here is a handful of work-in-progress photographs.




D.

added 10/4/2012 by Sean.

added 10/4/2012 by Sean.

making a start on the final editing process 10/4/2012.

added 13/4/2012

added 13/4/2012

added 13/4/2012

I found it interesting that whilst sorting through all 200+ thumbnails today i was drawn back to favouring my original set of images (the larger images in the final set) and felt i could simply add a few of the more powerful images from my recent efforts to complete my theme.

Like Sean said, it often pays to put them aside and re-visit/look at them again down the track. I feel this is relevant here, because i just went out and "took" the first lot during one of my afternoon walks, whereas most of my recent work i have "looked". It is also interesting to refer back to the different mindsets i was in during each environment.

Even the fact i captured the town-house image with the numbers 57, 58 and 59 written on it is so coincidental considering i now live in number 58 in the inner-city apartment complex. Life sure is a weird and wonderful thing :)