The concept I chose for this project was ‘Memories’. This is because to me, it is a theme that can be interpreted in countless ways when linking it to Fine Art photography, which was my chosen specialist area. Fine Art photography focuses on artistry and creative expression of ideas and emotions, which is why I have made sure that the final outcomes of all my shoots convey a message linking to the theme of Memories. Ethical considerations I have made involve getting consent before taking photos focusing on people. I have been sustainable with the materials I have used such as using paper and making sure to recycle equipment.
I chose this particular subject because it was something where I could utilize things I was already in possession of, like family photos and objects personal to me. Through this project, I gained knowledge of how other artists interpret and convey their own ideas surrounding memories and what their memories mean to them. My original intentions changed drastically throughout this project. To begin with, I was very fixed on creating a family tree with many different people close to me on it. Towards the end, I wanted my final piece to focus more on myself because I liked the idea of layering photos. My project belongs in the Fine Art category.
My own primary research and technical practices- such as the Jason Powell and Amy Friend based shoots- led me to focus heavily on aspects of family memories and comparisons between past and present. Other photographers’ ideas and working methods interested me the most when I looked at their different perceptions regarding the distortion of memories as they are gradually forgotten. These external influences enhanced the quality of my project as they encouraged me to carry out many more physical experimentations compared to my previous projects; By using real life materials when shooting, instead of just digitally manipulating my images.
The practical processes and skills I explored during my project have been light painting, a version of film souping, along with piercing and cutting out parts of images. These skills were all appropriate for my project and what I wanted to achieve as many of them were successful in visualizing what memories can actually look like. The techniques which interested me the most were the piercing and cutting images as not only were they fun to do, but they were also very malleable to what I wanted my final outcomes to look like. The technique I think I mastered the most would definitely have to be the work based on Amy Friend as the pictures turned out exactly how I wanted.
The most significant challenges I faced throughout this project came from the light painting shoot. This shoot failed the first time, so I ended up developing its plan to resolve the main problems before shooting again. Being able to rethink, replan and creatively edit my photos were factors that helped me solve my problems effectively and turned most failures into successes.
For my final outcome, I chose the specific method of creating tunnel art with my own silhouette cut out to visually communicate how there can be big gaps in people’s memories as sometimes we can think back on something and clearly remember all details except for one. I think my work connects with my intended audience as the final results from my shoots can illustrate how memories can look and, in some cases, even feel.
I chose the specific presentation strategies I did for this project as the work I did near the beginning based on Diane Meyer, piqued my interest in how memories can be ‘corrupted’ over time, which was a subject I ended up focusing on throughout the majority of my project. I feel my presentation techniques developed my skills linking to my specialist practice as many of my final outcomes conveyed abstract ideas in unique ways.
The initial aims and objectives I was interested in developing when I started this project were mainly to experiment with a wider range of practical techniques than I ever had previously. I think I was effective at reflecting on my progress throughout this project as a lot of it led me to make improvements to my final outcomes via reshooting or creative post processing.