Informing Contexts

Module 2 Week 1

After a two week break over Christmas we are back at virtual Uni and all fired up for our second module which is a carousel module (Three cohorts join as one group).

It was hard to get back into the swing of things and, to be honest, I have been struggling with some of the complex language used and the fact that some of the example images don't really speak to me as a photographer.

What is a photograph?

This is a question we were asked to debate, with many different answers given.

I asked ChatBot AI fir its opinion and here it is:

"A photograph is a visual representation of a moment captured through the use of a camera or other imaging device. It preserves a scene by recording light patterns, creating a still image that can be viewed and shared."

In my humble view, a photograph is an image taken with a camera recording light onto a light sensitive medium including film or an image sensor and then printed.

I have found the discussions around taking a photograph and viewing/reading a photograph to be fascinating and enlightening.

I never really considered how an image would be decoded by another eyes, I always shot what I felt to be the correct way, viewpoint, rule of thirds, what to leave in and to remove etc. before pressing the shutter and the, at a later date, editing the image to bring it back to how I "Saw" it when I shot it.

Now in my work, I am considering so much more, what I want the viewer to concentrate on, how I want my work to be perceived etc. but also I want the viewer to form their own thoughts and opinions about my work. A difficult balance to achieve.

My research project has transformed into something completely different as well.

I will still shot my original ideas but my project for this part of the MA will be me, my son and autism.

My intension is to document our daily lives including the things that are most important to him, such as his collection of rubbers.

I also intend to work collaboratively with him to produce images directed and then by him as well as some documentry style images of him and his things.