Evaluation
For the fmp, I created a book documenting Walthamstow Wetlands and it's surrounding areas and that link the location together. For the First Part of the unit we had five weeks of research, I explored the works of photographers that captured landscapes and industrial areas to gain inspiration and to see how the communicated their message and how they approached their own shoots, I also researched photo books to see how they sequenced the work and the design of the layouts. When shooting, I was able to revisit the location a number of times to allow the project to progress. Through this process I was able to gain a better understanding of the area, it's historical context and its uses. My process of revisiting and reshooting is an approach that works well for me. I used this approach when shooting at Rainham Marshes. By doing it again, I was able to develop the process further by doing it over a long period of time, where I saw changes in the landscape and the seasons. I feel that my process is now more defined and that I would be able to use it for future projects e.g. the portfolio unit. I feel that it also improved my own personal development as the process made me understand what it is like to truly depict and area over a long period of time and the process of discovery helped me gain an understanding of the areas context. It also helped me understand how to create a narrative and communicate my personal view.
By doing the project from a long time I also discovered what truly fascinates me about landscapes, which is the change within the landscape and how the man made structures are built within the natural areas. As I kept shooting the concept developed even further from allowing nature to prevail to the change the surrounding over a period of time created through taking images in exact same place each time to see the change in detail. The project would of never developed into this if I didn't keep reshooting, I only come to this theme from shooting a number of times. I gathered a lot of material from shooting so much that I used to create the working edits. From having a choice in images I was able to choose the strongest images that I though best communicated the narrative. I feel that I planned my time well when doing this project as I had enough time to shoot all the material and develop the concept through discoveries. I shot twice a week for two months which gave me time to shoot and then review the images for the next visit. During the first month of the fmp, I had to do shoots locally as we were in a lockdown which strict restrictions. I decided to do these test shoots to keep up my process and keep shooting landscapes so I could develop my technique in times for shooting at Walthamstow Wetlands.
When creating a book I went for a more traditional layout as I felt that it emphasised the story, I also chose the pages to be A4 and landscape. On most of the pages I left the left page blank as the images had busy compositions, I felt that it create a pause within the sequence and allowed the viewer to focus on one image at a time. On three of the double pages I had three images of the same subject in different conditions, this emphasised my concept of time progressing. I displayed the strongest picture on the right side to make it the focus and then the other pictures smaller on the other side. The images I had on their own I displayed with full bleed to emphasise the details, the double pages of three images I had a white boarder around them to separate the images. I tested out with a few colours for the cover and in the end I chose grey as I felt that it went with the colour palette of the images. I used PT Serif font as I felt that it looked quite traditional. When I looking through the image I did minimal retouching as I wanted the images to be as accurate as possible.
When we first started the unit a lockdown was announced, I feel that it threw me off a bit as I didn't completely understand how the project would work with all the restrictions. I was also extremely stressed about the lockdown which I feel affected the first phase of research. At the time I felt lost as it was our final project and the restrictions were worse that the last unit. I was also confused about if I was allowed to travel to a location. After doing more research into locations and finding a concept I felt slightly better about the project. Discussing the ideas with the tutors also helped as they made the project seem more possible in the conditions. I think doing the test shoots at The Chase really helped me get out of the cycle of feeling lost as I felt that I was developing my skills and that it was pushing me in the right direction for the fmp. When I eventually got to my location it was February and I couldn't help but feel that I lost time at the beginning of the unit that I could of spent in the location. Even though I couldn't go straight away I felt that I dealt with the restrictions the best I could and I tried my best to not let it affect the project. When I could go to the location I definitely feel that I went as much as I could, so in the end I felt that I fulfilled my project. I had some issues in the location a few times where the whole area got shut because the weather conditions were so bad, all I could do was try to go to the parts that were open or just go home and plan my next shoot. Sometimes the trains that went to the location weren't working, but it was mostly fine because I checked the tfl website before.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with my project and the way the book turned out. I feel that I achieved a lot considering the restrictions and that I was still able to capture a location that I was truly interested in. I am surprised with the amount of development of the project throughout the months, this was due to my planning and reshooting. I now feel that I have more of an understanding of landscape and architecture photography through creating this project as I learned the technical skills such as how important a tripod is when shooting and how to develop a project through research, these are skills that I can use in the industry. I felt that I was able to grow during this project and truly understand the process of doing a long term project. I am really pleased with the fact that I communicated my personal view of the area and was able to show it through a narrative. My process of revisiting and reshooting a location really developed throughout the unit. My aim now is to get my book printed as I wasn't able to because of the restrictions but now they are lifting I can look for the best place to print it. I feel that having a physical book would really help me in the future if I ever had to show it to a client or at an interview.
