Printing BOW images on Permajet Oyster - A Trial

As part of Assignment 4 I sent my tutor some sample images printed on a heavyweight matte paper. Whilst Rob felt that the images "looked lovely on screen", he thought that the prints were"decent enough although one or two lacked a little clarity perhaps.  You might have to compensate for the matte paper but don't overdo it.  There might be a slight feeling of craft object with the uncoated matte that you're trying hard to get away from - have you tried printing on lustre? But as discussed previously, this (matte) may be appropriate for the quiet contemplation you are interested in."

 In view of this I have experimented with printing a couple of the images on Permajet Oyster paper. They are certainly crisper and brighter, but I am not so sure whether they move away from the quiet contemplation idea.  I will send the ones I have printed to Rob for his comments.  I may also print some more matte ones but increase the sharpness a tad in the printer dialogue box in Lightroom.  At the end of the day it needs to be my decision.  At the moment it is perhaps for the oyster, but we shall see.

A Path Is a Path Until It's Not a Path.

In the feedback to my last assignment my tutor  suggested that I should explore the core ideas of holes and indefinite paths further through walking, photographing, editing and writing.  He suggests that rather than shooting more indefinite paths (and I have plenty!), I could use the more extreme shots that I have as starting points for further exploration.  I had already been noticing paths that were not paths in that they were animal tracks.  This fascinated me and in discussion with Rob suggested that I might explore this idea.  He responded with the point that the animal world is interesting - wild and outside of culture; a different perspective.  I decided to explore the idea further with some new work which is displayed below.

Lake District Paths

Whilst in the Lake District in December we were lucky enough to experience a good fall of snow and I took the opportunity to make some new work on paths with snow cover.  The results are displayed below.

My one reservation with these images is that in the feedback for Assignment 4 my tutor responded to my suggestion that I might look to photograph in snow/fog or frost in order to provide a sense of mystery by reminding that perhaps it was the ambiguity, the indefinite, the edge of recognition that I was after rather than a sense of mystery.  He also felt that weather could be an aesthetic crutch that might pitch me back into the picturesque,  I think that, certainly with the first couple of images in this series and, particularly the second, he is correct.  In view of this I shall probably not use them for Assignment 5.

Reflection on Feedback from Assignment 4

I received the feedback for this assignment at the beginning of December, but at the time I was embroiled in completing Assignment 4 for my Contextual Studies module and then Christmas and New Year festivities intervened.  It is now time to get back to work!

I was pleased and encouraged by this feedback - plenty of positives and good suggestions for taking the work forward.

You're sharing the work widely and absorbing everything you can.  It's shaping up Mike.

Rob also commented that my research and study visit work were excellent - encouraging.  He suggested that I shouldn't overload myself at this point and that I need to assimilate what I have taken in.  With this I concur!  I do have a couple of books that I have read to blog, though.  Interestingly the other day someone was asking me about my work and I was able to talk about it logically and coherently, explaining how the BOW and CS essay are linked.  As Rob mentions I think that this has resulted from spending time absorbing and reflecting on what I have been doing over the last 2-3 weeks.

Rob felt that the images that I presented for A4 look lovely on the screen but the prints were only decent enough, suggesting that the matte paper I used, although appropriate for the quiet contemplation I was looking for, meant that perhaps they lacked clarity somewhat.  He suggested that I tried printing on lustre so I am going to print a couple on Permajet Oyster paper to compare.  I may get one or two printed commercially as well to see how that goes.

I had been thinking about making some images in frost/snow/fog, but Rob thought that maybe this could be an aesthetic crutch and pitch me back into the picturesque; something I am trying to avoid.  I have, actually made some new work since submitting the assignment and have photographed some paths/tracks made by animals - When is a path not a path?  If I use these that will give me three themes: paths with holes in the image, indefinite paths and paths that are not paths.  I think that this is probably enough and feel that I now need to edit and select images for A5.  Rob also feels that I should start to separate out the series.  Rhe question is how?

Finally he feels that I need to refine my artist statement/text to go with the work as there are perhaps still too many ideas in the mix.

All in all encouraging and plenty of food for thought.

Assignment 4, Walking in Woods. Video and text.

I am conscious of the fact that for Assignment 4 we should "Pay particular attention to how you will use words alongside your images (captions, titles, or additional 'relay' type text) and re-frame your images accordingly."

I do have a title for my work, but didn't feel that captions were appropriate, instead I have written a short 'artists statement' to introduce the work.  I felt that this could be used as relay type text and to this end I have experimented with producing a video of the work incorporating the text into it.  It can be found by clicking the link below.

Walking in Woodland video.

Assignment 4. Submission

Reflection on the Development of the Body of Work to the Current Time

Assignment 4 has evolved somewhat since its birth pangs back in June when I defaulted to my ‘Eliot Porter’ mode where I portrayed nature as beautiful and perfect.  Having shared the work with my peer-led hangout group and my tutor and reflected on their forthright feedback, I realised that I had strayed away from the emphasis on walking that I had pursued in Assignment 3 and needed to get back on track.  On reviewing all of the images that I had taken during this project I was amazed at how many images of footpaths disappearing into the distance I had accumulated.  This, I decided, was where my work should focus.  After further editing and sharing once more with my tutor, hangout group and the portfolio review group at the Brighton study weekend and then making more work I felt that the work resolved itself into two groups: faint indefinite paths and paths that led to ‘holes’.  Both of these, I hope, engage the viewer and take them to the edge of meaning.  In both instances a game is being played with the viewer: a photograph is 2D so what can be ‘through the hole’; how indefinite can a path be and still remain a path?

I decided to use a square format for my images, initially to achieve uniformity as I had some that were horizontal format, while others were vertical. It also had the added advantage of distancing the work from the picturesque as it moves away from the 3:2 format and the golden ratio.

While I have been photographing this body of work I have chosen to make images in overcast conditions of subtle, muted lighting, where possible, in order to convey a feeling of quiet calm.

For further development towards Assignment 5 I envisage making more work along these lines.  I would like to make images taken in snow, frost and fog, as I feel that this could add a further dimension and sense of mystery to the work .  The time will come, however, when I need to stop photographing and reflect on the work to date, make final edits and prepare the work for final submission.

More thoughts can be found on this on my blog at this link.

Walking in Woods; Artist’s Statement

Walking allows me to slow down and fully experience and appreciate the landscape through which I travel.  When walking in woodland, it is easy to lose and find oneself again, to reflect, meditate and to reconnect with the world.  Footpaths disappearing into the distance are seductive, perhaps holding memories of many passings over the years.  Woods can be places of mystery and paths often wind and twist, seeming to have no purpose except to be followed.  The horizon is limited and paths disappear round corners or into a hole in the vegetation leaving the walker to speculate on where they might lead or who they might meet. Indefinite, ephemeral paths may be so faint as to be nearly not paths; what recent memories do these hold?

Indefinite Paths and Holes in the Image. More thoughts on Assignment 4.

Since my last post on Assignment 4, I have consulted with my tutor and he has also suggested images from this project that he feels work the best.  As I develop this work the images begin to sort themselves into three categories:-

• The obvious paths.  Some of these may be 'single track', or broader paths/forest tracks down which vehicles have travelled.  These images always show the path disappearing around a corner so the viewer has to make up their own mind as to where they lead, if anywhere.
• The indefinite paths.  These are much less pronounced and, in some cases, may hardly be paths at all.  I refer to them as ephemeral paths.
• Paths that lead to a hole in the vegetation, which looks like it could even be a hole in the image.

I am inclining towards the second and third categories of path.  The more obvious paths are perhaps less interesting as they are too obvious.  It has been suggested that in these paths it is difficult to get around all the associations that a path ahead of us holds.  The indefinite paths, on the other hand, are interesting because of their lack of definition, their ephemeral nature;  how faint can it become and still be a path?  The viewer is engaged and being taken to the edge of meaning and is forced to question the image and form their own opinion.  The photographer is playing a visual game with the viewer; there is also an element of abstraction.  Holes in the vegetation/photograph are interesting because we know that a photograph is two dimensional and there is nothing behind it, yet the hole appears to be there.  This is also a way of playing a game and teasing the viewer, making them question the image and the photographer's intent.  The viewer is encouraged to consider some other kind of imaginary solution.

Working on my footpath idea has also led me to thoughts of landscape and memory.  Perhaps they hold memories of those who have walked those tracks.  Perhaps the more definite a path is, the more memories it holds.  Rebecca Solnit tells us in A Field Guide to Getting Lost (Solnit, 2005, P.51) that the Tibetan word for a track is shul which means "a mark that remains after that which made it has passed by - a footprint, for example.  A path is a shul because it is the impression in the ground left by the regular tread of feet, which has kept it clear of obstructions and maintained it for the use of others."

As I walk through my woodlands looking for paths I am continually reminded of the meditational and therapeutic aspects of walking, especially in woodland.  Finnish forestry researchers have discovered that just a daily 20 minute trip into the wild can boost mental and physical health by lowering blood pressure and increasing feelings of vitality.  Research emphasises the regenerative effects of forests on the mind.  Even seeing woodlands from a window can improve one's mood.  As little as 5 minutes in the forest strengthens our coping ability.  In Japan, there is research into the essential oils secreted by trees, which are thought to have beneficial attributes.  The aromas, relaxing sounds, landscapes and flavours of the forest all reduce stress. (Uutiset, 2015)

During the last couple of weeks have walked in the woods and made new work which fits categories 2 and 3 above.  They are shown below.  One thing that I notice about these new images is that the falling Autumn leaves tends to collect in the faint paths, thus emphasising them.  It also enhances their ephemeral nature.  As the leaves rot the paths become more indefinite once again.  I now need to look back at my previous choice of images from my earlier blog post (link here), my tutors select of my images and the new images below and make a final edit to submit for assignment 4.

Reference
Solnit, R. (2006) A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Edinburgh, Canongate Books
UUTISET (2015) Even a Short Walk in the Woods is Good For You, Researchers Claim [online] available from: http://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/even_a_short_walk_in_the_woods_is_good_for_you_researchers_claim/7746324 [Accessed 11.10.16]