Evaluation.

Evaluating the project, to record observations I started out following the teachers advice looking at fashion photographer Rankin and recording by analysing so I could understand his work better, also by my own photographs and drawing onto them. I also used notes when taking a trip to the Imperial museum and my own SLR photographs, I experimented with digital and SLR for various photographs I took fitting the theme, I liked the emotion theme of experiences or encounters. Rankin and McCullin inspired this and although I liked Rankin's work visually, I wanted to create something else for my final. I liked the idea of dreams or something unreal so recording more when looking at photographers such as Annette Messenger who showed emotion in people, I wanted to include people in my work because I find it easier to present emotion in them rather than a landscape. I found being inspired by her helpful when taking my own photographs and I moved on from them by including the whole human figure rather than just extreme close ups. I also tried using photoshop with photographs that I later took, trying to overlay, bring colour into my prints and see what effects I could get, I liked the SLR photographs better though and preferred to record my findings with these because they showed my work rathe rthan writing and I enjoyed taking what I thought could look good and visually showing something related to the theme.


I moved on and looked at Geraldine Georges and Michelle Monique, and although the photograph was the base of their work, they incorperated editing and other objects into their work. I liked the simplicity of George work with female aspects involved and showing a possible experience through emotion and after my Messenger photographs I photographed a friend in the woods following the nature elements that can be seen in some of Geogres work, focusing on my friend in a fashion perspective, bringing out feminity. Monique took a more fantastical approach to her editing, and rather than simple styles, lots of colour and even creatures became involved which developed my ideas in terms of involving something supernatural in my final piece, I didn't enjoy editing my photographs to a similar style as Georges, I found it quite complicated and the results were no where near as good as hers because of the years of knowledge and skill and level of proffession I didn't want to take this further. when I tried to draw lines onto my prints with pens instead it looked quite messy and tacky rather than smooth. Although I didn't experiment with editing again in terms of Monique's photographs, my direction moved on when I decided that fairies could be a good possibility, I remembered seeing a photograph of the Cottinglee fairies and instantly thought this could be both a fantasy encouter and emotional experience, a friend was willing to dress up as a fairy so I took these photographs, inspired by the fact I could use them with my dream photographs which my friend had posed looking shocked in.


Mainly influenced by the Cottinglee fairies in terms of the visual elements the setting of the photographs used in my final piece show a link with this and also the process of it being SLR and having an older feel to it rather than something too digitally edited for this sort of subject, because of the time fairytales were most popular or written that sort of technology for photography wouldn't have been available. But Monique influenced my theme of fantasy first, Georges with the photographs of my friend because these photographs wouldnt have been taken without the early influence of her and Messenger. Particular photographs I decided to use for my final, where my friend is seen lying down and her face is windswept have compositional and visual elements of the woman used in Georges work I analsysed, the facial expression is the same and the face takes up the majority of the photograph (medium close up) and is what we are first drawn to, it works well in her work when the women are looking away or unaware to whatever is there, which my photographs worked well with when I put the fairies onto them, although fairies were different 'objects' to Georges chosen subject of things such as trees of birds. Because I liked to be different with my ideas, once the Cottinglee photographs of my own were decided as the final outcome, I decided to use a sort of text related to fairytales or something quite mystical, and being aware of the fairies in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' I looked up the quote relating to the fairies in the play and thought that they would be appropriate to top off the composition with more elements of fairies and the idea they exist in this piece.


Finally my finished outcome turned out well and I liked it but still think it could have been better. Originally I planned to produce an open book with my favourite photographs of my friend inside, obviously including the fairies and quotes I had chosen to put where they fitted and also my successful double exposure prints of the same theme. I then decided that a canvas could work better because I decided to attach leaves to my piece, fits with the nature in my photographs, the freedom of the fairies but this wouldn't work as well in a book because it could become too crowded, I also decided not to use glitter because I thought it could clash with the green of the leaves and perhaps look tacky. I thought the quotes worked well and helped with the older looking effect with the photographs. The prints overall looked good but gaining a very affective contrast was quite hard because of the harshness of the quotes that would be printed in block white, making the photographs seem lighter. I was particularly proud of my double exposures because I thought that they were effective and different to anyone elses work I had been influenced by. If I could change one thing it would be that I would have tea stained the prints and the canvas I decided to use (paper would have been too floppy to hold the leaves), because this would have worked well because of the idea of ancient fairytales and Shakepeare quote because of the old appearance, also would have added to the artistic side of the course. I think that the main problem I faced and why I didn't do this was because of the time limit in the exam, I found it quite hard to work quickly and get everything done, judging by the time I had left I wouldn't have been able to tea stain it all successfully, lack of experimentation with what to use for it could have been risky too. Materials I thought I'd use were sewing needles and thread to discreetly attach my leaves but again due to time I had to make do with double sided tape which was slightly visibly when you look closely. Overall, it didn't turn out how I had planned or expected because of my canged ideas and time limit but I liked it and thought it was fairly successful as stated. Visually it works because it is attractive, next time I would perhaps involve a more sculptural composition to make it more interesting.