Following encouraging feedback
from my tutor in response to my submission for Assignment 1 and a positive “skype”
tutorial with him I am continuing to concentrate entirely on the project about
my mother and my relationship with her during the final years of her life, as
she struggled to cope with Clinical Depression. For the assignment I had
produced a small number of photographic “sketches”, relating to events or
periods in her life. Each of these consisted of two or more images, blended together
using “Photoshop Elements”, in order to produce photo-montages. Images were
either archival, including some taken whilst my mother was alive (she died in
2007), or created specifically for the project.
Moving forwards I am following my
tutor’s suggestion of creating around 24 experimental sketches of this type
based on events, trips taken, moods and feelings of both parties during the
last years of my mother’s life. I’m also carrying out research, mainly in the
areas of (1) the photographic exploration of family relationships and (2) trying
to understand the minds of people who have the great misfortune to be suffering
from Clinical Depression.
I have produced 12 sketches to
date (31 March), which include re-workings of some of the sketches that I
presented for my first assignment. The sketches are fairly crude (a subject
which I must address in the future: see below) and simply represent ideas that
I can explore in greater detail at a later stage. Most of the sketches refer to
a page of text that I wrote in advance for a proposed photo book, in which 20
pieces of text were to be accompanied by 20 “montage” images. However, one or
two sketches don’t fit in readily with any of the text (also see below). Looking
through what I’ve done so far (and I’m planning to produce at least two new
sketches per week, leading up to the submission of my second assignment in May)
it is fair to say that whereas some sketches work for me, both as an integrated
piece of work and as a representation of a message, others work on one front
but not both and some don’t work at all! Rather than spend more time on the
failures I’m going to press on, exploring ideas for new sketches and perhaps trying a new
approach for the events, etc. represented by the failures at a later date. As
an example of one of the more successful images (in my opinion) see the Image below.
Image
For years I shopped at the Co-op
in Knaresborough for Mum’s weekly provisions. At first she came with me, but as
she became more frail and developed agoraphobia (a common symptom of Clinical
Depression) I went on my own, with a shopping list. Although she hardly had a
balanced diet I tried hard to get her healthy food. However we both had a
liking for the rather unhealthy “Mr Kipling” Cherry Bakewell tarts and I
invariably slipped a packet of these into my basket or trolley. In November
2015, when I returned to Knaresborough to take photographs of/in the Co-op for
this image, I discovered that it was due to close for good the following day! I
duly came back to photograph the empty shelves on the final morning. The shelves add a poignant feeling to this composite of five separate images.
Based on the last couple of
months’ work and looking ahead beyond the production of the current sketches, I
have come up with a few general thoughts and conclusions regarding this project.
These are summarised below:
- · Assuming that I don’t radically change direction when producing “final” images I must improve both the software that I am using to produce the composites and my application of the software. My current PC is on its “last legs”. I intend to buy a new, significantly more powerful PC in the next few weeks and will probably have to “bite the bullet” and take out a monthly subscription to the full “Photoshop” package (I currently use “Photoshop Elements 8”), install it, learn how to use it and perhaps go on a training course in order to get the full benefits from the software and produce professional looking composites.
- · Rather than using the proposed photo book text to guide and inform the production of composite images I now believe that the images will be informing the text. In addition to producing images that relate to specific events or types of event that occurred in the past I am intending to produce images that illustrate feelings and emotions, which will not fit in with any current page of text. Whilst the text in the photo book gave me a good start for my image production it is now the images that will drive the direction of the project.
- · I am planning another, two day, visit to the area where my mother lived, in order to take photographs for use in the composite images. However, much of the photography that remains to be done is of a more general nature and can be carried out locally to me or in my house.
- · Creativity is still a major problem for me. I find that I am most creative when feeding off the ideas of others at exhibitions or reading books by or about photographers. When I am at home, dealing with the drudgery of daily life, it is very hard to come up with new ideas for my project work – but I keep on trying.
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