Assignment 4: Tutor Feedback on Major Project Work and "The Way Forward" (March 2015)

In his report my tutor commented that “the image quality is of a good standard throughout – as is the print quality.” This was a great relief, as I had been very concerned that I would have to re-shoot quite a few of the images due to less than ideal composition, clutter caused by the feeding birds etc.

However my other major concern, that of narrative flow (discussed elsewhere in my blog in the update for the submission of my work for Assignment 4) was a major issue. I had attempted to integrate two separate themes, one dealing with our direct interaction with wild birds through the process of feeding them and the other dealing with the indirect interaction with wild birds due to man’s change of land use and the resultant habitat and food loss for many species of birds. I knew that this mixture, which involved combining different genres of images and therefore did not provide an obvious visual flow from image to image, might not fit the remit. I desperately wanted to include my environmental concerns in the final portfolio, but as I commented in the update provided with my Assignment submission:  “as a “fall back” position I have the option of removing the “environmental” images from the portfolio, perhaps adding a few more images of interactions between people and wild birds, to produce a portfolio made up entirely of the direct interactions between people and birds.”

My tutor’s comments confirmed these fears: “there is without doubt evidence of some difficulties in making these images sit together as a set of work” and “there is not a real fit, visually and contextually, as a set of work for the landscape/environment images with the bird feeding images. I feel it would be difficult to present the work in the way that the story board is currently set out”. On a related theme he made two other points. Firstly, he reminded me of earlier feedback: “again there is the issue of the different genres. It may have an unobserved or unexpected result in seriously undermining your quality”. Secondly, he reminded me that the “environmental” images did not inform the answer to the key question in my original proposal: “why do we feed wild birds?”

To be honest, I had been expecting these comments and had been preparing to assume the “fall back” position described above. I was therefore very happy to take on board an alternative suggestion by my tutor that I had not considered or thought possible within the confines of the remit: “Your initial question – why do we feed wild birds – may be where the issue lies. Perhaps something along the lines of what wild birds do for us and what we do for wild birds? Your images would fit this type of question much better.” He then went on to suggest submitting the images as two sets. The first set (“what wild birds do for us”) would feature the images showing people feeding wild birds, whilst the second set (“what we do for/to wild birds”) would feature the “environmental” images. Furthermore, he suggested that I could adapt the video work that I had planned in order to prepare a multimedia presentation (a “third set”) that would act as a link between the two sets of images. As he pointed out, “this is perhaps a self-contained learning experience and it should inform visually and literally”. Windows Movie Maker was the recommended medium for the multimedia presentation: it was also recommended that I experiment with using both music and commentary, as well as moving and still images, in the presentation.

I was happy to take my tutor’s suggestion on board. Following a telephone conversation (my tutor’s suggestion) I decided to produce a 5 to 8 minute multimedia presentation, using video clips to both express the themes and concepts behind the project and to link the images in the two sections of the project together. This would necessitate a modification of my original proposal from (essentially) “why do we feed wild birds?” to either “what do wild birds do for us and what do we do for wild birds?” or, more specifically, “what does feeding wild birds do for us and what do we do for feeding wild birds?”. Work on the first set of images (people feeding wild birds) was essentially complete, although I would continue to look for opportunities to improve on what I had got. I would provide 10 to 12 images for this set. Some new images were still required to make the second set (again, 10 to 12 images) complete. I hoped that the video work for the multimedia presentation would provide fresh ideas and stimulus for creating and ordering the second set of images.

At the time of writing (early March) I have been experimenting with video work and with using “Windows Movie Maker”. Like a child with new toys, this work has given me a lot of pleasure, albeit with some frustration, and will be the subject of (a) blog(s) in the near future.

Update on Major Project for Assignment 4 Submission (January 2015)

Following an agreed extension, due to the difficulties that I had had in coming up with a plan for the major project that was both true to the brief and to my original proposal in January 2014 (see earlier "Assignment 4" blogs), I eventually submitted major project parts 3 and 4 to my tutor in late January 2015. The submission included 17 A4 prints that I intended to incorporate into the portfolio, together with a revised story board and a long discussion document. The bulk of the discussion document consisted of comments on the individual prints/images, how and why they had been produced and where they fitted within the framework of the plan. This blog omits all those details, concentrating instead on the introductory section, which explains my thinking and plans at the time of the submission and has not been modified for the blog. I have also included the story board at the end, although the individual images are necessarily small. The original 21 page document will be included for assessment as “hard copy”.

Current Status

After much trial and tribulation I have eventually come up with a plan, and a story board, that I hope satisfies both the requirements of the brief for the project and my personal environmental concerns, whilst still attempting to answer the question “why do we feed wild birds”? The current portfolio consists of 17 images, which will be forwarded as A4 prints with this submission. A further 3 images/prints have yet to be produced (these include opening and closing images), so I hope to have a final portfolio of 20 images/prints. My plans are flexible and I’m still coming up with ideas that I would like to incorporate into the portfolio, but at this relatively late stage of the project I will have limited opportunities to diverge from the current, basic plan. I will, however, continue to look for better photographs to represent the themes running through the portfolio.

All the photographs within the portfolio deal with our interactions (direct and indirect) with wild birds and most of the photographs attempt to address the question of why we feed them. There is a dominant photographic theme, which deals with the feeding of wild birds. The images in this section are documentary, with a strong emphasis on what might loosely be called “social documentary” or possibly even “street photography”, although streets do not (yet) feature in any of these photographs. Many of the photographs were taken in public parks. A second theme addresses the topic of feeding wild birds more obliquely, by dealing step by step with the environmental issues of habitat destruction and change of land use, both of which have had a profound effect on populations of wild birds. I struggled to find a smooth way to link the different sections of the story within the portfolio. Eventually I decided to mix the two themes, causing (in the absence of accompanying text) the viewer to have to think carefully about the significance of each image and why it is in a certain position within the portfolio. As a “fall back” position I have the option of removing the “environmental” images from the portfolio, perhaps adding a few more images of interactions between people and wild birds, to produce a portfolio made up entirely of the direct interactions between people and birds.

Modification of the Story Board

The images within the story board continue to explore the reasons why we feed wild birds. However my observations whilst carrying out field work have led me to add entertainment, or at least the pursuit of pleasure, as a further reason. I have also decided not to include any examples of feeding wild birds to produce food for ourselves (e.g. pheasant rearing) within the portfolio, because I was unable to come up with a single photograph that could represent this reason and I decided that each image in the portfolio would (with the possible exception of the opening and closing images) consist of a single photograph. Furthermore, I have omitted any images relating to the historical background of why we feed wild birds. The portfolio therefore represents the following reasons for feeding wild birds: (a) altruism, (b) commercial benefits, (c) conservation of species, (d) introducing young people to nature, (e) taming and “controlling” nature, (f) bird and wildlife photography, (g) companionship with birds and (h) human entertainment. By studying the portfolio it should be possible to deduce why some birds benefit from our behaviour and why others don’t.

Interactions between People and Birds

No fewer than 12 of the submitted images/prints feature the act of people feeding birds. Between them, these pictures illustrate all of the reasons (a) to (h) above for feeding wild birds. Of these, six (images 2,4,6,15,17 and 19) are arranged to show how age progression, from very young to very old, influences our reasons for feeding wild birds. Of the other photographs there is also a link between images 10 and 11 (which are run together), 9 and 12 and 8 and 13, the ordering being deliberately chosen to produce an element of symmetry to the portfolio.

Environmental Issues

Six pictures (images 3,5,7,14,16 and 18) will relate to the ways we have altered our environment in recent years. They are intended to run as a very small picture story that tries to illustrate how change of land use (for example, from countryside to housing estates) has benefited some birds and been detrimental to others.

Opening and Closing Images

I have yet to choose between various options for the opening image (Image 1). Some of these options will be discussed below. It may well be a composite image, possibly incorporating text such as “why feed the birds?” or a straightforward image showing a classic example of birds being fed. I have had some elaborate and/or ambitious ideas, but above all I would like an image that sets the scene. The closing image could bring the series to a positive or negative conclusion: I have yet to decide. I would like it to be a single photograph, ideally one that marries the themes which are covered by the portfolio.

Story Board Diagram

The images chosen for submission with this assignment are shown as thumbnails, in order from top left to bottom right, in an accompanying Diagram (see later).

Style

The photographs are presented with this submission as straightforward colour prints. I have considered ways in which I could “individualise” them, for example by using high key monochrome throughout. Whilst this could work for certain images others look, I believe, better in colour. Vignetting every image is a possibility, but this would not, in my opinion, add anything to the portfolio. More ambitious concepts, such as “blacking” or “whiting” out all areas of each photograph other than those that are key to the points that I am making are being considered, but would involve considerable time and effort. However, concepts of this type would establish a strong (bizarre?) individual style that I could take into other work. Surrounding each photograph with a white border featuring faded images of birds feeding or enclosing each photograph within the silhouette of a bird are other possibilities, although these features may detract from the photographs themselves and weaken the points that I am making. I have acquired a variety of different types of paper on which to print my images, but have yet to investigate the effects of using this paper. I suspect that some prints will look better on certain types of paper but others will look worse.

Overall, I am currently just trying to reach the point where I have a portfolio of photographs that satisfy the requirements of the project remit and that both I and my tutor are happy with.

Final Thoughts

I am constantly reviewing my images and I strongly suspect that quite a few changes will be made before the submission of Assignment 5. However, the story board plan is the most satisfactory that I have come up with so far and I hope that the concepts contained therein can be retained in the final portfolio.

I still intend to make some videos featuring, for example, birds feeding from the hand. These will be submitted with the assessment work, as an “optional extra”. I will also produce a photo book, with added text for each of the photographs and possibly some extra photographs, once the portfolio has been finalised.

Exhibition Visit: "Guy Bourdin: Image Maker" (Somerset House, London, 14 February 2015)

A protégé of the surrealist Man Ray, Guy Bourdin (1928-91) rose to fame in the 1970s as a fashion photographer, working for Vogue magazine (Paris) and Charles Jourdin, manufacturer of high class women’s shoes (and in particular stiletto heels). Bourdin used his surrealist training, combined with a vivid imagination and a head full of ideas, to overturn convention in the world of fashion and advertising. He was a supreme innovator: where others used monochrome, he used vivid colour. Where others concentrated their efforts on the model and the product that (normally) she was wearing, he concentrated on the space surrounding her or did away with the model completely, creating mysterious, surreal tableaux around the product. Bourdin was also a perfectionist, planning his shoots in great detail in the form of working drawings, paintings and even Polaroid prints before producing his final work. Perhaps surprisingly he was also a very private person, refusing all interviews and never selling his work, despite receiving many generous offers. This exhibition, featuring over 100 of his works, including movies, notebooks and working drawings (many previously unseen), is the most comprehensive exhibition of Bourdin’s work to date.

Image 1 (Guy Bourdin for Charles Jourdin)

Image 1 (above), which was used extensively to advertise this exhibition, is typical of Bourdin’s work. Used as part of a Charles Jourdin advertising campaign, the shoes are stylish and clearly visible but only form a very small, if important part of the tableau. The eyes of the viewer (voyeur?) are drawn to the model’s body; her legs and backside, as we ask the question: what is she doing? Is there a gap between the red floor and the yellow wall if, indeed, these are floor and wall? In the absence of the model we would have been unaware of the three dimensionality of this image, but even in her presence we can’t be sure how Bourdin created his set and of what it consisted. Today we are used to seeing digitally altered images and (in particular) video in which the aesthetics of the advertising, rather than its bland details, attract us to a particular product. In Bourdin’s time this concept was revolutionary. My feminist companion was somewhat offended by Image 1 and some other images in the exhibition and there is indeed a feeling that the advertised clothes and accessories are deliberately made to play “second fiddle” to an erotic, titillating vision that prompts desire, for different reasons, in both men and women. However, in the 1960s and 1970s a new Jourdan advertising campaign was awaited with much anticipation.

The exhibition opens with several prints from Bourdin’s “Walking Legs” series, produced on a road trip round the UK in 1979. These photographs, again for the benefit of Charles Jourdin, do away with the use of models. Instead, several pairs of mannequin lower legs accompanied the heels, Bourdin, his partner, his son and an assistant on their journey. Giving free rein to his imagination and surrealist roots, Bourdin produced a collection of wild, fantastical images which explored the British culture (Image 2 is a good example). I have to say that I admired the richness and diversity of Bourdin’s work in the exhibition, his provocative use of eroticism and his daring (particularly for that era) in relegating the product, in many cases, to a minor role in the photograph. Whilst his portraits for Vogue were more “mainstream” than his Jourdin adverts they were still full of creativity in the way that he used his models and the props that often accompanied them.

Image 2 (Guy Bourdin for Charles Jourdin)

I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition. Bourdin was many years ahead of his time: much of his work would still have been lauded if it had been produced today. In particular, his photographs for Charles Jourdin are not only innovatory and aesthetically pleasing; they also present tableaux that require the viewer to explore and interpret the image and to tease out the significance of the story portrayed. Furthermore, they do this without ever forgetting that they are advertising a particular product (for a final example of this, see Image 3).

Image 3 (Guy Bourdin for Charles Jourdin)

Bourdin’s creations were not produced overnight. A lot of planning went into his work and each tableau was probably prepared for several weeks prior to the final shoot. I can consider using some of his ideas (which include the example of holding a Polaroid print depicting a scene in the foreground of a modified version of the same scene: many fine art photographers have subsequently “stolen” this device), but the most important learning point that I can take from the exhibition is that success and recognition in photographic art come from a combination of imagination, planning and the drive to convert an idea into an end product.