My tutor’s response to my
submission for Assignment 5 was largely positive and I feel that I am finally
on the right track, with not too much work left to do before submission for
assessment in September 2015.
Image / print portfolio.
By splitting the portfolio images
into two sections, relating to “what wild birds do for us” and “what we do for
wild birds” I have produced a portfolio that “now has a more editorial feel to it. You are observing, categorising
and capturing the responses of individuals or the content and atmosphere of
various scenes with a view to explaining how it fits in the grand scheme of our
relationship with birds”.
He commented on the new images
that I had produced since my submission for Assignment 4, noting that (new)
image 6 was very similar in content to (old) image 7 (robins and starlings
feeding from the hand, respectively): do I need both? This is a fair point: I
will remove image 7 from the portfolio, whilst retaining it in both the book
and multimedia presentations for the assessment submission (see below).
He noted that image 18 (bird
food, feeders etc. in a shop) had “not
got anything of the editorial about it”. I half expected this response: the
image is very different from the others in the portfolio, although the point of
including it is that it provides a clear link between the building of new
housing estates and the use of bird food, nesting boxes etc. in the gardens of
our (new) houses. Nevertheless I will remove this image from the portfolio
(making two sets of 11 images/prints), whilst retaining it in the book and multimedia
presentations.
There were quality problems with
images 22 (peregrine falcon on cathedral spire: bird too small in the frame)
and 24 (bittern: lacks sharpness as an A4 print and unsuitable for A3). I had
only chosen these subjects a few weeks earlier and had hoped to have produced better
images in time for submission of the assignment work: I was aware of their
shortcomings. Both will be replaced, along (potentially) with one or two of the
other, later images, with “better” photographs showing similar content, for the
portfolio, multimedia and book presentations.
Multimedia
My tutor commented that “this is a strong part of your final
submission” and that although “the
presentation isn’t slick and quick” it “has
got insight and substance”. Also, “it
does show the depth of your feeling regarding the environment and the subject
which you have treated with respect and a good level of subject knowledge and
technical expertise shows through”. He noted that “one or two of the images need a little sharpening”. This may be
because I reduced the sizes of the images somewhat in order to reduce the
overall size of the multimedia presentation (which was still a hefty 312Mb). In
future I will use full size JPEG images for the multimedia.
Book
My tutor noted that “the addition of a book will form a strong
circle of presentation for you with this set of work”, but warned that its
aesthetic presentation (use of facing pages, white space, text etc.) should add
to the images in an accountable way. Also, “…we
can look at a page for as long as we wish to so stronger images are better”.
The images in the multimedia “may form
more of a narrative when used in bursts, as opposed to dwelling [on them] so the formats are not the same”.
Learning Log
My tutor commented that “the learning log [my blog] is well kept and supportive of the
development of the project”. However, I should continue to maintain it
noting the additions / recommended inclusions that he had mentioned, relating
to the major project.
Future Plans
Portfolio Images
My work on the first section of
the portfolio (images 1-12, or 1-11 as they will become) is essentially complete,
as is my work on the first half of the second section (images 13-19, or 12-17
as they will become after I remove current images 7 and 18 from the Assignment
5 portfolio). I am still looking for stronger images to complete the portfolio –
in particular, I must replace images 22 and 24 and the main focus of my work in
the next few weeks will be to finalise the image portfolio by getting out and
about on the streets. If I have the good fortune to produce “better” examples
to replace earlier images so much the better, but I will not be actively
seeking these. I am keen to retain a “peregrine” image in the portfolio set and
have decided to wait until urban peregrines have fledged (late June –early July)
before looking for a replacement for image 22. The final image portfolio may
differ slightly in content from what I currently have: allowances for potential
changes have been predicted in the text for my book.
Portfolio Prints
In addition to providing the
portfolio as A4 prints on Permajet “glossy” paper, using Epson inks, I sent
some A4 examples of images 4 and 20, printed on a variety of Hahnemuhle test papers, to my tutor, asking for comments. Commenting on the print quality, he noted
that “the images are printed to a very
good quality [on the Permajet paper]. Using standard (Permajet) paper with
Epson inks is in no way unacceptable for
the finished portfolio should you wish to use it….the images produced on it are
“half way house” – they don’t make the bad things worse but, perhaps, they don’t
make the good things better”. Commenting on the test images he noted that in
general images were better resolved on the Permajet paper, probably because my
Epson printer is not set up to get the best out of the Hahnemuhle paper. The
bottom line was that the choice of papers is a very personal choice and “…the decision has to be yours at this level”.
Given this feedback, I will look at getting one or two images commercially
printed at A3 size, using a small selection of “standard” and Hahnemuhle papers,
before I make a final choice. I will also check whether Permajet print
commercially at A3 size using their own papers (which I like) or whether they
supply paper to other commercial printers. This has now become a key element of
my work, which I will concentrate on. I will write up progress in my logbook /
blog.
Multimedia Presentation
I am reasonably happy with the
multimedia presentation as it stands. I will need to replace certain images as
the portfolio changes (see above) and I will look to make the overall
presentation more crisp and “snappy”, perhaps by replacing, leaving out and/or
shortening some of the video clips. I will continue to look to produce
instructive video clips for potential use in this presentation. I will put the
final presentation together a few weeks before submission.
Book
Whilst noting my tutor’s comments
I feel that I am close to getting the desired format and presentation style
together for the book. As soon as the image portfolio has been finalised I will
get a small “prototype” book produced commercially: my tutor has kindly
volunteered to comment on this book. Following acting on his and other peoples’
comments I will produce a final version, for submission for assessment.
Story Board
I will shortly produce a simple
story board of Assignment 5 images 1 – 24 for incorporation in my logbook and blog.
Final Comments
The way ahead is now clear. The
most urgent need is to finalise the image portfolio, because until I have done
this I cannot produce a portfolio book, complete my multimedia presentation or
get my portfolio printed to A3 size. I have allowed myself 4 weeks from today
(10 June) to do this, following which I will get a prototype photo book
produced. Concurrently I will continue to get some A3 test prints produced on
various papers and make a decision on which papers to use by the middle of
July. Holidays (one week in July, two weeks in August, one week in September)
will intervene later, so I will need to get as much work as I can (and all the practical work) completed by
the middle of July. Progress updates will be provided in my logbook / blog.
