Assignment 2 Revisited

Image 1 –

I note you have done some post-production on this image to make it look like the cyclist was in front of the bus. I am not entirely convinced as to why you did this – it detracts from the bus, but then the theme is about buses not cyclists. It doesn’t look like the bus is shadowing the cyclist, because there is no-one in the drivers’ seat! Going to your research by Martin Parr, he does recommend that you photograph things which have inbuilt obsolescence, therefore the bus will eventually becoming interesting, but it may not be for another thirty years! 

New Image

I must admit that I almost used this image rather than place the cyclist in front of the bus but thought it needed something as a focal point.

Image 2 –

This is a well composed image. I would have removed the car post-production as it is a little distracting. The bus stop is in a good position and the scenery in the background has a nice misty feel about it. This could have been a good opportunity to use a slow shutter speed to give the bus a sense of movement. 

New Image

Again, this was one of the images that I took as the bus came up the very steep hill but I thought it would show the steepness is there was another vehicle behind it.  It was a toss up between the two.

Image 3 -

This is a quirky image and shows people who make friends on the bus. I would ideally like this image to have been a photograph of the three people you interviewed (small point) just for the purpose of synergy although I appreciate this is the same bus stop. This is quite a busy image with lots of distracting colours. Did you see what any of your images looked like in black and white? As you referenced James Ravillious, this may have been a more appropriate route to go down for some of your work. 

New Image

I went out a couple of days after I received this feedback there was the couple I had interviewed waiting for the local bus.  I took another picture of the couple as they boarded the bus.

Images 4 & 5 -

Try to avoid sending in two images which are similar to each other as you need to show the assessors that you have discernment over which is the strongest image. I like the fact that you have captured the bus driver in his mirror. Equally, I felt that the image you rejected (No 71 Interaction) was a stronger image, because one lady had her hand on the back of the chair opposite her, whilst speaking to the passenger, so I felt there was more of a connection there, especially with regards to what you had researched. 

New Image

There were two main images that I thought portrayed the social aspect of using the bus regularly and this was the other one.  I chose the previous one as the lighting was rather harsh in this one and I felt it would be too difficult to correct it successfully.

Image 6 –

This is an image with great potential and perhaps could have been explored further. You have included quite a lot in the image, so it is difficult to find a focus on one particular person or couple. The Co-Op sign is very distracting and the shop next door is unnecessary. Not sure it is essential to have the bus stop sign on the road. It could be worth a more close cropping of the image, as the most interesting aspect is what people do whilst waiting for the bus, whether it is sitting on your boyfriend’s lap or fumbling around in your bag. You needed to get closer to this queue (or have a longer lens) as the quality is not really there at the distance you have taken it. 

New Image

I was out one day and saw these assorted passengers waiting for the bus so grabbed a shot on my iPhone.  That's why the quality wasn't as good as when I used my Nikon DSLR.  I'll probably go back and try again with my Nikon when I anticipate that there will be a good crown waiting at the east bound bus stop.

Image 7 –

This is a great image as the lady really looks out of context in all her finery waiting for the bus (perhaps to go to a wedding or the races?). It is also unusual that someone should be working on a laptop, so the image asks a lot of questions which is good. I would have removed the distracting for sale sign on the right hand side. 

New Image

This picture was fairly easy to correct as I just cropped out the 'For Sale' sign on the right hand side.

Image 8 –

 I can see what you tried to achieve with this shot, but it hasn’t entirely paid off. I think it needed a little more interaction from one of the passengers, perhaps looking behind them towards the girl in the advert.  

Original Image unchanged

I do intend to try again to take a picture as suggested by my tutor but there are several factors that might work against it.  As this time in early spring the buses are not very full of passengers on the top deck and those that are onboard tend to sit towards the front.  The light is against me as this side of the bus faces north and gets less light.  You could say go round the other side, but there is a different cartoon character of a boy and it doesn't have the same impact.

Image 9 –

Brilliant! This is your strongest image and well captured in-camera, too! Very Martin Parr. I also like the reference to advertising you have researched. 

Original Image unchanged

Image 10 –

Quite a picturesque image, but I am not sure it really says much about the bus service in general. It is more like a commercial shot I would expect to see in a magazine or on a bus leaflet. 

Original Image unchanged

 

Conclusion
On the whole I was very pleased with my tutor's comments and didn't have much difficulty in amending the images as she suggested.  I had, in fact, been debating over several images and had the knack of choosing the wrong one.  Fortunately my other images were available with no problem.

It's been a real challenge to get something different and I think, on the whole, I managed it.  My favourite pictures are Image 2 - Along the Coast Road, and Image 9 - Eyes.  This was the most difficult to capture as it was so fleeting a chance to catch it.

Assignment 2 Finding Your Voice - Tutor Comments

Overall Comments

Dear Jennifer

Thank you for sending me your second assignment. It is good to see a submission which has socio-political underpinning with regards to public transport, government cuts, who uses the buses and why, also how the cuts have affected them. Your use of moving image is a good idea and there are more opportunities to progress further with this, especially with regards to editing.

The print size and quality is good overall and you have achieved some lovely muted colours in your work – the pastel shades work well. Some of your work can be a little too busy with many distracting features.

Assessment potential

I understand your aim is to go for the Photography Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, providing you commit yourself to the course, I believe you have the potential to pass at assessment.  In order to meet all the assessment criteria, there are certain areas you will need to focus on, which I will outline in my feedback.   

Feedback on assignment

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity

Image 1 –

I note you have done some post-production on this image to make it look like the cyclist was in front of the bus. I am not entirely convinced as to why you did this – it detracts from the bus, but then the theme is about buses not cyclists. It doesn’t look like the bus is shadowing the cyclist, because there is no-one in the drivers’ seat! Going to your research by Martin Parr, he does recommend that you photograph things which have inbuilt obsolescence, therefore the bus will eventually becoming interesting, but it may not be for another thirty years!

Image 2 –

This is a well composed image. I would have removed the car post-production as it is a little distracting. The bus stop is in a good position and the scenery in the background has a nice misty feel about it. This could have been a good opportunity to use a slow shutter speed to give the bus a sense of movement.

Image 3 -

This is a quirky image and shows people who make friends on the bus. I would ideally like this image to have been a photograph of the three people you interviewed (small point) just for the purpose of synergy although I appreciate this is the same bus stop. This is quite a busy image with lots of distracting colours. Did you see what any of your images looked like in black and white? As you referenced James Ravillious, this may have been a more appropriate route to go down for some of your work.

Images 4 & 5 -

Try to avoid sending in two images which are similar to each other as you need to show the assessors that you have discernment over which is the strongest image. I like the fact that you have captured the bus driver in his mirror. Equally, I felt that the image you rejected (No 71 Interaction) was a stronger image, because one lady had her hand on the back of the chair opposite her, whilst speaking to the passenger, so I felt there was more of a connection there, especially with regards to what you had researched.

Image 6 –

This is an image with great potential and perhaps could have been explored further. You have included quite a lot in the image, so it is difficult to find a focus on one particular person or couple. The Co-Op sign is very distracting and the shop next door is unnecessary. Not sure it is essential to have the bus stop sign on the road. It could be worth a more close cropping of the image, as the most interesting aspect is what people do whilst waiting for the bus, whether it is sitting on your boyfriend’s lap or fumbling around in your bag. You needed to get closer to this queue (or have a longer lens) as the quality is not really there at the distance you have taken it. 

Image 7 –

This is a great image as the lady really looks out of context in all her finery waiting for the bus (perhaps to go to a wedding or the races?). It is also unusual that someone should be working on a laptop, so the image asks a lot of questions which is good. I would have removed the distracting for sale sign on the right hand side.

Image 8 –

 I can see what you tried to achieve with this shot, but it hasn’t entirely paid off. I think it needed a little more interaction from one of the passengers, perhaps looking behind them towards the girl in the advert.  

Image 9 –

Brilliant! This is your strongest image and well captured in-camera, too! Very Martin Parr. I also like the reference to advertising you have researched.

Image 10 –

Quite a picturesque image, but I am not sure it really says much about the bus service in general. It is more like a commercial shot I would expect to see in a magazine or on a bus leaflet.

Coursework

Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Demonstration of Creativity

You have produced some videos which are a good idea and really brings the people to life. I am not sure why you have edited the interview of the people at the bus stop into three separate sections? One video would suffice. I think you needed to get a good balance of interviews as the husband seems to do all the talking over his wife! It may have been a better option to interview lots of different people and stitch highlights together. The interview with people at the hospital is also interesting although they do tend to go off track a lot. Try not to have too much of yourself in the video, either asking too many questions or loudly announcing you are filming them! It comes across as too distracting and a little biased at times (you seem to be pushing them to say the lack of a Sunday service is a problem). Some images of the buses could also have been interspersed throughout the commentary if you really wanted to explore video further. The sound quality is problematic at times (due to the wind).  

Research

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

You have collected images labeled ‘Google Examples’ but this is not really advised. Although it can be a good starting point, at this level you need to be more specific with regards to which photographers you have researched and why. You have also included some collections by Martin Parr and David Lachapelle. There is a selection of images with no name and then a collection of your street images. Ideally, I would recommend identifying a handful of images and critically analyzing each one of them. You could also compare and contrast two photographers’ work. You need to justify that you understand what it is about each photographer that identifies their own style, for example you may comment on the bright colours of LaChapelle’s work, compared to the humour of Parr’s work.

Learning Log

Context, reflective thinking, critical thinking, analysis  

You have reflected well on your own strengths and areas for improvement. You have also explored with decisive moments, pre-planning of buses / passengers and also some post-production so there is a good range and variety to work with. Sometimes you tend to be a little too literal – do I really need to know the name of the bus route or if an actual bus stop was situated in a particular place? It can be more important to experiment rather than be overly descriptive of the situation (although I appreciate you may have been looking at this from an ethical photo-journalist angle!). 

Suggested reading/viewing

Context

I recommend you get access to the British Journal of Photography (there is an on-line version of the magazine) as it will highlight more contemporary ways of interpretation of photography which you need to be aware of. 

Images Rationale

Image No 1

I thought this picture of the X53 bus waiting in Weymouth was a good start as this was the start of my journey on the X53 even though its route actually goes from Poole in Dorset to Exeter in Devon.  My original image was just the bus on its own which looked bland and uninteresting.  I looked through my other images and found one with the cyclist and decided to insert it in front of the bus.  It looked as if the bus was shadowing the cyclist even though in reality the bus was stationary.

Also, the picture with the cyclist was portrait and as the bus was landscape it showed more of the sea front.  It made more sense to put the cyclist in the landscape picture heading to the right as if he was moving into the story.

Image No 2

I looked forward to taking this picture for quite a while and could imagine it in my mind’s eye long before I got round to actually photographing it.  I had to travel along the coast road, (the B3157) from Abbotsbury to Bridport as this is where the X53 runs parallel with the coast.  As this point – 175 feet above sea level - as the bus travelled west, you could see back along the coast towards Weymouth and Portland.  The view was misty this day so didn’t give the best view of the scenery but gave a better impression of the height.

The one problem that I had with this particular viewpoint was that there was no bus stop at this point.  I had to find a bus stop that I had taken earlier, import it and place it with care so it looked realistic. 

This picture gave more of an impression of isolation and I felt it portrayed how rural people had to rely on the few services that were available.  I was sorry that I wasn’t able to get a picture of a bus stop with someone, suitably rural, waiting beside it.

Image No 3

This image, of the No 71 bus, mostly featured in this assignment, was at one of the main pick up points of the route around the town of Lyme Regis.  This bus stop is at the bottom of the main shopping street and used the most where friends and acquaintances meet.  I’ve taken a video, at this point, talking to regular users of the bus to show the passengers’ opinions.

Image No 4

I took this picture as I went round on the local bus as it toured the town.  This, I felt, showed the fundamental basic friendliness that was offered as a known acquaintance boarded the bus.  I liked the way that the upright poles of the passenger area framed the man as he boarded.  The age range of the passengers seemed to be in the higher age range. I’ve mentioned before that over 35% of residents in Lyme are over 60.  This is higher than the average demographic age range in small towns.

Image No 5

 

I like this picture as it shows how passengers related to each other as they travelled round the town.  Even when not sitting on the same side, people would lean across and talk to each other.  The local bus is a major source of contact with other members of the community which is essential to those living in rural communities.

Image No 6

   
People are often seen waiting for a bus in Lyme as the main coastal bus stops to pick up every two hours as it travels along the route to and from Exeter and Poole.  Travellers who want to visit the local towns can hop on and off the buses as and when they like.  It’s interesting to see how people wait for a bus and how they queue politely or push to the front when the bus arrives.

This is a fairly short queue for Lyme heading east towards Bridport, Weymouth and Poole, but you can see that there is a community spirit showing between the passengers as they wait.

Image No 7

This was a staged picture with a friend of mine.  I had the idea having seen some pictures of teenagers using their computers whilst they waited at the bus stop.

As my friend is a member of the social group the Red Hats and wears a very colourful outfit to meetings, and I have a green cover on my laptop, I thought it would make an excellent colour contrast to have her waiting for a bus, using the laptop.  I sat her outside the local health centre bus stop as this seemed appropriate, as local bus services transport is essential for some people to manage to get to their local appointments.

Image No 8

I tried for ages to get a picture with this side of the bus showing and some passengers who sat right at the back.  I know the exposure of the passengers isn’t great as they were sat on the side away from this side of the bus but it looks like the little girl adventurer was telling them something as they sat there.

Image No 9

This is another image that took a long time to photograph.  It makes me think that someone is watching over me with this eye on the side of the bus.  It was actually an advert for a film showing in the local cinemas and kept going down our road every day.  Only occasionally did it have to stop, due to traffic congestion, where the eye looked directly into my living room. I just had time to grab a camera, press the shutter and hope for the best.  Even though I tried many times, I only managed to catch it this one time before the advert changed to something else.

Image No 10

 

Whilst this isn’t the only picture of the local bus travelling up the steep hill from the local harbour, it was another image that took a lot of planning to get it in the best place.  If you were not obviously taking a picture, the driver thought you were waiting to catch the bus and stop regardless of the route or lack of a bus stop.  It was the only picture that I used that had the bus turning to the left so I felt it was best placed to be the last one as if it was returning to the first image. 

It has been a very wet, windy and dull winter which was unfortunate as I really wanted to have the majority of my pictures with a decent blue sky and white clouds.  If I was preparing for this assignment again, I would want to work in the summer months with hopefully, better weather.

Assignment 2 Consider a local issue Report

Consider a subject close to your heart – something you feel passionate about. Choose a subject that you feel people don’t understand or appreciate sufficiently.

You need an idea, a way of interpreting what you’re concerned with, and you’ll need to develop your visualization through testing and experimentation.

Public transport has become a hot potato in both local and national politics, as budgets have been cut quite drastically.  No one knows where the next cuts will be but people are eagerly awaiting the Buses Bill to see what services can be provided to link both town and rural village folk.  This government bill will give local council authorities the power to plan, develop and regulate bus services.  The idea is that authorities will be able to provide a service that is suitable for the paying passengers similar to that which is provided in towns and cities.

http://www.urbantransportgroup.org/resources/bus/buses-bill

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35491551

Lyme Regis is served by three bus routes, those of the X53 which runs from Poole to Exeter, every two hours, the X51 which runs from Dorchester to Axminster and back every hour and then there is a local town service, the Number 71 bus, which tours round the town every hour.  The timetables are regularly changed to suit the needs of the operators and seem to give very little consideration to the travelling public.  Lyme Regis has an aging population with more than 35% over the age of 60.  Being over 60 gives the travelling public the right to a bus pass to enable them to move around the country for free.  Whilst the bus operators are re-imbursed for these journeys it does not cover the whole cost of the journeys.

Public transport is essential for people who live in outlying villages, as they very often don’t have their own transport.  With village shops, pubs and post offices closing down, there is even more need to seek reliable transport to the nearest towns.  Buses are used by young and old to travel to work, fulfill doctors’/hospital appointments, grocery shopping and visit local amenities, etc. 

Late night transport is non existent and seems to be curtailed earlier in the day even in the summer months when the days are longer.  If villagers wanted to go to the cinema or theatre in a nearby town, they would have to travel home by taxi or make other arrangements as the last bus is very often mid evening and leaves before the end of the film or programme.

Research

I’ve been researching the work of various social documentary photographers such as Martin Parr, Simon Roberts and Jane Bown and am also a keen follower of James Ravilious whose work in rural Devon has become recognized as truly embracing rural life in the late 20^th century.  Martin Parr, well known for his quirky photographs of people and places and has been quoted as saying when asked, “Do you think things get a bit repetitive?  Everyone seems to produce the same kind of images,” is quoted as replying; “Of course they do. Most of the stuff on the Internet is absolute crap. Don’t worry; most of the pictures I’ve taken are crap too. You have to take a lot of bad pictures to get something good.”

Simon Roberts, another photographer I follow, has travelled the length and breadth of the country in a motor home taking pictures of the English at play and produced a coffee table entitled ‘We English’ which was well received as a superb observation of contemporary Britain. I also like Jane Bown’s work as she especially manages to catch the punctum moment that gives her pictures an added depth.  She really seems to catch a moment that gives her portraits hidden meaning.

Justification

My initial ideas for completing this assignment were to

·      take pictures of buses in local towns,

·      pictures of buses along isolated coastal routes,

·      people waiting at the bus stops,

·      people travelling on the buses, etc.

I thought I would take photographs to provide the 10-16” x 20” pictures required and that I could intersperse them with voice recordings and video footage of my interviews with the local travellers.

I also thought to interview travellers at the local bus stops.  My tutor also suggested that I carry out a survey of how many people used each of the buses featured, at hourly intervals throughout the day but it was to big a task to carry out because of the unpredictability of the services and too many bus stops for it to be feasible.

Sometimes due to the local road system and the layout of the area, planned and unplanned road closures, ie, road works and accidents, and with no alternative routes available, it meant that services could be curtailed unexpectedly.

One major factor in following rural coastal routes and taking pictures was the weather.  It could be very windy and cold along the routes as the bus did literally follow the coastal road from Weymouth to Exeter.  As I was photographing this assignment in winter I had to factor in wet, windy, misty and foggy weather.  It also meant that not many people used the buses unless it was essential and it was difficult to find people waiting at the very isolated bus stops.

Whilst I didn’t want all my pictures to comprise of bright, sunny weather, I felt it would be better if the majority of them were taken on fine days, as there would be more people about.  I wanted those taken along the coast road to show the view in the distance but also maintain the isolation and the fine mist that is often a feature helped in those images.  I tried to find a high spot on the coastal road with a view and an isolated bus stop.  This proved impossible so I had to improvise and insert a bus stop at the top of the hill coming out of Abbotsbury.  I went back and forth along the different bus routes scouting out the best locations with what I thought would be interesting viewpoints.

I decided to illustrate my local issue on rural buses using photos, voice recordings and video recordings.  I felt it was important to gain travellers’ views at to their using the local/county buses and how often they did ride on them.  I used my iPhone to record the soundtrack of the BBC One programme ‘Countryfile’ as this programme had run an item on rural transport recently.  I put a link into my report but as it linked to the BBC iPlayer the item would only last for 30 days.  I was fully aware of copyright issues and reproducing programmes without permission but felt that a voice recording might be acceptable.

Local people use the local buses frequently as a means of moving round a very hilly town and I recorded them whilst travelling on the buses myself.  I also used my phone to video local people discussing their views on local bus issues and even included a friend in hospital as she showed her consternation even whilst recovering from an operation.  I found it difficult to copy the recordings it made, both audio and video, from my smartphone and struggled once or twice to get them to the folder where I wanted them.  It really was a case of ‘if all else fails read the instructions’.

Summary

This has been a challenging assignment, firstly because I had to think of an issue that was of particular interest to put together a statement of intent and to think of various media to prove it worth the effort.

The hardest part of all was to decide on what to feature, as whilst buses run through Lyme regularly throughout the day, I felt that there needed to find other ways to illustrate the situation rather than of people just sitting on buses or waiting at bus stops. 

I know that I have exceeded my time limit for this assignment but feel the result justifies the extra time.  As I said, I had to factor in very poor weather, but day after relentless day of rain made it very difficult.  I also had to factor in my own feelings on having to ask people to take part in my work.  Some people weren’t interested so that is why there are only a couple of videos showing local people.