Final straight

Just about sorted out my final prints but just need to go for one more ride on the local bus to get some last photos. The locals think it's fun to be involved and all ask how I'm getting on. Let's hope the weather is a bit kinder travelling round over the pot holed roads of Lyme. 

Almost there

I've looked over all the images I've taken with regard to this assignment and there are one or two outstanding ones but the weather has been so bad lately that I have had to put off taking them.  I wrote out a list of images, checked them off against what I remembered taking and identified what was outstanding.

I've recorded the sound track of a Countryfile item on rural transport but am finding it difficult to transfer it across from my iPhone, where I used the recording facility, to get it in my folder together with all the other images.  I now want to talk to people waiting at the bus stops along the way for their views on the current situation and what they think would help to keep rural bus services viable.  Hopefully, I'll get this completed by the end of this week and be able to put together the 10 images I need to send to Katrina.  Then, if I remember correctly, I need to produce a photo book of my work.

One image I'm trying to work into the assignment is of an advert on the side of a bus with an eye staring into someone's living room.  I feel it shows how intrusive advertising can get without really trying. 

Here's looking at you!

It's probably not suitable as an image on rural transport, but I like it and it took a lot to be ready when the bus passed our window and stopped in the just the right position with the eye looking in.

Rural services update

Since I've been working on this local issue I've been keeping an eye on the local press, radio and TV to see what issues have been raised on the subject.  The latest edition of the BBCs Countryfile programme on Sunday, 10th January, had a whole section - split in two - on the subject and included not only pensioners but young people who living in rural villages found it very difficult to get to work on time.  

BBC Countryfile 10 January 2016 at 7 minutes in and 27 minutes along.

The solution, according to the programme and government officials being interviewed is that local councils have to 'spend smarter'.  They need to concentrate their reduced funding (a total of 40% reduction) on vital areas and encourage local people to run volunteer bus services, ring and ride on demand buses and link in with volunteer services that might already be available in the area. 

I've also recorded the broadcast (sound only) in case the above link is not available.  

Not only did this broadcast state the problems with living in rural England but the second half of the item went further into how the problem could be solved.  One of the main problems is that a large proportion of the passengers are those who are entitled to free bus passes.  The rules were changed a couple of year's ago in that people using concessionary fares were not allowed to start their journeys before 9.30am but this just delayed the number of free rides.  I've talked to people who have a free bus pass and they all seem quite willing to pay a small sum towards the bus fare, especially on the longer journeys between large towns if it meant there was a better, more appropriate service.

Local newspaper article on funding of rural bus services

Just this week (week commencing 11th January) there was an article in my local free newspaper which indicated that rural transport services would have their funding cut by £500,000.

If this proposal goes ahead then Dorset will lose more vital linking services between villages, small towns and the main towns of the county.

List of suggested images/video submissions

Suggested list of images/videos to illustrate statement of intent

No	Subject	Image (I) Video (V) Voice Recording (R)
1.	Picture of local bus (71) in picturesque surroundings, ie, Cobb Road.	I
2.	People waiting at bus stop talking together (multiple)	I
3.	Passenger talking about local buses	R
4.	Passengers riding on the bus from front seat	V, I
5.	Passengers riding on the bus from rear seat	V, I
6.	Driver helping passengers on bus
7.	Bus No 53 on coast road by remote bus stop	I
8.	Passengers boarding coastal bus along the route	I
9.	Eyes on side of bus looking into room	I
10.	Logos on side of X53 with child looking into interior at passengers in rear seats
11.	Passengers interacting on bus	V, I
12.	People waiting for bus at stop after dark	I

Tutor reply to Statement of Intent

Hi Jennifer

Thanks for sending me your artist statement which clearly states what sort of photography you intend to undertake. I like the idea of interviewing the passengers, that sounds fun!

I think we must keep in mind that ultimately, this is a photography degree, so if you send me a set of images of individual or couples/groups at the bus stop, beautifully lit and composed well, that will make for a strong photograph. You could interview them and put what they say in quotes next to each image. Photographs of people actually on the bus may be more challenging. Keep it simple and concentrate on the fundamentalist of a good image - composition, sharp where it is supposed to be sharp, depth of field and especially lighting.

Look forward to receiving your work.

Katrina

Assignment 2 Statement of Intent

Assignment 2 Consider a local issue

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.

THE WEST DORSET BUS TRANSPORT SITUATION

I live in Lyme Regis, which is a town in the very west of Dorset, bordering on East Devon with no direct rail links.  Lyme Regis is extremely popular as a seaside resort and numbers can swell from the 3637 permanent residents to over 10,000+ in the summer months.

The town is served by three bus routes, those of the X53 every two hours which runs from Poole to Exeter, 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 all round of the town every hour.

The main part of the private and public housing in Lyme is situated on both sides of a valley formed by the River Lym.  As you can see from the satellite map, there are two main areas occupied which have been developed along the sides of the steep valley.  The population of Lyme Regis is an aging one with people aged over 65 making up 35% of the population.

Statement of Intent

It is my intention to show how local transport between towns and villages can cause communities to become isolated from the most popular activities.  My portfolio will show how local bus services can:

1.    Create a sense of isolation by poor bus timetabling but also

2.    Create a place for meeting friends and enjoying social time together

My initial idea was to travel round on the buses taking pictures of who got on and off on the different routes.  When I thought about it again I felt this would just show people enjoying their trip but not really indicating how it can cause isolation when the buses stop running in mid-afternoon or early evening.  As people who are reliant on public transport it traps them at home with no way of socializing or getting home from an evening event.

But catching and travelling on the bus can be a place of social interaction as friends can join together for short or long bus journeys and renew friendships and chat about local goings on.

My initial idea, and I’m still keen to go with this one, is to travel round on the various bus services taking pictures of bus stops, people boarding/leaving the buses, people waiting at the bus stops and give a general idea of the locations of buses and towns.  Then print up various interesting images to illustrate both the isolation of the routes and the social side of travelling on a bus.

My tutor suggested that I aim for either one or the other of these ideas but I don’t think I can isolate one as the bus does travel through the populated areas and along desolate coastal roads.

My initial idea was to use print out the 10 required images for assessment.  Another idea that has come up after discussion with one or two potential subjects is to interview actual passengers on the buses, using an iPhone to capture video clips discussing why people use the bus and what they think of it.

I’ve been researching work of various social documentary photographers and intend to report on them in my final submission for assignment 2.