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.