Sustainable Prospects - Looking back.
The topic of my project is evolving as much as my photographic style changes lately. I have gone from two-dimensional portraits to looking more about the context of my images and constantly asking myself why as have I have progressed through this course, I found my work to be pretty empty, good-looking child, usually looking sad. So I took feedback and used it to hopefully produce something the tutors liked but still using my editing style and historical themes. When the suggestions were first made, to be honest, I was pretty scared to come out of my comfort zone. But I guess being as its been a long time since I was in the learning environment like this, I am just going with the flow, at the end of the day, if I don't like what it becomes I can always revert, it's not so easy to progress and experiment though. As a foster carer my last few months, well this last year, have been crazy with the emotionally damaged children we have lived with. so somehow I am hoping to bring more of that into my work so that my images have more story depth and maybe try to get across opinions of the person and not my own. The concerns around that though are a child or vulnerable person exploitation. Making sure my images are telling the right story and not just glorifying the issues at hand.
During the break I emailed a few people to ask if I could assist, or even just watch, people whos work is nothing like my own. But being as it was the school holidays It was difficult to actually get a response never mind get away to assist. I emailed a person on the Photography WhatsApp group. Kevin Darling - Finan. He had began the MA before but had to put on hold. I have admired the recent work he put up in the group so asked him if he would collaborate with me. He agreed luckily so via Whats-ap. Set me off on the task of finding mushrooms. Well, I live in a very flat, and what had been very dry Lincolnshire. I went out to various forests and walked the miles in search of some fungi. After three sessions of coming back empty-handed apart from some flora and fauna. I am out of my comfort zone here.
We agreed he would think of something else for me. While waiting for the weather to decide to change, and it did, we had some rain and a few days later when I was doing the horse duties, noticed that some fungi were popping up by the muck heap.
Kevin asked me to create an image which incorporated the mushrooms. The same day, I had asked my hubby to be my muse for an idea. so had that one on my PC working on it and added the two together. The end result being this...
Kevin was delighted and suggested I do a body of work in this theme. Something to think on.
I feel the exercise didn't go the way planned. I had hoped I might learn from someone who had a different style to me. What I actually had a was a challenge which I am glad I did.
