Assignment one reworked.
After feedback from my tutor with some pointers and action on assignment one I have reworked my series, you can see my comments on reworking my assignment here with the full new series in order and my thoughts and feelings on my learning log here.
The original assignment is below:
Brief:
In our earliest years we know a patch of ground in a detail we will never know anywhere again – site of discovery and putting names to things – people and places – working with difference and similitude – favourite places, places to avoid – neighbours and their habits, gestures and stories – textures, smells – also of play, imagination, experiment – finding the best location for doing things – creating worlds under our own control, fantasy landscapes. (Professor Mike Pearson)
Photographers and artists have always found inspiration in their immediate location. There is a concept within Welsh culture called Y Filltir Sgwar (The Square Mile), described above by Professor Mike Pearson. It is the intimate connection between people and their childhood ‘home’ surroundings. Use this ‘sense of place’ as the starting point for your first assignment.
Make a series of six to twelve photographs in response to the concept of ‘ The Square Mile’. Use this as an opportunity to take a fresh and experimental look at your surroundings. You may wish to re – trace places you know very well, examining how they might have changed; or, particularly if you’re in a new environment, you may wish to use photography to explore your new surroundings and meet some of the people around you.
Check out my initial thoughts on this first assignment here.
My Plan:
After reading the brief for the assignment and how we should use this opportunity to retrace places we know well – I knew exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to base my photos around. I wanted to take myself back to my childhood where some of my fondest memories were made and that is the tranquillity of Luxulyan Valley and Prideaux.
Why are they so special to me?
Luxulyan Valley holds a lot of special memories for me, my family & I use to make regular trips to see the waterfall, my sister & I use to stand on the path close our eyes and feel the spray hit our faces, now – it is merely just a trickle! I use to swing from the rope swings across the river, crunch the leaves beneath my feet, play hide and seek amongst the derelict buildings and admire the bluebells. It had been such a long time since I had last explored the Valley that I had to take my mum along with me as my guide! I was saddened to see the changes that have happened.
Prideaux is another large part of my childhood, here my dad worked for over 40 years for the late Mr. C.G.Roach training his national hunt racehorses and preparing them for their races. The thudding of the horses hooves galloping up the track, the sweet smell of the barn where the athletes rest and the magnificent views of Prideaux house. This all is now only a memory for me as since the passing of Mr Roach all the horses have been sold, the stables are left empty collecting nothing but dust, the gallops lay bare and the place feels deserted. For the first time since 2016 I braved going back to see the emptiness for myself.
Research:
After reading through the few practitioners recommended to me that have worked in an autobiographical way there was two in particular that stood out to me which were, Tom Hunter and Jodie Taylor.
Tom Hunter focuses on reconstructing stories and memories including myths to recreate a psycho-geographical landscape. In his most recent work, Tom produces this image by welcoming you on a journey, travelling between his childhood destinations and using his memories to capture and generate a final picture. Whilst doing some research of Tom Hunter myself I came across his gallery, an album in particular stood out to me called ‘Findings’. In these series of photos Tom focused on capturing the “disappearing world” he explained these photos as going back in time, illuminating and documenting a very special place. This is what I am aiming to portray with my photos, I want to give you an insight into my childhood, for you to see the Valley and Prideaux – to show you what a special place they are to myself and my family.
In addition to Tom Hunters work I was also captivated by the work of Jodie Taylor. Jodie photographed places from her childhood to relive memories from the past. I loved the statement “As soon as a photo is taken the moment becomes a thing of the past, frozen in time for us to ‘remember’.” The photographs Jodie had taken weren’t picturesque in the sense of beautiful landscapes but they did draw in the attention of the viewer and got me thinking of my own childhood. This gave me confidence to go ahead and photograph what I thought represented my past regardless of it being scenic with beautiful views.
As well as researching photographers, I also wanted to look into the history of Luxulyan Valley to give myself a deeper understanding of how it was once used. This also gave me a clear thought process on what I would like to photograph and how to try and illustrate the history within my pictures. Through the valley runs a river called ‘Par river’ this leads to Par Beach. Up until the 1970’s vessels of around 80 tonne used to Moor at a point within the valley called Ponts Mill. However, this was rapidly getting loaded with rock, sand and soil as a result of the Tin streamers that were working there. By the 19th century the shoreline was pushed back two miles totalling over 500 acres of sediment (S H. Austin 2008). For the High level crossing of the river Joseph Thomas Treffery who inherited the valley built the famous Luxulyan viaduct which measures 650ft long and 100ft high. Stephen Austin explains that the viaduct had a water channel running beneath it to bring water to the Fowey Mines, the water levels were generated by the 34ft waterwheel. Also within the valley were old Valley floor tramways all powered by horses, this was last active in 1933. The valley is famously known for its tin mining, quarries, china clay and china stone. A clay drying Kiln was even built within the valley and china clay trains weighing 1400 tonne still pass regularly through the valley today!
You can read more on my research here.
My ideas for photographs include:
- The viaduct
- Par river
- The watermill & cogs
- Old Checkers Hut
- Rope swing
- The bluebells
- The tramlines
- The gallops
- Stables at Prideaux
The Series – My chosen photographs.
Contact Sheets:
Strengths & Weaknesses:
I feel I had a good idea of what I wanted to photograph in regards to getting my childhood memories across. As soon as I read the brief it made me think of these two locations and I was excited to get going. Although, I am a complete beginner I am happy with how some of my photos turned out. Photo six for example, the “resting cogs” I like the way the gorse flower is in focus and the Cogs behind are blurred – I feel this gives emphasis on how nature continues to grow around something that is no longer in use. The brambles and the Ivy show it has not been used in some time. Also, photo 8 of the inside of the barn stables this photo was inspired by ‘Birmingham Kettle Works’ of Tom Hunter – I am happy with how this turned out and believe it shows the cold feeling that has been left there. Furthermore, I believe I could explore angles and composition more e.g. go higher up, try laying down and play with the exposure more, this is something I am trying to learn. Also when uploading my images some weren’t as focused as they looked on my camera. However, overall, I am happy with the outcome for my first assignment.
References:
Tom Hunter – http://www.purdyhicks.com/display.php?aID=10#9 Date accessed 16/04/2019
Tom Hunter – http://www.tomhunter.org/gallery/findings-2/ Date accessed 16/04/2019.
Jodie Taylor – https://weareoca.com/subject/photography/photography-and-nostalgia/ Date accessed: 16/04/2019
Stephen Austin (2008) – http://www.luxulyanvalley.co.uk/history/ Date accessed 17/04/2019.
Heather Wade OCA Blog 