PHO710: Positions and Practice, MA Photography CRJ Topic 1: Mirrors and Windows
TASK: Post an image way of an introduction to your peers and your tutors.
Ian ROBSON. 2022. Between Land and Sea Series.
My photography practice is currently very much based in the landscape genre, with my photography primarily providing a window on the coastline of North Cornwall. As my own visual voice has developed my images have become less representational, they increasingly mirror my own feelings of being ‘in the moment’ through the capture and rendition of light, movement, shapes, and tonality, giving a personal dimensionality to the scene. This is achieved through my planning and pre-visualisation, my choice of location, timing and conditions, the composition as seen through my ‘live view’ window, the selection of aperture, exposure time, filtration to control the light reaching my camera’s sensor, and the post-visualisation selections I make when processing an image.
I find the experience of being in a particular place is often as rewarding as making the photograph itself, and I return to many of the same locations again and again to gain a deeper sense of the place. I often experience a sense of calm and peace with myself on these occasions, and I am never happier than when on a deserted beach at the beginning or end of the day. I rarely include people in my photography unless they provide a sense of scale, a reflection perhaps of my solitary nature that is perhaps mirrored in my practice.
The first week has been challenging, not only in terms of the amount of content and course infrastructure to absorb, exploring new perspectives and the work of photographers I was unaware of, as well as MA Photography alumni. Getting to grips with analysis, and reflecting about my direction and development as a practitioner, what do I want to accomplish as a landscape photographer? Initial thoughts are to establish some foundation stones for my research such as place, theme(s), desired outcomes, dissemination, and the importance of inspirational contextualisation. What do I want to express, who are my images for, how do I want viewers to respond?
Bibliography & References:
Ian ROBSON. 2022. Between Land and Sea Series. Private collection: Ian Robson.
HEIFERMAN, Marvin. 2012. Photography Changes Everything. New York: Aperture. (pp. 34-36)
SOUTTER, Lucy. 2018. Why Art Photography? London: Routledge. (pp. 83-107)