NOTES FROM SUPERVISOR MEETING #2

Some feedback and ideas to think about after my second individual meeting with Mick on 5th March 2021.

DON'T RUSH YOUR FINAL IMAGES, take time to do experiments and develop your idea, you don't have to know what you want your final photos to be now!

MY TWO DISPOSABLE SHOOTS (AS OF MARCH 5TH 2021):

• Are these photos too good? (well exposed and nice colours, framing etc)- this isn't conventional for disposable photography which often produces amateurish images that are more in the moment then planned!

• The shot of water on the beach is interesting as it doesn't have a specific focal point/subject- therefore you linger on the photo for longer and explore it in more depth.

• The aspect ratio is interesting- with the use of the scroll function creates a set of photographs rather then just one individually.

• Are you looking at aesthetics and technologies? (simulating the analogue look- which I will explore more in later shoots with apps, digital technologies and editing softwares)

VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY:

• The show shoot asserts a vernacular quality (with memories of everyday photography)

• My images tend to relate to time (whether that be real or fake)- time is an extremely important aspect of all analogue photography, especially disposables when sending your photos off to be developed.

• Disposable photography is about nostalgia for the now- and reliving these memories after the development process.

PEOPLE SHOTS:

• When I think about disposable photography my mind is instantly taken to an over-exposed image of people with their friends, like the images seen on the @davidsdisposable Instagram.

• Although I haven't focused on people's photography it's something that I'd like to include as my project progresses, although at the moment that is difficult (given the restrictions to in person activities and isolation periods)

• Perhaps I could play with the idea of the lack of personal experiences and take portrait photographs but with people missing. Commenting on the absence of people to make the impossibility of my project the subject area.

USING MY OLD DISPOSABLE PICTURES:

• During the summer, when restrictions were relaxed and more places open I used a disposable camera to document what I got up to with my friends both at home, and then when I moved back to university in August/September.

• This photos involved different settings that aren't open or accessible to me now like pubs, restaurants, bars and my university house which I haven't been in since November.

• It could be interesting to include those into my project as a reflection of how life has changed since them and reflect the loneliness/lack of human contact that is felt now to those times.

• The images captured fleeting/candid moments in time, that are fragile and special to me. I could relate this to the fragility of the circumstances that we've been in during the past year in terms of who were allowed to see and what were allowed to do.

• Comparing then to now (perhaps using double exposure- a technique that I'm really interested in experimenting with anyway!)

IDEAS FOR POSSIBLE RELAXED RESTRICTIONS:

• Ideally I'd love for my project to involve images of a bunch of my friends, documenting our everyday experiences as students (if things were normal), like partying, going to pubs, drinking and spending time with one another. Representing the usual photography that disposable images are often paired with, documenting reality in a flash of a second.

• However, because of the uncertainty this isn't likely to happen therefore I'll need to focus on more realistic creative ideas which I have mentioned previously.

THEORY SECTION:

• Find quotes that inspire/support your images (can be done very experimentally- pairing different quotes with different images.

• Quotes/theories can open doorways to other aspects of your work- whether that been more photographically or otherwise.

• Think about what other things theorists have said and see if that ties in/influences your ideas in any way.

• Theories could include: nostalgia and photography, Instagram filter culture, time and memory loss.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT STICKING EXCLUSIVELY TO WHAT'S IN YOUR ABOUT SECTION, it doesn't have to be the main focus of your work, it's probably better if it isn't. It just sets the CULTURAL CLIMATE for where your photography is going and your expeirmentations.