Photo by Abbie France

 

In reflection of week four, I not only thoroughly enjoyed the task set in the seminar, but also my independent studies that included additional research into the types of photojournalism and specific photographers. I decided to break down my thoughts below:

 

Learning about semiotics

I enjoyed learning about semiotics in the seminar session as I not only enjoy learning in general, but find the theory behind photography and photojournalism fascinating.

As I have never studied this topic theoretically before, learning about theories such as semiotics is not only interesting, but also useful as I will try to refer back to them when conducting the weekly photography tasks, and eventually my project.

I enjoy learning in general, and so I am even more excited now to start the technical photography workshops to test my ability in applying the theory learnt when taking photos.

A goal of mine this week is to further my understanding of semiotics, and perhaps do further independent research into the work of Ferdinand de Saussure.

To read my research and notes on semiotics, click here.

 

Weekly task

For the weekly task set in our fourth seminar, I was keen to start and complete it to the best of my ability.

I thoroughly enjoyed searching for the photos for each of the tasks as I looked through some of the most famous photos and the works of talented photographers – something I enjoy doing in my spare time regardless.

Not only was the exercise enjoyable, but it gave me even more inspiration for project ideas that I will hopefully be set on by the end of this week.

What I did well:

• Because I enjoy looking through famous works and photography, I didn’t just pick the first photo that fit – I chose photos that I thought were the most impactful and appropriate for each task
• I made sure to research the background stories to each of the photographs thoroughly, I also looked into what the photographers had said about the photos themselves
• I tried to relate the exercize back to my project – what could I do similar? What techniques were used? Etc.

What I could have improved:

• I wish I had been more patient with the third task as I believe I could have chosen a more controversial photograph – I initially wanted a photograph that meant different things to different people based on their culture or surroundings rather than a photo that was factually disputed

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this week’s task. It has confirmed even more that photography and photojournalism in particular is what I am passionate about. I am excited to take the theory and start work on my photojournalism project.

To see my work from this week’s task, click here.

 

My project

In addition to the weekly tasks, I also did some extended independent research this week to help me prepare for my project.

I looked into the work of Mihaela Noroc (see my research here) which has confirmed that I want to include at least some documentary portraiture in my photojournalism project in addition to possibly some street or candid photography.

Although I have not secured a set theme for my project, my research has pushed me a lot closer to doing so and I aim to do so in the next week.

 

Goals for this week:

• Publish a post with my final few ideas for my project
• Conduct further independent study into more artists that I would like to take inspiration from for my project
• Begin to take as many photographs as possible to get comfortable with my camera before the technical sessions start next week

 

After this week I am feeling more inspired than ever, and I am very excited to be working on a project that I get to direct and navigate myself.

The ideas are well and truly flowing currently, and I will use this week to identify a project that will not only show my technical photography skills, but will also show my passions for documentary storytelling and imagery.