Week one in reflection.

Week one- review

This week I have been focusing on the more experimental levels of my project. I have been taking my images and thinking of way to push them as far as they can go artistically and structurally but still maintaining a strong photographic reference. I started off by exploring the paper and how different paper can add to the overall aesthetic of my images. My first attempt was with a paper I found online that was textured; I thought the texture in the paper would add dimension and movement to the images.

Above is an example of the paper I used. I was intrigued by the way the paper interacted with the black in the image giving it a lifted multi dimensional presence you don’t usually get with a deep black. But the subtle changes of greys and whites were lost on this paper. This is due to the paper already having a grey tone to it. Things I will take forward are, using a paper with different heights of texture to create the illusion of dimension within my images, I will take forward the use of a paper that is created with natural elements to further show the benefits of bee conservation. I will also have to look for paper that isn’t toned with any colour or create paper myself that can fit my colourless criteria, I will also have to explore the reasoning behind having these papers as a major part of my development.

These are a few examples of my early work that I have revisited to draw inspiration for the next part of the project. I have printed on lightly coloured textured paper. As you can see the results are rather displeasing to view. The colour overpowers the simplicity of the images. The slight variation in tone has been lost completely and the images have become flat and don’t follow the integrity of my brief.

In these images the vivid coloured background has taken the project to a place in which the colour is the main part of the image, which is something I’m not trying to produce the subject materials, should be the main focus not the overpowering colours. I need to think of this going forward with my new images. The focus needs to be on the image as a whole, not a specific part of the image. Its needs to marry into one picture that can inform grab the audience emotionally and aesthetically but still maintain project authenticity.

One thing I have noticed with revisiting my images is that I am more interested in the ambiguous qualities of my recent work than the very descriptive narrative that I have created before. I want to look at way I can play with the information I am choosing to show the audience and explore my materials in a way that could relieve them from the need to objectively inform and reply more on the interpretive nature of the image. I want to look at ways I can draw interaction from the bees themselves. I want to explore how they can interact with the images. I am not sure at this stage how I will do this. I need to research artists that use a creative approach to image display. I should look at other mediums other than photography and reference how different areas of artistic impressionist movements can inform and shape my project as it continues.

Going into week two;

1. I need to have a clear understanding of what I want the new set of images to achieve.

2. I have to explore the papers qualities.

3. I have to look at ways I can integrate the bees into images making.

4. I need to research artists that have used a similar approach.