The bullet points below explain my learning objectives for this module, I have also attached a link to an summary of key learning points from the first module I have completed, “Expressing Your Vision”

https://jennystorkphotography.wordpress.com/2020/01/28/overall-evaluation-expressing-your-vision/

This is my first experience learning about documentary photography so I am keen to learn as much about the subject as possible so is a wide open learning objective. I am interested in social displacement having grown up in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe then moving from Zimbabwe to the Uk at 21 years old, how different cultures settle in the UK and the preservation of heritage, of life and times gone by that need to be remembered for future generations. Preserving memories is very important to me.

Gaps in my knowledge is around narrative in my work, prominent documentary photographers, the use of photoshop to name a few, being relatively new to photography I have lots of gaps across the board

Areas to expand would be the ability to effectively store, retrieve and edit my work and to work better from contact sheets. I would like to improve how I select work and why, and what to look for to make a series coherent visually and in the narrative

I have never produced black and white work so I am looking forward to exploring this and understanding when is best to use it and in what context.

The preparation for my first assignment was stressful as I left everything to the end, I now have a structure in place for what I want to submit for each unit. I will make sure all work for assessment is prepared at the end of each unit to save time and make sure the quality of submission is the best it can be at the end, plus printing is expensive so it makes sense to do this as I go along after I have reworked assignments based on tutor feedback

Lastly, I started to use a photography sketchbook in my last module “Expressing Your Vision” and this was useful in formulating ideas for assignments. I would like to use this more in this module and from the outset rather than part way into the module. I also didn’t use a notebook as well as I could have in the previous module, this is something I have already started using, I carry this everywhere with me and it will be a very useful resource when I plan to summarise key learning points after each unit, it is also a place to store ideas and inspirational images ( I also have a swipe file on my website )

My first introductory call with my tutor was extremely useful today and these are the notes I took during the conversation which I will follow up on:

• Photography (theory) is a new concept to me – don’t look on it as ‘theory’ as such more like articulating and summarising how and why images communicate. Functions: Terry Barrett.
• Grids 
• Social aspects of photography – the core of what we do. Do you mean documentary style or uses of photography i.e. family photos, giving voice to the subject? Photo-Voice? Socially Engaged Photography – Jim Goldberg, Julian Germain 
• Pst colonial activities in Zimbabwe and preserving the cultural heritage of people who once lived there – you could follow this path even in level one (may not mean going to Zimbabe) but exploring cultural difference and the way power and representation work. 

• First assignment at the end of February ? No rush. Make it diagnostic.

• Plan complete this module by August to submit September for the November assessment if possible.  

Rose, G (2003), Visual Methodologies, Sage. – this book is quite heavy and designed for a second year degree student but is very useful to dip into – begin with this in preparation for the first assessment. If students don’t have a good grounding in analysing photo theory they will struggle in the later levels of degree. My tutor began studying photos as if peeling off the layers of an onion.

The meaning of a photograph is not already there, it is up to the photographer to put that meaning there – there will be some people who wont understand the meaning and so photos are for some viewers and not for others

Perfectly doable so long as you avoid – some students are fond of – ‘hoop jumping’ other than reflecting on your work and learning. I doubt that this will be you from just a cursory read of you blog. 

Put URL in any document at the header

Preparation Work : Ex1: Learning Objectives

This saves hunting through e-mails and my records and is a professional way to work. 

Bullet point main points to summarise (assessors love that) – my tutor was pleased with my writing style that it was to the point and concise which means he thinks I will do well in this module, I hope so!

Narrative the big issue! many types. Broadly the standard (Aristotle ) beginning middle and end or a more ‘associational’ (based on form) poetic links rather than cause and effect ‘picture essay’. 

The two are explored most succinctly in Jörg M. Colberg’s Conscientious Photography Magazine : https://cphmag.com/narrative-1/

My Blog on conventional v poetic/associational narrative: https://www.oca.ac.uk/weareoca/creative-arts/photography-that-gets-people-looking-thinking-and-talking/

He is the author of Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book (Focal Press, 2016). Which is the best book to consider sequencing of photographs – I can send you a précis of his main points. 

Effectively store, retrieve and edit my work and to work better from contact sheets. Colberg software Lightroom or Capture One. Western Digital could be a hard drive to get

• Workflow systems 
• Zimbabwe_JS001 – make sure you have a good method of cataloguing from the start to save time and frustration in years to come
• Photo Rescue 

Photographers Sketchbooks recommended

The viewer first sees a collection of shapes that go together well – visual first and then context and narrative follow