Monday 24 January 2011

Back to reality :/

Returned to college today after an inter semester break, the usual anticipation and fear of new assignments was felt amongst the room and the tension palpable, though now that I have started I actually feel a little better about it. Its good to be doing something a little different, we will be looking at professional practice within photography and finding a client each, that we then work out a proposal for their business. Its about time that we looked at the commercial side of photography if truth be told, though even I am a little nervous about the result. Thinking about results, we need to wait another couple of weeks before they let us know if we are all massive failures. Fingers crossed that's not the case, I really cannot afford to resit or fail this year :(
At home Geoff has us doing a FHE project based on an art book that he got for Christmas, he promises to turn us all into artists or at least improve on the current level we are on. Looking at how we have done so far and I mean myself when I say we, I don't hold out much hope. The words lost cause come to mind!! In the physical production of drawing to create art I am a failure with a capital F!!!!!!!

Sunday 23 January 2011

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Its true, I did forget about the blog and the lovely people that I forced to follow it, but hey enough of that its time for a catch up!
As promised I did run out of time and lose my mind a little in the run up to hand in day, if I am anything it is consistent in the crazed mad woman act that I carry out in the run up to and the weeks following hand in! To top it all there was Christmas first, which was fun and having five children, it was quite reminiscent of toys r us throwing up in my lounge toys, paper and chocolate faces with a food and present bill to make grown men cry!! Funny how that is all forgotten about when they all smile so sweetly at you. Until next time I say and I will worry about that in October.....okay June I like to be prepared.
Going back to the hand in day, it wasn't so bad....well it could have been worse. As always I thought of about 100 different things that I could have added or done differently though this time there was a bit of a twist, we had to hand in both major projects including final images and work books plus create an exhibition that would run for a week showing our work. The exhibition was to be an installation piece and could not include images that were in frames or on the wall. It was also only part of the art photography assignment and would run parallel with it. Basically it had to represent the work that we had handed in, which in my case was the reconstruction of classic fairytale, using children to portray all the characters. I also went a little further and had the children all decide the composition of the images and the final four for each story. In the end I handed in 3 stories, which were the three little pigs, snow white and little red riding hood. However I also shot images for Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel though these were dismissed at the editing stage. For the exhibition itself I created a bedroom scene including a bed, rug, and basic furniture and had my son dressed as and acting as the big bad wolf in grandmas bed. I then used a projector to show images of little red riding hood walking through a forest behind the wolf. It was a little different but I felt that it went well, it was just a shame that the work only stayed up for a few days in the end given that there was so much work put in by the eight on my course. In actual fact I am being much too nice, some people could have put more effort in but they know who they are......usual suspects lol. Everyone has them the naughty kids that sit at the back and don't give a rats ass, apparently they follow you to university and continue to fly by the seat of their pants! Its true I am jealous of their lack of concern my whole life is a constant of organisation etc......though that suits me!


Above are a couple of the images relating to little red riding hood and the wolf gives the basic idea of my exhibition piece, minus the looped projection of images. I am lucky to have children that are so willing to perform when asked, even if it did cost me in the form of bribery.

My other project was a documentary piece, which as usual I went around the houses to get to my final idea. I first looked at a variety of spaces, including public,residential and private. I then progressed to look at private property and in the end combined a number of ideas and photographed collectors and other enthusiasts within their own personal space with the collection or past time. The images can be seen at the link below.

http://collectionofcollectors.tumblr.com/

Sunday 14 November 2010

Catch up!

Well it seems like I haven't written in quite a while so there is only one thing for it an impromptu catch up before dinner :)

So I am well and truly stuck into the second year of my college course, and I must say that despite the added pressure heaped on by the lecturers I am enjoying it, and there is no one more surprised than me by that comment! Basically from now until Christmas I wont have two minutes to myself what with organising Christmas for the family and having two major final projects due also. However once its done I will sigh a sigh of relief and then in true Maggie fashion freak out about what I could have done differently.

Last week I went and took some photographs for my parents and their friends, they were delivered all framed and sparkly this week and very warmly accepted too it would seem. There is definite potential in doing home shoots but my head tells me otherwise!!! Where my head takes me (usually into trouble) is as much your guess as mine!

Quite exiting this week for the other half also, he is writing his personal statement for his university application and hopefully this time next year Geoff will be stuck into his fist year at university. The man has amazing artistic talent and has finally seen his work appreciated by others while doing this bridging course prior to uni starts. The downside to having to flake arty parents is that for the foreseeable we will be poorly students and the kids may well miss out on certain things. I just keep telling myself its worth it and one day we will reap the reward and until then just keep doing what we are doing I suppose. Pretty sure my lot are spoiled anyway lol!

Friday 15 October 2010

New Assignment :S






































This weeks new assignement was to make images from nothing! Basically we went to two tree island and had to in our own way document the space. I decided to do a combination of images of things that grew along the path and the path itself, with a little bit of scenery of the water and the boats that are left there. Below are a few of the images taken from the day x

Monday 11 October 2010

Can you find James?

Fail!

Well today was a fail of epic proportion! Not only did I fork out for Geoff, James and I to travel all the way into London but I didn't get to do any of the things that I had planned or arranged because my timing went right out the window. In answer to yesterdays blog yes it is all in the prep but there is no use prepping when the world conspires against you................ :(
Anyone that knows me will understand that I usually have more front that tesco, though today I woke up with the feeling that I shouldn't head into the city by myself so took both Geoff and the little man along because I was having a weird day. Went straight to the BBC headquarters at Portland place and promptly ignored two actors from the movie "This is England" because I did not have a clue who they were, and it wasn't until the autograph hunters came along that I realised I had missed an opportunity. I then got a text from my man on the inside at the hotel were a certain famous (40 year old virgin) was staying  to say that his schedule had changed and I was on the wrong side of London to get there basically not good news. Then headed of to Notting hill and high street Kensington and that was a waste of time, though being scared away by the heavily armed police is always a nice way to end your day :D How was I to know that we had wandered into the one road in the place that housed all the worlds embassy leaders that were working in London, suppose the flags would have been a give away or maybe even the brass plaques nailed to the walls lol!!! Meant to be headed back up tonight for the premiere at Leicester square but from what we have seen/heard I will be lucky to get with a mile of anyone worth taking a picture of, my cameras zoom is good but its not that good!
Fame and fortune were not made today so I suppose I will go back to college tomorrow and continue with my course as it is, though I kind of love it so its kind of win win they get my dulcet tones and Witty repertoire and I get to leave my children to their father for three days a week ah bliss!

Oh I do like to live beside the seaside :D