Tag Archives: final reflection

Final Reflection PB4 Post #4

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Found at: https://magdalenaswitek.tumblr.com/post/157316959185/krakow-poland-2015-magdalena-wywrot

I went in to this course expecting I would fall back on the same ideas and themes I had explored during my last year of high school. This wasn’t the case, as I was lucky enough to find new inspiration through a photography magazine and channel that for my first and second project briefs. This was important to me, as I often did not go out and seek inspiration, I would play my work close to home, not wanting to feel jealous or psyched out by the work other media partitioners produce. This is something I want to move away from in the future and really push myself in the brainstorming phase to look at other works, reference other styles as the photographer I chose, Magdalena Wywrot, really helped me understand how through photography a mood could be captured.  This was important to set up at the very start of the course, because perviously I had felt all there was to taking a photo was technique, in the way where if you hit every box (focus, centre frame, light, clarity) it’ll be a good photo. But when looking at Wywrot’s photos, although the technique was there, a mood and feeling radiated out of the photos, something that had been achieved by carefully considering what techniques would be used. Not everything had to be in focus, not everything had to be clear, all these photos had to do was keep in line with the mood she was trying to evoke something that would help me a great deal in PB4 when creating a photobook. The edges exercise in class was also a great way to make me start thinking about where my subject should be positioned in the photograph and I was able to use quiet a few of these photos in my PB4 pitch. This exercise extended into the idea of how cropping and composition would work to create images that better suited a uncomfortable and eerie mood, as denying the viewer information worked along aside with the high contrast and long exposure shots.

PB4 was important, as it showed me I could have my own point of view in photography and how I could express it through my photobook. I’ve talked about this in a earlier post, but as I continued to think about this idea of “capturing what captures you” I also realised that I wanted to express a mood or a feeling from my photography because I wanted it to last, to stay with the viewer long after they’ve closed the pages of my book. While it may not always happen, it is still a standard I can hold my work to, outside of just pure technical skill which often felt uncomfortable and to subjective for me in my pervious studios.

I project brief I really struggled in, was PB3 as I did not give myself enough time to play with ideas and seek out feedback from an unbiased source. This was the only photos I took where I did not have complete control over the light and space of the photo and would have benefited from taking test shots or just spending more time with my subjects, trying different things. This is something I struggled with in PB4 too, as I felt I was asking for to much time of my subjects. In the future I will try to break the shoot up when possible, rather than trying to get everything on the one day. This will also help identity what is missing from my shots.

Overall I really enjoyed this course, and how I grew as a photographer, while I may still need to spend more time out in the world practicing I can do so knowing where I stand and what I want to create. I’ve also identified areas such as time management, research and inspiration  that I will look to improve in all areas of my media practice.

 

Final Reflection

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My Learning Graph

When reflecting back on the post Dear Future Self, I’ve outlined a lot of writing goals. During this semester I was able to focus on them through my Popular Cultural subject and the task of keeping a blog. By rewriting concepts in my own words I was able to comprehend the reading Blood in the Gutters. It helped me relate ideas in the article to my own experiences I was able to understand them better. By writing posts I’ve not only gained confidence and understanding but it has helped me identify areas I’m interested in. Even if it was just a few sentences the blog allowed me to track what I would someday want to explore further.

When it came to the readings, I found some to be extremely dense and although the blog helped I still needed more. I found that printing out the articles and highlighting material I’d found interesting helped me to comprehend them. I feel that I am better suited to learning environments that support hyper attention, and so being able to highlight and write notes on the paper supports this because I am doing two things at once. I also feel like I learn better when I engage in class activities, or when concepts are displayed in visual forms like videos or pictures. Overall I feel a hands on approach is the best way for me to learn, especially when it comes to new equipment, because not only am I listening to what’s being explained I can also follow along.

The readings haven’t been my only source of struggle this semester as I’ve found myself struggling with failure. During the first lectures it was mentioned that we were going to fail and that it was going to be in front of everyone. It’s been hard for me to adapt to the idea that failure means that there’s something that can be improved on rather than being the end of everything. Fear of failure has also hindered my attempts to experiment more and push things out of my comfort zone. To fix this I’ve tried to approach each assignment as a way to improve and try new things rather than worry too much about marks. With our most recent project (Media Project Four), we’re trying voice recording and broadcasting as opposed to film. This is something new and something that I have enjoyed scriptwriting for and experimenting with how to project emotion and intensity through voice alone.

I’ve also struggled with reflection, as it’s hard to assess something you’ve worked so closely on. For Media Project Three, I reflected poorly on my video because of the bias I had for it. To change this I need to become more critical when reviewing my work and really highlight what I’m doing well and where I need to improve. It would also be good to have a peer or a lecturer review my reflection to make sure it’s formal and unbiased. Another good strategy I am currently undertaking is practicing reflections on my blog.

This semester has been really good for grasping an understanding on not only media, but who I am as a student and how I learn. When it comes to my creative practice I’ve discovered that although I enjoy making media, I am much more interested in the theory surrounding it. With that said I have learnt that brainstorming is an amazing tool that I need to utilize more as it helps focus my ideas and get rid of the ones that are cliched or too close to my comfort zone. In the past I’ve started things late and often given myself no time to explore other options or ideas. For Media Project Four it was through brainstorming that we were able to come up with our idea of the news like radio program.

Overall I am excited with the progress I’ve made and looking forward to the next semester.

Finest Hour

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During the semester I’ve found using this blog helpful for exploring my own ideas surrounding media. For instance, this post I wrote on Remixing Art  which allowed me to examine glitch art and the editing of art on Tumblr. As glitch art was described as remixing to create something new and acceptable I wanted to contrast this with remixing art to generate buzz or attention for someone’s personal blog.

I have also used this blog to discuss media that interests me. The posts Audience Participation In Storytelling and Ethics use readings and lectures as a prompt to discuss concepts that relate to games, a media form I’m particularly interested in. I was able to draw on previous experience in my Ethics post to grapple with ideas in a way that I understood, while games allowed me to talk about audience participation in a way to could structure future potential narratives.

This blog has also been helpful for brainstorming ideas. Using the prompt during week 10’s  lectorial activity on Institutions I was able to write a piece on Facebook collaborating with my peers a post.

By articulating ideas on my blog I’ve also improved my ability to reflect in other subjects My Illustrated Auschwitz post was able to combine concepts of editing I was learning in my Media workshops, with a movie I’d seen in my cinema studies course. I was able to use my new understanding of the reading “Blood in the Gutters” to better analyse the film.