Reflection diary (on-going)

1. Reflection Diary
FMP

2. February 9-11th
This was the first week to start working on our FMP so this is a run down of what happened
Wednesday- Finding out our aims and what our task ahead was then to start finding 3 (or more) people who fit
into our chosen format for our FMP. For me this is photography so I started looking into famous photographers.
Thursday- Move onto the second person and begin researching them and finding out about their work and
their life before and after their career.
Maybe even moving on to the third person and doing the same for them
Friday- Continue working on the 3rd person then maybe look into a 4th or 5th depending on time and also make
sure to create a reflection journal to keep track of how the weeks work went.

3. Wednesday 9th (February)
First day working on the FMP..
So my chosen format is photography so I set about researching famous photographers from the past and today but ones who’s work can relate to
something that I can use in my own work so obviously travel is out the question so I had to make sure I was looking at what type of pictures they took,
the style they used and where they shot their most famous pictures.
My first photographer I picked was Annie Leibovitz an American portrait photographer who is most famous for her work with celebrities and her intimate
type of poses and photography. She is also well known to be the last proper photographer to capture a picture of the great John Lennon as she while
working to get a cover for an addition of The Rolling Stone magazine which she had promised Lennon would feature as the cover she did his final ever
photoshoot just 5 hours before he was tragically shot and killed in 1980. She is also famous for having a photoshoot with the Queen and asking her to
remove her tiara to which her majesty didn’t like.
What went well?
I think the whole opening day went well because I have always with my projects used something that is close to heart mainly using the National Football
League (NFL) and I felt this project seen as it’s my last one would be the time to step out of my comfort and try show I can work on a different subject and
even try to show my work can be better using something different.
I think using Leibovitz’s work was a good starting point because her most famous work is mainly dominated by people in the music industry and that
remains a big part of life today but I also feel using her work is a good point because her style is based on people and the expressions they present
instead of being something that is just all landscaped based or nature based. This type of style is easy to see been able to work into my own work when
production comes around because creating a picture that suggest intimate can be done via facial expressions or body language so these are two things I
feel confident about managing to incorporate into my work.
What didn’t go so well?
I feel like there wasn’t that much information from others on Leibovitz’s work like from other photographers so it was mainly finding out about her, her
famous work, the controversy that seemingly followed her a fair bit in the past with Queen Elizabeth and the tiara, then using LeBron James on a Vogue
cover which at the time was the first time a black male had featured on the cover of the world famous magazine then a huge story in 2008 with a then 15
year old Miley Cyrus and a photoshoot that seemed to have the minor nude but in truth Leibovitz had gone for the style of using cloth as her cover but it
was viewed the wrong way causing an apology from the photographer.
How to build on this in the future?
Just always make sure I’m looking on social media, the magazines and companies the person has worked for because you don’t actually never know what
you can find during this type of research and never know what you will actually discover.

4. Pictures of Wednesday

5. Thursday 10th (February)
Began looking into my second chosen photographer and began researching into them.
My chosen photographer was Steve McCurry an American photographer and photojournalist. McCurry is extremely famous for the
photo Afghan girl and his work taking photos in war zones and using that to really find an emotional style of picture. McCurry has also
come close to losing his life twice within a week of each other while fulfilling a dream of photographing the Indian monsoon’s.
What went well?
I think much like Leibovitz, McCurry’s work can be used easily by myself when it comes to my project because the emotional side of
his pictures. Looking at Afghan girl and just how terrified she looks and also the kind of shock but it also allowed the world to see just
how bad the satiations in countries was becoming because of the Soviet Invasion and then later Wars. McCurry has also written books
about his experiences so that allowed me to find his own words on his experiences about his travels and behind the scenes of it all.
He also appeared on Tedtalks so watching his interview and just how humble he is when he talks about how privileged he has been to
be in these situations where he could see what we don’t here back home, see the impacts on these awful wars and really be able to
show the emotional side to his work.
What didn’t go well?
McCurry’s work is all pretty much done across the world and shows the impact of these middle eastern wars or the impact of
invasion. His famous Afghan picture came when he dressed in Afghan clothes in order to enter Pakistan just before the Soviet invasion
and one day despite the mass destruction he randomly heard children’s laughter and found a school of just girls and found the girl
with piercing green eyes. This type of work I can’t really use because I can’t travel out to Afghanistan, Pakistan or anywhere in the
middle east but also the experiences McCurry went through was back when the middle east was at a point of civil wars so that level
of emotion and destruction I physically cannot repeat for my work.

7. Week 2- February 16-18th
Wednesday 16th
Make sure all research is complete on chosen people in your chosen area
Making sure you have one final bibliography at the end
Thursday 17th
Start writing your Task 2 statement explaining your ideas and inspirations into picking your chosen route for the
FMP
Friday 18th
Make sure statement is complete and then begin and get the proposal done

8. Wednesday 16th
Last week I had completed the majority of my research into the chosen people I picked for my format of choice
(photography).
The main job I had was finishing the research into my 4th pick David Noton and about his books and his work
because looking into my selections it is most likely that his work will be the style I use for my photoshoots
because Annie Leibovitz uses celebrities posing in a rather intimate fashion, Steve McCurry’s work was mainly
in 3rd world countries capturing the destruction caused by wars or invasion and Tim Laman is a wildlife
photographer so again living in England I can’t really go film or capture images of reefs or endangered animals
such as the Orangutan.
Once that final piece of research had been complete I could move onto creating the final bibliography on all of
the chosen photographers so instead of having 4 mini ones I had one giant one.

9. Wed 16th pictures

10. Thursday 17th
After finishing all the research and having completed the bibliography it was time to move on and start looking
at task 2 of the FMP.. The contextual statement.
This statement is our chance to explain our ideas, inspirations and why we want to create the project we are
aiming to achieve. The statement didn’t have a word count so it was basically allowing you to write out as
much as you wanted before coming to the proposal which does have a word count you need to follow and stick
too.
For me the main things I wanted to put into the statement was where my ideas came from, my inspirations into
why I wanted to try create this project or go down the line of this style, the hidden passion I have for
photography and where it came from. Having the statement checked for errors or pieces that are maybe
repeated was extremely helpful because it keeps the statement snappy and following instead of getting
repetitive.
Once the statement was finished and filled your reasons into your ideas and inspirations you could start having
a look into the proposal..

11. Friday 18th
After completing the research, bibliography and statement all that was left is the proposal which is your chance
to fully explain your ideas but sticking to the word count given.
The proposal is your chance to come up with your title, list your main target of work, review your progress thru
the last two years of the course and how what you’ve learnt will help this project, your project concept and
what you want to achieve from the project, what research you’ll need to conduct and carry out In order to help
you achieve your aims, along with how you plan on evaluating the final piece and how you will self analysis the
work.

12. March 9-11th
Wednesday 9
Start topic research- Landscape photograph tips and how to make your work better
Thursday 10
Continue Topic Research
Friday 11
Finish any topic research and be ready to move on

13. Wednesday 9th
After finishing the audience and market research it was time to move on and start the topic and production research.
I began with the topic research and my starting place was trying to find how landscape photography was created and the little tips
and tricks that are recommended to help improve your work. My first place was looking at National Geographic’s landscape
photography tips and reading through the tips they list and then making notes on them all and the parts that I didn’t understand or
know about then adding depth to my research by explaining what they are and how they work.
My main research was on ISO numbers and the exposure triangle as they were the two things that appeared in the most lists I had
seen during the research while finding the best website to use. I didn’t have a clue about ISO numbers so I made a whole slide
explaining on how it works in photography, what it does and what the pros and cons are when using it. I found out all the key vital
information that helps me but also if when production comes and I use ISO numbers and just explained I used them this research
shows I did understand what I was using because I had done the research prior going into production. This research was helpful
because it allowed me to find out some little details and new techniques that can benefit you but also you can see the cons as well
because using too high of ISO can make your images come out blurry or grainy as a result of it. I also found that most camera are
already set up to be on there highest ISO setting meaning it shouldn't be changed because the current setting is the setting that
provides you with the best possible final images.
The Exposure Triangle was the second piece of research I conducted. Again I really didn’t know about it so I needed to make sure I
built my research from the very bottom and work my way up. So find the basics of what it is, how it works, what it entitles, the
equation (if there is one), pros and cons. Then finding a diagram of the triangle and including that so it is clear to see how it was
and the 3 different parts to it. This research allowed me to understand the meaning of the exposure triangle (the relationship
between ISO, Aperture and the Shutter Speed)
I also found out how you work out Aperture as you need to find the equation used
f-stop= focal length/diameter
Diameter= focal length/f-stop

14. Thursday 10th
After the research into the exposure triangle and ISO numbers I continued to read different lists which gave me tips and tricks that many photographers
suggest can help with your landscape photography and many of them said about shooting during the ‘Golden Hour’
The Golden Hour is a time period before and after the sunrise and sunset which create the most beautiful skies and reflections if your shooting with
water. It also creates a softer mood for your pictures. The Golden hour is a good suggestion because to aid my work I should have a theme which is
constantly used during the 3 photoshoots which will be done during the production time and currently I am thinking of picking the theme of Sunrise and
Sunset because I feel this is my best photography when I look back through pictures from holidays or days out or just the normal day when the sky is a
beautiful mix of colour and the sun is reddish as it slowly descends over the horizon. Researching more into the golden hour really helped me drive
toward my idea of the theme of sunrise and sunsets because it gave you the timing that the ‘hour’ normally lasts and when it occurs, what can effect the
timing of the ‘hour’ so the season your currently in, the weather during that morning or evening and the location you are taking your photography in.
The second part of research I conducted was on the comparison between shooting images in the Raw format or in the normal Jpeg format. Many
websites and tips suggest you should shoot in Raw to give you a more natural and overall better image but it does come with time taking processes. So
my research I needed to find out the key pros about Raw images and that style so I could list those down then I had to list the cons of using that format
as well. This was helpful for me because it allowed me to understand this different format and see that is does provide you a more natural image but you
do need the time in order to go through the processing time in order to be able to use and print the image. The Raw format also gives you a more deep
colour selection and thinking about my theme of sunsets and sunrises that could really come in helpful because the depth of colour the format gives you
and the amount of colours you can see in those golden, reddish, pinkish moments. But the cons are some big ones as well using Raw takes away chances
of finding compatibility, you MUST process the images yourself before use and they do take up larger amounts of time and space.
Whereas Jpeg doesn’t provide you that depth in colour or give you that real natural look they do come out always processed meaning its easier to use
straight away sometimes meaning your production can start quicker, they allow more compatibility to other images, they use little space and time but if
you lose the images the recovery is very limited.
It looked overall that Raw looks like the better of the two but it does require those extra steps and time. So Jpeg does seem the better option for me
because they are processed quickly, they are instantly ready for use meaning during production I can have them all processed already and then work
through finding the ones that look the best and can be used to really help me create a strong overall product.
Raw did in the beginning appeal to me the most because looking at pictures I have of sunsets and sunrises in New York, or even just on a summer clear
night from my bedroom window and seeing the golden sun surrounded by a colourful mix of reds, oranges, yellows, purples and pinks and knowing Raw
provides that deeper colour range really made me think it could even with the more time consuming things would work well meaning the pictures would
look natural but also have the colour really standing out and almost popping off the image.

15. Friday 11th
Try to make sure that this element of the research it complete and I am therefore ready to move on.
So finding any more tips and tricks I find that could be helpful going forward with my work and the ones I think could help me
the most. So maybe look into the best suggested locations and think about what I have around York and North Yorkshire to
really help me capture the breath-taking landscape photography I'm aiming for.
Then apply the location research and think about how I can incorporate my chosen theme with that location and also how
my previous research can be involved at this location.
Also making sure I manage to get some production research in and explain how I am going to make the product, what
techniques I want to use and the new ones I think I may use. Also find out more about my cameras which mostly likely be the
ones I’ll be using during the production