Final post – Assessment Results

I received my assessment results from the July assessment today so this will be my final posting for this module.

I am very happy with the outcome for my first level two course. My technical score, and quality of outcome improved by a few percentage points over my last module which was assessed (IAP), but my creativity score almost doubled “Very good synthesis of analytical and creative thinking. Creative, takes risks with imaginative and successful outcomes. Evidence of a developing personal voice” which really pleased me. That personal voice still seems to be eluding me a bit – at least I’m not feeling it yet. A tutor once told me that I would know when I had developed my personal voice, so I’m still waiting for the penny to drop. Although I do seem to have certain themes running through my work so maybe it is emerging.

The overall comments and feed forward remarks are below. There is a valuable remark regarding my contact prints which I had submitted which were not marked up, but I have begun to comment on my work in progress in my Documentary module in greater detail now, so hopefully that will address this shortcoming – I tend to make my selections cerebrally and not vocally. I knew that my essay had a little too much description and not enough analysis, but it is good to know that it came together towards the end. Room for improvement for the Documentary essay.

“A comprehensive and organised submission for assessment including a summary to tell the assessors where to find material etc. Organised and diligent research and practice work of a high standard. There is a clear trajectory of learning which you have recorded and engaged well with your tutor to produce work which explores the key themes of Landscape as well as show how the genre is interpreted through formal and visual elements (such as the ‘way you look at it’). ‘Contact prints’ could have shown this research commentary and judgement visually through notation on the physical prints but at least they are there to show the assessor your visual investigation of alternative viewpoints. This eventually produces a quite contemplative series which is critically informed. Some gaps in the essay which relies initially on quite descriptive definition rather than setting up an argument to be explored. However, the complex ideas on memory and Landscape identity is well handled with strong research which includes some more analytical writing after positive response to tutor feedback. The plus point in your submission is the summary of your various research which is foreground in a tab in what is a very well organised blog/learning log. This makes it easy for an assessor to see your self-reflection and evidence of learning. So, the ‘stumbling blocks’ you identify and then show how you have resolved them for the most part as a clear indication of development which is the whole aim. You should be commended for this positive and productive engagement with the course”.

I am quite chuffed with this outcome. I’m going in the right direction at least. My thanks to my tutor, Derek Trillo, for all his encouragement and patience.

For those of you who have been following my progress in the Landscape module, thank you for your support! Please feel free to continue to follow my photographic journey. My next module is Level 2 – Documentary – Fact & Fiction – https://lyndakuitphotographydocumentary.wordpress.com/.

Note to the Assessors

Dear Assessors,

Thank you for taking the time to evaluate my work.

My learning log is online and can be located at: https://lyndakuitphotographylandscape.wordpress.com/ . The blog is in descending date order (standard blog format), however, I have arranged the assignments so that they can be viewed in consecutive order. Each assignment’s post begins with the assignment, followed by the tutor feedback and my reflections and ends with any revision/rework that I have done as a result of the tutor feedback. My assignment planning posts are under the Coursework –> Part # –> Assignment # menu as indicated below.

To access each assignment, tutor feedback and any revisions done, please click on the assignment number you wish to view at the top menu as indicated by the arrow in the screen shot below and you will be able to scroll in consecutive order.

The Research and Reflection tab on the menu at the top of the blog contains my learning log which is in descending order (standard blog format). Research relevant to each assignment is mentioned in my assignment write up and is hyperlinked to the relevant posts as well.

Included in this package are:

• the contact sheets of the initial submission photos for assignments 1 – 3, 5-6. Contact sheets are clearly labeled on the back of each sheet.
• Final output for each assignment:
  • Assignment 1 – eight (8) prints from assignments 1;
  • Assignment 2 – Book: Canucks Edgelands – A Journey
    
  • Assignment 3 – twelve (12) prints
  • Assignment 4 – Critical Review Essay: Collective Memory and The Writing on the Wall
    
  • Assignment 5 – Book: Ways of Looking at Blind Bay and Salmon Arm (plus portfolio of six (6)  panorama prints
    
  • Assignment 6 – Slideshow located on: https://lyndakuitphotographylandscape.wordpress.com/category/assignment-6/
    

(Total of 26 prints).

Prints are clearly labeled on the back of each print.

• all six (6) tutor reports. Electronic copies of the tutor reports have also been uploaded to my assigned Google Drive and are located under Tutor Reports, clearly named in the following format [Lynda_Kuit_512863_Feedback_Assignment_No_ Landscape.pdf].

Please note for assessment purposes that I have only uploaded the tutor reports to the Google Drive. Everything else is located on my blog.

Thank you

Course reflection and evaluation

I could not wait to enroll on this course when I finished Level 1. I enjoyed learning about the various histories of landscape and different types of practices associated with it. I found assignment 1 one of the most interesting to do and sincerely enjoyed exploring all manners of the sublime in my research. I was a little disappointed to see that assignment 2 was about a journey. Almost every module I have done has had an exercise about a journey in it and I found this a little frustrating. But at the end of the course I can say I get it! The journey isn’t really just about the physical journey, but about the mental journey (and also the photographic journey as we develop our practice). Assignment 3 was an exploration into my new surroundings which I relished discovering. The edgelands and psychogeography are definitely topics that I will want to explore in more depth. Once I settled on a topic for assignment 4, I found that I liked doing the research. Writing about it was another task altogether! I related well to the assignment 5 which I did on the different tourist gazes as I had been experiencing these myself in some or other form for this past year. But probably the assignment that I learned the most out of is assignment 6. I found returning to the same place and taking photographs over a one year period very enlightening. I became invested in the space and even started to identify with it as a local would. I documented changes to mini-landscapes as well as the larger landscapes, changes in tides, weather and the seasons. I’ve come to realise that my work needs to marinate and mellow for it to become reflexive. Just like a good wine.

I have learned new technical skills while on this course. I created panorama photographs for the first time, learned how to create a slideshow, created my first Blurb book and also a flipbook. I brushed up on some LightRoom software skills in learning how to colour correct in LightRoom. All of these skills will be able to be carried forward into subsequent modules.

Throughout the course my tutor was kind enough to point out my areas of strengths and also encouraged me to work on my weaknesses. This was incredibly helpful to me as I realised that one of my great weaknesses is my writing style (not surprising as composition was never a favourite subject of mine at school) and I will try and rectify this in my next module. I did find that I struggled more in this module with the writing component than with other modules and I am wondering if this perhaps has something to do with the fact that there are no people to write about in landscape. Being concise is also another of my challenges. Notwithstanding these stumbling blocks, I feel that I have made a decent improvement from where I started on the module to where I now am.

Having moved from a city into a rural community towards the beginning of the course has caused me to question where exactly do I fit in in this new environment and I think this is reflected in my work in the Landscape module.  At this moment it feels as my practice has developed around transitions or changes as this seems to be a common thread running through the assignments.

Reflections on Assignment 1 Rework

I have had such a long wait to to be able to go and reshoot some images for this assignment. Shooting in winter was not an option with all the snow on the ground. It would have relayed a totally different feeling of the sublime than what I was after. Would it even have been sublime then? I think not.

My tutor suggested writing a word or two to describe feelings or emotions on viewing these images. I am hesitant to put captions to the images as I want the viewer to experience his/her own emotions and not necessarily mine.

I used a little light painting on one of the new images in the project and I think that it has the desired effect of drawing the viewer’s eye to the pool of light and further emphasising the darkness that lies beyond.

I have added two new images and reduced my edit to a set of eight which I think sends a more powerful message of the sublime.

Research Spreadsheet

Helen’s timely posting on the OCA forum about the Critical Review Guide has prompted me to upload my research spreadsheet that I used when searching, keywording, recording abstracts, making evaluative comments for references for my critical review essay.

A PDF version of my spreadsheet can be seen here.

Change of Presentation for Assignment 5

After much consideration and dithering I have decided to present my work for Assignment 5 in a physical book format. I feel that this way is probably a better way to present the images for assessment, instead of having a collection of different sized images in an envelope as a sample, loose prints and a flipbook online.

By compiling a book I can still present the images in different sizes without the presentation being too cheesy or over-complicated. I had sent off my book via LightRoom to Blurb last week and was pleasantly surprised to be informed that delivery would be this week. Still I wasn’t holding my breath, knowing what postal deliveries in rural communities can be like. I have just this day received the book, right on time as promised. So now I will present the book and because the panoramas in my book are on a two-page spread and the book is not a layflat, I will include only the panorama prints as well in my assessment submission for the assessors.

Greg Girard

Greg Girard often exhibits at Vancouver’s Capture Photography Festival, but this was the first time I had managed to see some of his work in person. His exhibition Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976-1983 was on at the Monte Clark Gallery. I was quite excited about this exhibition as I had seen a film about Girard working the streets of Vancouver a few years ago.

Monte Clark Gallery – Greg Girard’s Tokyo-Yokosuka 1976-1983

Sadly I was quite disappointed. I don’t know who is responsible for the curating at this gallery, but all the exhibitions I have seen here at this gallery have one thing in common. They all feel very sparse. The gallery is part of an old warehouse that was built over tram or rail tracks so there is an interesting historical element to the gallery. The main room is quite large, but the photos are always arranged to look as if there is rationing happening! It never feels welcoming. Girard’s work was displayed without any wall text next to the photographs which I thought was a shame as it would have added to the viewing experience. I found that rather odd as he does add captions to his photographs on his website.

Photograph by Greg Girard

Girard’s photographs are large so they are easily viewed from the middle of the floor. The images in the exhibition were from a time period when he first went to Southeast Asia in 1976 and after shooting the streets of Shinjuku one night decided he was going to stay there. He makes use of artificial light and his colour images all have a “neon” feel to them. One definitely gets the impression that they were taken in the seedier part of town. The three black and white images, which were portraits, felt out of place with the street scenes. While Girard’s images are interesting to look at and the colour palettes quite stunning, I felt the whole exhibition quite disjointed. It lacked rhythm and sequencing which was a great pity as his work flows better on his website.

John Maclean’s Two and Two

In contrast with Paul Graham’s The Present, I found John Maclean’s Two and Two more engaging. The book presentation is simpler: stacked or side-by-side diptychs. The subject matter varies a little more than Graham’s work. Maclean’s diptychs involve pull back shots and zoom ins, similar views with and without a screen, the same shot taken at different times of the day, a scene and a detail of that scene. The combinations are intriguing and at the same time playful. Slight shifts of position by a few inches produce different effects.  When one enlarges the images so much more detail is revealed. Most of the photographs were made within a minute of each other, the view point changing every so slightly in most cases. Maclean involves the viewer by challenging him/her to search the image pairings, looking for the similarities and connections. I found myself happily absorbed for about an hour mulling over the discrepancies and similarities in his images.

22.9.17 (11.32.16 + 11.32.25) by John Maclean

Bibliography

MacLean, J. (s.d.) Two and Two – John MacLean. At: https://www.jmaclean.co.uk/art/two-and-two/ (Accessed on 15 April 2019)

Paul Graham – The Present

My tutor recommended that I take a look post-assignment 6 at the work of Paul Graham, specifically his book The Present. The Present is a book of street photography showing sets or groups of images taken at the same location with a few seconds difference between them. The transitions between the images is slight, sometimes the focus changes from one subject in the frame to another in the next. The book presents the groupings in a variety of ways: stacked diptychs, side-by-side diptychs, triptychs, gatefolds or presented on consecutive pages.

There are many gatefolds in the book and they open in a variety of ways –  left fold out, right fold out – which I think could have been simplified. Watching Colberg page through the book provides a good idea of different methods of presentation though. Bar the name of the book and that of the author, there is no text in the book. The viewer has to take an active role in opening the gatefold pages and reading the photographs to attach their own meaning to these rather banal images. And the subject matter is quite banal – people crossing the street, walking the pavements, but it is the grouping of the sets that make this work worth the deeper introspection.

Bibliography

Colberg, J. (2012) Presenting The Present by Paul Graham – YouTube. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iw2zDsXQDc (Accessed on 15 April 2019)

Assignment 6 – “Sisu” – Stubborn Perseverance

Artist’s Statement

I chose the little, off-the-beaten track, off-the-grid community of Finn Slough, British Columbia, Canada to study for my interpretation of the Transitions assignment. The community was settled in the 1880’s by Finnish immigrants and is now the last commercial fishing village on the Fraser River and also one of the last tidal communities on the west coast of Canada. The century-old scow houses and gill net houses were built on pilings to protect them from the rising tides.

It is a place that is ruled by nature and more specifically by the ebb and flow of the tide. Situated at the mouth of the Fraser River, which flows out into the Pacific Ocean, makes this little community vulnerable to floods from inland snow pack melts as well as rising ocean levels.  The environment at Finn Slough literally shifts in shapes and colours, reminding us of regeneration and mortality “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return“ (Genesis 3:19). The cycle of nature is so evident in this ancient habitat as we see nature revealing structures, objects and views in certain months and then reclaiming them in others. The flotsam and jetsam that are washed up in the slough are collected by the residents and displayed as decorations and mementos, each being regenerated in a new purpose, and carrying someone else’s memories, but still subject to nature’s cycle of life.  There is a latent fluidity to Finn Slough where one gradually becomes aware of the shift and change of time. What is left now is a pervading sense of loss and a memory of a time gone by. Nature and time are slowly eroding the Finn Slough community.

 

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Preparation, Planning and Reflection

All my preparation, planning posts and experiments for this assignment can be seen in more detail here.  Having discovered this location when working on an assignment for Art of Photography and finding myself totally fascinated with the environment, it became an obvious choice for this assignment. I chose to shoot on a monthly basis, and researched the tide tables for each month in order to find out when high and low tides occurred as I wanted to convey the changes during these times as this is a central theme to this assignment. These appear in my planning posts. In the middle of the project I moved 430 km away, but continued to visit the location each month to shoot, but was severely hampered in my choice of time to shoot.

In reflecting on this assignment I find that the doll could be an iconic signifier representing the residents of Finn Slough (they come, they go, they die – without being disrespectful as one of the residents did pass away while I was shooting the project). While the boat, Eva represents commodification (an indexical signifier), the gill net house with its barriers of blackberry bushes suggests a dying way of life.

This assignment has confirmed my views that landscape is fluid and ever changing.  As the months passed, I found myself quite invested in this space. It was almost as if I had also become part of this landscape. I found myself looking forward to looking at and discovering the minute and sometimes drastic changes that occurred throughout Finn Slough. I was quite dismayed to discover one of the residents had passed away, and similarly when the houseboat residents (and the houseboat) left (even though I had never met them), and rather saddened when the doll disappeared for good. I marveled at the change of the colour of the water, which told stories of mudslides in the interior of British Columbia in November 2018.

I derived the name of my assignment from Finn Slough’s motto which is the Finnish word “Sisu” which translated into English means “severe perseverance”, a very apt motto for this landscape.

If I could have done something different in this assignment, it would have been to include sunrise and sunset times in the set which I had initially planned to do, but which was not practical after my move.

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ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Demonstration of technical and visual skills: Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.

Overall, I am pleased with this assignment. In many of my viewpoints where I took the photographs I was limited to where I could stand so did not use a tripod. I found myself often climbing over logs, contending with prickly blackberry bushes and informational signs that were erected since a previous visit. I used my 18-140 lens and tried to keep to the same focal length throughout but occasionally had to zoom in to a scene in order to exclude something that would have detracted from the idea I was following, and thus I made a conscious decision to exclude the object. I also decided to document changes to some of the flotsam and jetsam objects that arrived at Finn Slough, e.g. the doll, to see how they would be impacted over this time period.

I managed to record a variety of weather conditions as well, although it was not pleasant shooting in the rain, if truth be told. The varying tonalities in the photographs also contribute to the ever-changing landscape.

The photographs are presented as a slideshow which draws the viewer in to observe the subtle changes happening to the landscape over the twelve month period. This allows the narrative to be tied together.

 

Quality of Outcome: Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, with discernment. Conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.

I presented my WIPs during various Google Hangouts (Live Forum – 9 September, 2018; Landscape Google Hangout, 21 March, 2019) and discussed one aspect of the feedback I had received during the LiveForum regarding the inconsistent horizon lines with my tutor, who assured me that this did not constitute a problem as far as he was concerned. Otherwise the feedback that I received was good. It was generally agreed in both hangouts that music or sound would not add anything to the slideshow, but might in fact prove to be distracting. A few ideas were discussed regarding the ordering of the segments which I have taken on board.

 

Demonstration of Creativity: Imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.

When I decided on shooting at this location I decided to shoot organically and repeat each view in the subsequent months. There were about thirty-two views that I captured each session. Going into the project I knew that I would to include the boat, Eva as this is an historical icon of the community as well as representing commodification. The other two segments were only decided upon when I was putting the slideshow together.  I did experiment with different methods of presentation (see planning post) and settled on presenting the photographs in a slideshow. I made the slideshow through LightRoom which worked well and managed to keep the length of slideshow down to under 3 minutes without the slideshow feeling rushed.

 

Context: Reflection, research (evidenced in learning logs). Critical thinking (evidenced in critical review).

The write ups on the other photographers that I researched for this assignment can be accessed via the links below:

• Jem Southam
• Deborah Bright – Glacial Erractic (Plymouth Rock)
• Tim Simmons
• Michael Marten
• Stephen Wilkes
• Viesturs Pinka
• Third View Rephotography Project

I have also caught up on my to-do list which  is now complete.

• Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks
• Stephen Shore and Nature of the Photograph
• Sara Kristina Davies
• Uta Barth

• I also did an online course in colour correcting in LightRoom which I found incredibly informative and hope will help resolve the issues I was having with printing my assignment 1 images.
• I discovered the work of Meghan Krauss whose work ties in with my tourist gaze project (assignment 5).
• During the Landscape Google Hangout the photo books of Shona Grant was mentioned and I took a look at her work for future reference.

I am still planning on going to Vancouver to attend some of the exhibitions of the Capture Photography festival which begins in April, and will add those write ups to my blog before assessment.

Bibliography

CBC Radio (2017) As a B.C. fishing village is slowly submerged, meet the people who refuse to leave [online] CBC Radio. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/docproject/fighting-to-save-your-home-from-rising-waters-1.4314481/as-a-b-c-fishing-village-is-slowly-submerged-meet-the-people-who-refuse-to-leave-1.4314487 (Accessed 29 March, 2019)

Dorrington, David (n.d.) A Small History of Finn Slough [online] Available at: http://finnslough.com/ (Accessed 29 March, 2019)

Genesis 3:19 In: New American Standard Bible [online] Bible Gateway. Available at: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+3%3A19&version=NASB (Accessed 29 March, 2019)

Meghan (2013) Visit Historic Fishing Village Finn Slough [online] Inside Vancouver. Available at: https://www.insidevancouver.ca/2013/08/05/visit-historic-fishing-village-finn-slough/ (Accessed 29 March, 2019)