It's the start of another term with my Photography Group and the first task is to identify a project to explore over the next three months.
We're invited to move outside our comfort-zone and this gets me thinking about what sort of pictures I tend to take and why.
Conceptual photography
This is a comparatively new area for me, but one which excites me enormously. Conceptual photography is about assembling or creating the image, rather than taking a picture of something which already exists.
I love the creative element. Recent work in this area includes a humorous series entitled 'The Unacceptable Face of Capitalism', a challenging but ultimately very rewarding examination of grief and a tribute to my late mother-in-law.
Landscape
I take a lot of photographs in Norfolk. There's something mystical about the high skies and dreamy mists.
Football
I follow Aston Villa. It provides a very special link to my learning disabled son - we've been following the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the plucky boys in claret and blue since he was eight.
I love the atmosphere, love the passion, but most of all love that Villa Park is a place where my son is accepted for just what he is. Part of the tribe.
Reportage
'Round here, everything is stories and stories is everything'. These are the words used by Harry Crews, one of my favourite authors, to introduce the Jim White film, 'Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus'.
I love story-telling through photography and recently I had the great privilege of documenting an Arts Council/Heritage Lottery Fund project set in the heart of the Black Country.
My Project
So why is this relevant to my choice for this term's project? Looking at my work from the past the key themes appear to be emotion, people and the beauty of nature.
If I'm truly to explore beyond my comfort-zone I need to look elsewhere. I've therefore decided to create a series called, 'Dull Photographs'. To help me create the images I've drawn up three simple rules ...
- no human element is to appear in the images;
- the subject matter must be boring and mundane; and
- the photographs are to be taken in black and white.
