OCA The Art of Photography Course Discussion - Part 2

Carol S said:
Yup, that's the one. There's also another photo exhibition there - Make Life Worth Living: Nick Hedges’ Photographs for Shelter 1968–72 - and the Horst one at the V&A that you mention. Edward Steichen, Vivianne Sasson and Erica Scourti are on at the Photographers' Gallery and there's also The Photographers 2014 at Beetles + Huxley/Osbourne Samuel Galleries. Chris Stein (as in Blondie) exhibition, 'Wounded: The Legacy of War' by Bryan Adams, and Guy Bourdin on at Somerset House, and 'Conflict, Time, Photography' at the Tate Modern (there is a study visit for this one in January). So plenty to fill out the day with - and there may be others that haven't crossed my radar yet.

Are you still doing Western Art or are you back with the photographers now?
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I fancied doing both at the Science museum, then over to the Tate for the Conflict
 
essexash said:
might find the answer in the Nikon thread rather than the OCA one?
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Thats a pretty cheeky response to be honest and totally uncalled for. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with me asking someone on this forum a question on how they are finding their camera
If I want detailed information then yes I can look in multiple places but its not going to stop asking someone here how they are getting on with their camera
 
DBT85 said:
I started reading The Photograph by Graham Clarke tonight, it comes in the box of materials on the old TAOP course. I feel like an idiot. I thought I'd check some peoples blogs about their thoughts on the book and they're all "so easy to read, great introduction, started here". After reading the introduction I'm actually considering leaving it until the end of the course! It's been in my bag for 10 days and I've been putting it off and putting it off.
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Good luck with that book. I got about 1/4 of the way through and got bored. It does have a lot of interesting detail but the way its presented and narrated is awful in my opinion. There are many books which are easier to read.

Perhaps "The Photograph" may serve better as a reference book. I wonder what others think?
 
Carol S said:
Anybody else on here awaiting November assessment results? Very close now - getting nervous!
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Hi - Yes I'm waiting for my DPP results. I believe these should be out end of this week as % mark which is followed up in a week or so with a breakdown of marks against each of the assessment areas with a little commentary.

Expect marking to be tough as its a degree and ultimately at this stage we are aiming for a pass, its the last 3 modules that determine your degree. In my experience of TAOP which I got results for last year I think it tales a minimum of completeing and getting marks for one module just to simply understand how it all works

I think I got 56 or 57 for TAOP which I was very concerned about at the beginning but in the latter explanation though small there were some good pointers of how to improve. Taking risk was one, more investigation and write-ups of other photographers was another
 
FrattonFreak said:
Thats a pretty cheeky response to be honest and totally uncalled for. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with me asking someone on this forum a question on how they are finding their camera
If I want detailed information then yes I can look in multiple places but its not going to stop asking someone here how they are getting on with their camera
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its not at all, this is a thread about OCA course modules. There is a nikon thread a mile long in the equipment section bursting at the seams with people who are ready with Nikon advice.
 
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essexash said:
its not at all, this is a thread about OCA course modules. There is a nikon thread a mile long in the equipment section bursting at the seams with people who are ready with Nikon advice.
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Strictly speaking this is thread is about The Art of Photography module, rather than ALL OCA modules.
My actual question if you read it was asking how someone was getting on with their new camera, not the specifics of a camera nor any specific advice. Unfortunately you appear to have bullied someone into editing out their reply which is rather sad

If you are a regular here you'll see that many subjects come up for discussion here. Your opinion is of course yours but its not going to stop people having the odd conversation about other photography elements which they are encountering as part of their OCA studies.

I'm not going to waste any more time debating this with you but I would say that its not going stop me posting photographic comments / questions that come up as as part of my photography or someone elses whilst doing OCA studies for whatever module and nor should should anyone else feel they can't do the same, even if this is about photographic equipment.

This is a friendly and helpful forum where discussion is free, lets keep it that way
 
Weird as I've posted about how moving from my Canon 50D to a 5D mk3 really helped me produce the ideas I wanted for people and portraits.

And this thread whilst titled TAOP, it's really developed into a 'Students enrolled with OCA' thread
 
Yep I think we carry on here in this forum as we always have. The free nature of this forum makes it interesting, friendly informative and helpful and as you say Byke. Its always been used for posts/comments with our OCA studies as the basis. I'm sure with hindsight someone will see their error and we can all move on

I'd also like to hear/see the views from the original poster on her D750 as I hadn't before they were amended.

I'm looking forward to my DPP result though I may change my mind when i see it :D
 
Thank you Byker and Warren :)
 
Good study visit yesterday, good to catch up with carol again.
Great exhibitions at the science museum, well worth a visit and the shelter exhibit next door is worth a look also, very reminiscent of nick danziger, Chris Steele-Perkins, Chris killip, must have been a popular project at the time for socially aware photographers.

It costs to go into drawn by light but it's well worth it, interesting juxtapositions. Just a shame about the size of the group and the acoustics as I couldn't hear what the tutors were saying. With so many new students there on their first trip I thought it was more important to give them room.
 
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it was really interesting on a historical level, id never seen any daguerreotypes before, i was quite surprised just how detailed they were. Other than that i thought it was a bit of a mish mash. Nothing really pushing any boundaries, just a standard set of appealing images. I thought it interesting to see how completely stuck in the mud portrait photography is, when you looked at the christina set done 100 years ago we're still shooting the same shots now. The tutor, when i could hear her, was enthusing about how contemporary they were, i was thinking just how stale we are now.
 
they had a really nice Edward Weston book there for £8 which i thought was surprisingly cheap for a museum shop. Flicking through it i think i had most of the images covered in other books of his ive got so i didnt bother. But id pay £12 for the catalogue.
 
I received my DPP mark at 57 which was a 1 pt increase on TAOP. However I was concerned that in my feedback i received marking down on quality advising I had made a blog only submission. I hadn't and had submitted a DVD with a printed document detailing the DVD layout which as requested was only 1 folder deep.

I queried this with OCA and they have confirmed a procedural irregularity. I'm pleased they have investigated this. I'm not worried about the mark as its a pass and sits in the "bell curve" and any extra marks wont gain me anything. However I was surprised that my full submission appears to have been misjointed. Mistakes happen
 
Thanks Carol. I've now started my my 3rd Level 1 module and I would say that I feel I'm now only just starting to understand the importance of research as part of my photographic journey.

A common theme with my last 2 formal assessments technical competence but not enough risk taking. I think its very much the latter which makes photographic images stand out. I think the research element helps exposure to different styles and perhaps the start of developing your own style / styles.....what might be called a personal voice I suppose

How are you getting on?
 
FrattonFreak said:
Good luck with that book. I got about 1/4 of the way through and got bored. It does have a lot of interesting detail but the way its presented and narrated is awful in my opinion. There are many books which are easier to read.

Perhaps "The Photograph" may serve better as a reference book. I wonder what others think?
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The first time I read it (right at the start of TAOP when I was an absolute noob when it came to history) I thought, who's this pretentious ar*ehole?! But I struggled on with it and finally reached the end. 3 months later I went back to it and re-read it. It was like a different book and much easier to read than the first time around. When too much information is being introduced to you in one go it's easy to get lost, but having learned a bit more about the who's who of photography and what all these different photographic developing 'types' were (although I'm still struggling a bit with some of them) it was much easier to read. I did find it very subjective though, which is fair enough for an art critic I suppose, and you have to be careful as someone new to the history of photography, that you don't take everything Clarke says as fact, but as an introduction I found it quite a good balance. Reading it right at the start as I did probably isn't the best approach though and although I haven't read The Photograph, it wouldn't surprise me if there weren't more 'welcoming' introductions to the history of photography.

Incidentally, I was at Drawn By Light (where I met Carol (we were sitting at the back unable to hear anything the tutors were saying!) and also at Constructing Worlds onSaturday. I really need to say a proper hello to you guys at some point. I'm booked on for Conflict at the Tate at the end of the month, so hopefully see you then. My hair is shorter now! :)
 
Well its been some time and I've not finished the book. It actually got to the point where I dreaded opening it even when I had nothing else to do. I've now dropped it and will move on to something else.

I've also not done anything on my course and not submitted my first assignment (I'd originally said end of August!). A difficult book way above my level, others talking of later courses being about more reading than photographing just left me feeling a bit meh. More excuses I suppose.

I've been contacted by my tutor and asked how I was getting on so I've replied and given a date of the end of Feb at the latest. Maybe if I get it done and get something useful back I might push on a bit more.

On the flip side, the wedding I helped with at the end of last year went very well and everyone was pleased with my results, and the guy I was helping just asked me to do his wedding in December.
 
FrattonFreak said:
Thanks Carol. I've now started my my 3rd Level 1 module and I would say that I feel I'm now only just starting to understand the importance of research as part of my photographic journey.

A common theme with my last 2 formal assessments technical competence but not enough risk taking. I think its very much the latter which makes photographic images stand out. I think the research element helps exposure to different styles and perhaps the start of developing your own style / styles.....what might be called a personal voice I suppose

How are you getting on?
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Hi Warren,

I'm on Context and Narrative and just starting my third assignment. Struggled with the course a little to start as got stuck for inspiration with the first assignment (nothing that I tried worked out) but got there in the end and am now enjoying it. Vastly different from TAOP and not in a bad way - it's really stretching my creativity and making me think about my photography in conceptual ways, but this step up on the creative front is what I wanted and why I'm studying with OCA. A lot more research in this module but as you say it's an important part of the journey. I did tons for my second assignment and think (as does my tutor) that my images were better for it.
 
DBT85 said:
Well its been some time and I've not finished the book. It actually got to the point where I dreaded opening it even when I had nothing else to do. I've now dropped it and will move on to something else.

I've also not done anything on my course and not submitted my first assignment (I'd originally said end of August!). A difficult book way above my level, others talking of later courses being about more reading than photographing just left me feeling a bit meh. More excuses I suppose.

I've been contacted by my tutor and asked how I was getting on so I've replied and given a date of the end of Feb at the latest. Maybe if I get it done and get something useful back I might push on a bit more.

On the flip side, the wedding I helped with at the end of last year went very well and everyone was pleased with my results, and the guy I was helping just asked me to do his wedding in December.
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Hi Darren,

Don't get too disheartened, these books are difficult to start with - I borrowed Charlotte Cotton from the library when I signed up for OCA, hated it, sent it back and not been near it since. Only now (two years later) do I think I might venture there again.

The trick with me for Clarke was not to read it cover to cover but to pick one chapter that interested me (think my choice was 'fine art' or similar - the one with the bench and leaves in it) and read that a couple of times, then to pick a picture that I liked from that chapter and look at that photographer (my two were Ernst Haas and Elias Porter), then it mushrooms. Alternatiively just flick through the book, find a photo that you like and then research that photograph. Third option is to 'file' it and see if you find another introduction to theory book that you like - ask your tutor or have a browse in your local library / Waterstones. But do keep the Clarke, as you progress in the course you will find yourself referring back to it.

I've just borrowed a book from the library called 'why does it not have to be in focus?' (or similar) and that's quite a useful guide to contemporary photographers - lots of pictures and easily readable text.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Does-Not-Have-Focus/dp/0500290954/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422341183&sr=8-1&keywords=why does it not have to be in focus

Hope this helps. The trick I think is to find a book as a starting point that suits you. It does get easier going forward - promise!
 
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Carol S said:
Hi Darren,

Don't get too disheartened, these books are difficult to start with - I borrowed Charlotte Cotton from the library when I signed up for OCA, hated it, sent it back and not been near it since. Only now (two years later) do I think I might venture there again.

The trick with me for Clarke was not to read it cover to cover but to pick one chapter that interested me (think my choice was 'fine art' or similar - the one with the bench and leaves in it) and read that a couple of times, then to pick a picture that I liked from that chapter and look at that photographer (my two were Ernst Haas and Elias Porter), then it mushrooms. Alternatiively just flick through the book, find a photo that you like and then research that photograph. Third option is to 'file' it and see if you find another introduction to theory book that you like - ask your tutor or have a browse in your local library / Waterstones. But do keep the Clarke, as you progress in the course you will find yourself referring back to it.

I've just borrowed a book from the library called 'why does it not have to be in focus?' (or similar) and that's quite a useful guide to contemporary photographers - lots of pictures and easily readable text.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Does-Not-Have-Focus/dp/0500290954/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422341183&sr=8-1&keywords=why does it not have to be in focus

Hope this helps. The trick I think is to find a book as a starting point that suits you. It does get easier going forward - promise!
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Thanks Carol. I do have a couple of other books to be looking at and in the meantime I've got my exercises and assignment to finally do. Since I'm at work covering the tennis I've planned the 9 contrast pairs that I want to do and what shots I want for each, so come my days off I can get those done. I just need to email my tutor again and ask how he wants the photos supplied.

I'm sure the book is a great resource which I will go back to, but it made me feel like an idiot which was somewhat of an odd and unpleasant experience.
 
Carol S said:
Anyone going to the 'Conflict, Time, Photography' study visit at the Tate Modern on Saturday?
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I'm on the reserve list, places went on the first day apparently. I may just turn up and pay my own money and walk about...
 
Folks, if I could have your option on one of my choices for the Contrast assignment.

I've thought about using Much and Little as one of the pairs, with the idea of the images to convey power, influence & wealth within those constraints of Much and Little. My plan is to get a shot of someone who is clearly without much of any of these things on the streets of London, and another of either a) some young well dressed person, well groomed etc, or of something like the Houses of Parliament.

Am I thinking a little crazy do you think?
 
Thanks Warren :)

Used a book quote in one of my exercises for the first time last night and I'm not sure I've done it right. Harvard referencing for a list of references at the end is easy, but using it in the middle seems somewhat more difficult depending on the rest of your sentence.
 
DBT85 said:
Folks, if I could have your option on one of my choices for the Contrast assignment.

I've thought about using Much and Little as one of the pairs, with the idea of the images to convey power, influence & wealth within those constraints of Much and Little. My plan is to get a shot of someone who is clearly without much of any of these things on the streets of London, and another of either a) some young well dressed person, well groomed etc, or of something like the Houses of Parliament.

Am I thinking a little crazy do you think?
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I agree with Warren, this is a different way of looking at this pairing than the usual and that will go down well with your tutor/the assessors. So thinking out of the box away from the norm is definitely a good thing.

Re your quote, tell us the sentence you have written and we will try and help.
 
The section is here

After completing this exercise I began to read Michael Freeman's book The Photographers Eye (2007), in which he writes "In many pictures, a variety of elements interact, and the question of balance can only be resolved intuitively, according to what feels right" (Lewes: Ilex. p40) and "Interest in any image is in direct proportion to the amount of work the viewer has to do, and too perfect a balance leaves less for the eye to work at. Hence, dynamic balance tends to be more interesting than static balance" (Lewes: Ilex. p42).
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Thanks Carol.

But don't I also need the publish city and publisher in there too? Thats what comes up when I look at all Harvard referencing.
 
DBT85 said:
Thanks Carol.

But don't I also need the publish city and publisher in there too? Thats what comes up when I look at all Harvard referencing.
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Yes you are right but they need to go in the reference list at the end of your piece under 'References":

Freeman, M. (2007) The Photographer's Eye Lewes: Ilex
 
Ahh ok. thanks :)
 
Yep, you have a list of the books elements you referenced below

As a tip applying your interpretationm or commenting on the quotes you have used will help express your understanding or how you feel it impacts your photography will be seen as a good thing e.g. you agree and why, you agree and interpreted it in your images, you disagree and why. Just a suggestion anyway
 
I used that for the reference at the end, but I read on one uni site about putting the reference in the text body and in that instance you don't want everything.
 
If you look at my blog i put a number in [1] then reference it as the last section

so blah blah blah [1]


Bibliography/References
[1] Harvard generated link
[2] Harvard generated link

Etc
 
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