DPP Assignment 4 Real or Fake

Just had back my tutors response to my submission. Not good!! He wants me to do it again. Why - because his interpretation of the material differs significantly from mine. He seems to believe that I should have produced something that challenges the perception of the viewer of the image. He even provided me with two examples - one was a submission for the same assignment from a student and one from a magazine cover that included his own work.

My interpretation of the requirement was that following the relevant exercises I should have clarified my own stance on the real or fake argument. I should then have produced an image for a book cover that demonstrated this stance. I thought I had. My stance is that the argument over ethics in photography is one of the biggest non-arguments of recent times.  As I have said before in these blogs images do not have ethics, they are nothing but a piece of paper with dots on them arranged hopefully in a recognisable pattern. I may have set out deliberately to mislead but I have no control at all over how the viewer interprets the image in front of him. His interpretation may be exactly what I hoped, be wide of the mark or somewhere in-between. He may think that it is 'real' or he may convince himself that it is a fake. Only if there is some form of communication between us that allows him to ask the question does ethical issues arise and they amount to whether I lie or I don't in my response.

I therefore based my submission on the fifth paragraph of the accompanying notes and submitted this image:

The only change made to this image is that I have 'stretched' the sky to the left of the statue using Photoshop's Content Aware - Scale to allow room for the title. I have no ethical problem with this manipulation because if anyone asked me I would happily explain to them what changes were made to the original and how I achieved them and why.  I am not sure how the image reflects my stance but I did offer an explanation in the accompanying notes.

I am now faced with the dilemma whether to re-submit the assignment for further comment or accompany my assessment submission with an explanation why I feel that my interpretation is in line with the notes in the Course. Whilst I recognise I risk failing the Course I feel it would be hypocritical and unethical to submit something that meets my tutor's interpretation but not my own. I have had this discussion before with my tutor about the difference between what is said in the notes and how we differ in interpretation. I would argue that if the OCA wants a specific outcome then that should be made clear. My guess is that this is not the case and the need is for the student to express him or herself within the subject matter of that part of the Course. My tutor may wish that it was something else but that is an argument between him and the OCA and should not involve the success or otherwise of the student.

I have written to my tutor expressing my concerns and hopefully will get a reply. 

I'll keep you posted.

Success

Just received the news that I passed The Art of Photography Course following assessment. One down 6 to go!

I needed the boost as I am going through a barren time in my photography. As I reported earlier in my blog I had decided to use street photography as my lead in for the project work for Assignment 5 of Digital Photographic Practice. To say that it has not been a success is a massive understatement. It is clearly not my thing and this shows both in my approach and in the resulting photographs. They are poor, lack direction and largely unrelated.

I face the dilemma of carrying on in spite of the evidence that my heart is not in it or starting down another avenue that I have enthusiasm for. I have decide to change tack completely and pursue a topic that I enjoy and feel strongly about  - man's impact on the coastline. Not living far from the Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex coasts there is a lot to choose from and lots of variety from the panoramic unspoilt beaches to the heavily industrialised including the odd nuclear power station.

Aim to have everything ready for submission for assessment for the July date that gives me a latest date of early June to allow time for the material to arrive at the OCA. Included in this is the time necessary for my tutor to give his views. Busy times ahead but at least I feel enthused about the work.

Next is the decision about the next Course to follow. My inclination at present is to go for one of the elective Creative Arts Courses at Level 1 to give me a chance to make more concrete my thoughts about the impact of culture on how we 'see' things. I may also be brave and start a second level Course in Photography so that I can keep my hand in. I have found that getting out and taking lots of photographs is one of the best ways to improve as long as I am prepared to be honest in my critique of the work and what I have achieved.