Student Exhibition

Whilst I was taking photographs yesterday (see previous blog) I was given a flyer about an exhibition by photographic students from the local College. I decide to go and have a look.

It was an interesting experience and it was revealing to see how each student had tackled the assignment that was a visit to a local National Trust Property (Ickworth House) during its winter closing. Most of the images had been taken using film and development carried out by the student in the darkroom that in itself was surprising as it seemed to be using a system that is likely to disappear completely as the film manufacturers withdraw from the market.

I had the chance to speak to the exhibition organiser, one of the Lecturers from the College and a student whose work was on display. The organiser seemed very concerned that the students would receive a positive feedback from the comments in the visitors book. I am never very sure about this but the reality was that the work was good although you could argue about some of the technical aspects if you wanted to be particularly picky. The Lecturer told me that they actively discouraged students abiding by the rules of composition or placement and such things as depth of field and this was evident in the work shown. However there was something very refreshing in this move away from the conventional although at times it was jarring.

It was an interesting conversation with the student who was very much into film photography and the darkroom and felt that this was better than digital. Having heard this argument from photographers who had been raised on film and could not accept that anything else could be better it was something of a shock to hear someone saying the same thing who had only just begun on her photographic career. I can only assume that her lecturer is very much one of those that digital is a necessary evil although how much of a favour she is doing her students who wish to pursue a career in photography is open to question.

I'm glad I went. Like photographs produced by young children who have no pre-formed ideas about what is 'correct' so these students worked in a way that challenges many of the constraints that photography faces .