Gallery Vist: Roger Palmer 'Latitude'

I visited the PSL gallery in Leeds and saw Roger Palmer's exhibition entitled 'Latitude'. In 2008 and 2009 Roger Palmer travelled to the three continents which are situated within the southern hemisphere where the Tropic of Capricorn passes- Australia, Southern Africa and South America.

His intention was to develop a project where he could link these places through a constant approach to making photographs.

On each continent he arrived at an airport close to the tropic and then travelled by car for twelve days, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn at least once.

In the exhibition I saw a group of gelatin silver prints all focusing on Palmer's observations of cultural, climatic, and topographic details all found in the public domain.

Each triptych aspires to be both a group of related images and yet also a composition of individual pictures with are nevertheless components of a larger ensemble.

The photos are about the hopelessness of trying to represent places, all the photos look the same which is why Palmer hasn't bothered to label them. They are more about bringing different parts of the world into one location.

The projects title 'Latitude' suggests the connection between these places by their position in a zone of climatic division around the earth's circumference. The pictures are displayed for the first time in Leeds, which is located in the northern hemisphere. 'Latitude' therefore might suggest an exploratory open ended approach to photography for both the artist and the visitor.

There were also two videos shown on monitors in the exhibition, 'Canal' and 'Spring Water'. They were both filmed on the Leeds and Liverpool canal in the Armley district of Leeds. Palmer also made a sign work in-situ titled 'Botany Bay' which can still be seen on the canal roughly one kilometre from the PSL gallery. Through a static camera 'Canal' presents this sign as a reflection on the surface of the canal.

Whilst filming 'Canal' a plastic bottle drifted in and out of shot, this provided Palmer with an idea for a different piece of work, 'Spring Water'. In Australia Palmer picked up several items from the beach near where the British Colonists first landed at Botany Bay. One of these objects, a plastic bottle from Fiji, was later thrown into the canal by Palmer as a way of re-establishing a link between Botany Bay, New South Wales and a section of the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

I liked Palmer's work in the PSL gallery. His photographs were all shot in black and white making all the images look similar, like they were all taken in the same place. The images were grouped in threes on the walls as triptychs, and although you know that the photos were taken on three different continents you have to question yourself as they are not labelled, so it's unclear as to where each image was taken. I like the way Palmer has managed to create a link between these places via something as simple as photographs.

Action Plan

One of my current strengths and skills is being organised. I always keep my folders and notes organised, making things easier when it comes down to writing essays. I keep everything in folders which are clearly labelled, making finding notes easier and quicker. I have also never missed a deadline whether it’s for a simple weekend assignment or for a whole terms unit of work. I think this is down to the fact that I’m so organised.

Another one of my strengths is that I am always willing to try new things and to have a go. I will experiment with different photography techniques for example before I evaluate everything; this gives me more to write about and debate.

My main weakness is that I’m not very motivated, I can organise all my notes and work but I’m not very good at actually sitting down and writing an essay and putting everything together. I also need to improve on my written work, my vocabulary is very limited and I struggle to structure an essay properly. I think this is due to the fact that I don’t plan, I take my notes and jump straight into it without thinking about where I’m going to start or what the main point of my essay is.

I think to improve on these weaknesses I should make a study timetable, which should help to motivate me. I can look at it and think right I’m going to do one hour of revision, or spend 20 minutes writing the introduction to my essay, this should also help me organise my time even more. I need to also make a plan before I start writing an essay so I know what I’m going to write about and what I aim to prove in my essay. I should also look at examples of essays and how they are structured so that I get an idea of how to structure my own. I think I will also improve as my course goes on, and I write more and more essays.

I will know when I have improved simply by my grade, as my essay writing become clearer and more structured then I will be achieving better grades, and also I will find writing an essay a lot simpler, it won’t take me as long. I will also become more motivated to do things and writing essays will become easier.

I’m not going to set a deadline for these goals because I think that I will slowly improve throughout the two years I am on my course, it will be a gradual thing. I can check back at the end of my course or as I am going along just to see if an improvements are being made.

New Techniques

Since starting my photography course there have been a few interesting and creative techniques that I've always wanted to try out, but just haven't had the chance to, due to lack of proper equipment and experience etc.
But now I seem to be moving down my list pretty quickly!
First of all: LIGHT TRAILS!
Now most photographers would say light trails are easy and can be taken in a matter of minutes, and I have to say now I agree with them. I thought at first to achieve such an interesting image there would be all sorts of editing and manipulation to do, but there really isn't. All you need is a long exposure and a steady tripod.

Second on my list was macro, which is basically just really, really close up stuff. At first I was struggling to think of a good subject to photograph. I'm not a fan of creepy crawlies or wildlife, and household objects can be a little bit dull. Thankfully however my course provided the perfect excuse!

We were asked to do some product shots, the first 4 were basic things, like a kettle, salt and pepper pot etc. But for the 5th item we could pick anything. I chose jewellery, giving me the chance to use the macro lens.

The last thing on my list is developing film in the darkroom. I'll admit I actually didn't really want to do this. I can cope quite well with just doing digital photography, but it didn't have choice in the matter. I had to do it for my course.

Now the darkroom is exactly what you think, it's a small dark room, and if you're claustrophobic like me then it doesn't sound inviting.

I did it though, I went in there and developed my film, it was a long exhausting day and I didn't like it, but at least now I can say 'Yes I do know how to develop film.'

You want us to photograph dancers???

So last Tuesday I had a pretty hectic day running around photographing dance students. Now I bet you're all thinking 'Wow dancers, lots of interesting poses and shots available there!' And you're not wrong, I thought that too at first, but seeing as how this was my first shoot with actual 'models' it was very challenging.

As well as sorting out the lighting and set etc. There was also the problem of getting the 'models' to feel comfortable, and trying to get across what you want from the end picture. Which is not easy when you're faced with 4 scared and nervous dance students!

The day overall was busy, after fighting for studio space and taking hundreds of light meter readings I'll admit I was ready for pulling my hair out, but after looking at the end results it was worth it.

In The Studio...

Ok so I'm a few weeks into my photography course now, though I must say it really doesn't feel like it. Time flies when you're having fun I guess.
Anywho we've spent quite a lot of time in the photography studio, learning about lighting and light meters and playing around with f stops and shutter speeds and white balance and various other things that I have never even heard of before, and most things that I haven't even thought about when I have previously taken a photo, until now that is.
It's taken a lot of concentration to work out and a lot of time to understand, but I think it's worth it. Photos that I'm taking now are a hell of a lot better than ones I have previously done, even if they do take at least half and hour longer to do.

These are just a few of the ones I did first, experimenting with white balance and lighting. I used a macro lense to really pick out the detail on the lighter. I then added a filter to block out the background, making it appear darker and more black, it also eliminated the creases from the material which also added more emphasis on the lighter making it stand out more.

On day two in the studio we got the chance to do some portraits for the Web Design students. Now being Web Design students and not models they didn't really have a clue as to what they wanted, which was good in a way as we got to be more creative and try different shots rather than be stuck doing plain passport style photos.
I don't think any of them were very happy about being models for the day, but at least I got some good photography practice in!

New Beginnings

To say I’m a professional photographer isn’t exactly correct, although hopefully someday I’ll be able to say I am.
From an early age I have always had a keen interest in film and photography, whether it’s going out and taking pictures of the world as I see it, or creating short films and music videos with my friends, you’ll always find me behind a camera, because to me there is no better place to be.
I’d say I was quite lucky growing up, in that my family also showed an interest in taking pictures, so there was always a camera lying around.
As I got to high school I decided that I wanted to make films, I wanted to be a film director, and set my mind on working in Hollywood with the likes of Steven Spielburg and Michael Bay. I studied media studies and theatre studies, but always kept photography in the back of my mind. I also studied art and design, and my art tutors pushed me to do photography, saying I had natural talent behind a camera.
As I progressed through college I was having doubts about film making. I continued to pursue it, but that doubt was always in the back of my mind. Eventually I realised that photography was what I wanted to do.
So here I am enrolled in a photography course. Typing away at this computer.
My biggest influence is Joshua Hoffine. Joshua Hoffine is a horror photographer who focuses mainly on childhood fears and nightmares. His photographs are like stills from a horror film, and he even admits that at times he feels like he's on a movie set. He creates all his props and costumes himself and only uses Photoshop to fine tune his work.
I love the fact that he dedicates his whole life to his work and spends months on one shot, from coming up with an idea to creating the set and costumes. He even uses his own kids in his shoots.

For those of you who are actually still reading and want to know where I’m hoping to end up, then I’m going to have to disappoint you and say I don’t really know. I’d thought about going on to do forensic photography, like they do on CSI, then again I might go into fashion photography. I could even go into horror photography like Josha Hoffine. I have no clue. At this point I’m still open to new ideas...