Week 2 started at much the same pace as the previous week, lots of reading, research, videos to watch and a whole host of reflection time, as I have started to get into the rhythm of the MA Photography course.
This week's module focused on how photography is tied up with a range of other forms of media and discourses. From film, to art and drawings there are a wide range of similarities and interdisciplines between these visual arts.
I was particularly intrigued by the observation by Roland Bathes that a photograph is essentially an expression of the past whereas film, albeit just a series of still images added together, is a moving image that gives us the present. Peter Wollen's article Fire and Ice from 1984 spoke about photography being like a point and a film a line .
Reflecting on these articles I started to look at a number of my own images and was struck by my almost unconscious attraction to creating a sense of motion within my photographs. I love playing around with long and multiple exposures and in creating a movement. I have begun to ask the question of whether this type of image remains very much a single point frozen in time, or does it show an increased relationship with the art form of film.
This shot was taken earlier this week during the blue hour.
A single long exposure shot of 2.5 seconds, the moving tram compliments the second stationary one to give context but also that sense of travel and movement.
The connection to film is also increased when you consider the way this is shot. The camera held on a tripod and the shutter left open for the duration of the image in much the same way had I switched the cameras function to video mode rather than photo.
For this second image I have used a different technique, with a multiple exposure of two photographs layered on top of each other to create the blurred image similar to the one shown in my blog last week.
Whilst very different to the long exposure there remains a strong connection with film making where the film is a series of still images added together so this multiple layer effect is also a series of photographs.
With the added benefit of leading lines and the ghostly figure I do feel your eye is drawn into the image. Whilst the sense of movement is different to the trams, it is nonetheless there as you wander up the street ahead.
My journey into MA Photograpy has only just begun but I am already starting to see and appreciate both photographs and my own images in a new light. Over the coming weeks I will continue to share this experience with you, both in terms of my thoughts but also in the development of new and exciting images.