Theme Two - Sense of Place
Assignment 208 : Principles of Location Photography
Theme : Sense of Place
Title : Treeve Cottage
Intentions and purpose of the photography to be undertaken
Having experienced a traumatic time during recent months involving complex emotional and proffessional concerns, I needed to escape for a time to clear my mind and be away from everyday pressure. I wanted a holiday but also needed somewhere I could feel easy with no pressure.
Treeve Cottage is the family home of my Aunty Margaret, it's in Sennan, Cornwall and is within walking distance of Lands End and 350 miles away from home.
It's an old stone farmers cottage which has had very little modernitation since being built.
It was where I spent all my summers as a girl with most of my mum's side of the family.
I was really able to relax whilst I was there and together my Aunt, Mum and I spent lazy days chatting and being creative.
My Aunt is an artist, she is feircly independent, and self sufficient. Her home is basic but all her daily needs are met.
I wanted to capture a visual sense of the place.
Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others)
I wanted to take the opportunity to concentrate on this project as a way of distracting myself from the issues I was escaping from. I initially started with a number of portraits showing my aunt in her every day environment but we were being lazy and on holiday and the shots were lacking variety.
I had undertaken a project for some course work - "where I live" and was really pleased with the outcome. It worked well for me, I liked the images I produced and I took hundreds of shots.
They can be seen here on my flickr account
Apparently socioligists and psychologists have undertaken extensive research in relation to 'sense of place' I found this paragraph which i felt helped explain why i was drawn to Cornwall as a place of sanctuary.
from wikipedia:
The special bond which develops between children and their childhood environments has been called a ‘primal landscape’ by human geographers.[6] This childhood landscape forms part of people’s identity and constitutes a key point of comparison for considering subsequent places later in life. As people move around as adults, they tend to consider new places in relation to this baseline landscape experienced during childhood.[7]
A friend of mine Sabine Theole is a London based photographer, (she's often reviewed in The Guardian Camera Club).
Sabine and i have had many discussions about 'seeing' and because i have a lot of respect for her work and creativity when she told me about a course she attended last year The Art of Miksang Photography I did more research.
This kind of photography is based around meditation and has Budist principles, I've looked at it but not with much depth, it obviously needs more study, but it is definitely art which is inspirational for me.
This is how it is described by The Miksang Insitute
Miksang, at its most basic level, is concerned with uncovering the truth of pure perception. We see something vivid and penetrating, and in that moment we can express our perception without making anything up—nothing added, nothing missing. Totally honest about what we see—straight shooting.
I intend to use some of the principles of Miksang in my work
The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why
I will use two cameras, Olympus PEN E-PL2 and Olympus E620
The PEN has a 14-42mm M.Zuiko Digital lens, it is a micro four thirds camera and I use it because it is light weight, portable and I am familiar with the settings. I will also use this camera/lens to produce shots with a wider aspect.
I am most comfortable with my Olympus E620 which has a 40-150mm zoom lens. It is bigger of course but I have been using it for a lot longer and I feel I know this camera better. I will also use this lens for the closer detailed shots.
Both cameras have a range of built in 'ART' features, settings on the camera which produce a variety of different effects. I often use these settings and for this project I will be using the dramatic art filter setting on the E-PL2 primarily because this creates a great effect when demonstrating texture.
I intend to shoot in RAW and load the images on to my MAC.
I will use Aperture to adjust contrast, saturation, brightness and levels etc and I will also use Nik softwear - Color Efex 4 and Silver Efexs post processing. I am not too familiar with these editing programmes so will be using the preset filters.
Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message
I will mostly shoot in aperture priority mode to create a sense of depth, but I also intend to adjust the ISO settings to help in areas of low lighting.
I will use the zoom lens to capture close detail but will also use a wide angled lens to create a more full image.
I will look for scenes which demonstrate the theme and will only use available light, this is likely to be natural sun light so it is likely that most of the work will be undertaken during the day.
I will shoot in RAW to allow more scope with post processing and will shoot in both mono and colour.
I don't intend to use a tripod my reason for this is primarily because I don't want to be an invasive photographer in someones home. A large bit of kit like a tripod has potential to be cumbersome and it will be difficult to be discrete. I will therefor have to work at steadying the equipment especially during low light conditions.
I will shoot both inside and outside the property focusing on spaces which are used regularly and contribute to the theme.
If I embrace even some of the basic principles of Miksang, I will compose the shot well enough so that it doesn't require any post cropping or processing.
How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message
As already stated I don't intend to use the tripod so I will be uttilising natural light or light from low watt bulbs around the home. Having undertaken some research during my course work I knew I was looking for areas around the building which highlighted certain textures or shapes. This also meant the shadows became an important part of the image too. I will also look for areas which are framed by light or the light and shadow create a frame.
The weather in Cornwall during March is unpredictable and the windows in an old cottage aren't huge so I don't expect that the house will be bathed in bright sunlight and am hoping that will contribute somewhat to the mood.
Safety considerations
I am familiar with this house and the surroundings, I know where I am so don't anticipate any dangers. I won't stand on chairs or try to take difficult shots from strange angles, I will shoot what I see. I put some thought into the use of the tripod and for the reasons already outlined decided not to use it. I guess not only would the tripod be invasive it would present a health and safety concern, the cottage is cosy and a tripod would have taken a lot of space meaning the three adults in the house would have to struggle around it.
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