Both a video catch-up and a written report was completed post submission of Assignment Three. In a similar way to Assignment One and Two I have relied on my note taking to continue addressing the points raised as I wait for the written report to arrive.
The next part of the course around editing is probably going to be the most difficult as I try and select the series to tell my story or the Ngawi story. I think it’s going to be imperative to figure out which angle I want to reflect and select those images that say that. As I’m now forced down the electronic route I also need to consider how this will look either as a virtual exhibition or as a draft book.
Returning to photographers I have already researched such as Killip will help focus my approach to the editing and thoughts around isolation, place and the male presence. Discussions with my tutor also raised other artists work such as Mark Neville, Jo Coates and Sophie Gerrard. I have also looked at more formal styles and approaches, but this is not the format or interaction I want with the residents of Ngawi. Neither them or I would be comfortable with this and I don’t think I will get the best out of them if I try and reproduce this approach. If I set up a location like Lau then I would get tourists rather than the people of Ngawi and that’s not the narrative I want for this project.
I have found that printing the images and using a blank wall has helped with the editing process and I think I will continue to do this and record progress in my Work in Progress part of my blog. I find the physical image a lot easier to move and link and show the flow than an on-line platform. Parting with images I really like will be difficult and wanting to include all aspects of the various visits and experiments could make the book/exhibition too large so being strict around what works and what doesn’t will very much be an iterative process.
Michele Usher 