Finished PVC essay today.... At Last!! I am now free to think about other things. This week we have been given both of the photographic briefs that we have to complete by the end of March. Not only have we had to come up with the shoot ideas but research and plan them and present them to the relevant lecturers for critique and approval. My second tutorial is tomorrow just before lunch. All this and preparing for New York trip next week! Getting very excited now. Aaron Schman gave us his 'guide to New York' talk at the end of his PPRD lecture yesterday. He broke the hip neighbourhoods down for us by description to get our imaginations going and made a note of all the photographic exhibitions that are on while we are there. We will visit three photographers while we are there....


1) Ex Brit, Platon, Mainly portraiture and documentary magazine features. I looked him up on the net.......






2)Philip Toledano, another ex Brit.... Having seen his photos, I am really looking forward to meeting him!






....and 3) Chris Vereene, American documentary photographer, who has over the last 15-20 years documented his large family from American small town Gainsborough

Chris Floyd came and spoke to us yesterday in the Lecture Theatre about his 17 year career in the industry. He was a very approachable guy and gave an entertaining and inspirational talk about his experiences, his work practices and ethos. Really enjoyed listening to him, and he had some really relevant advice
AUCB has given us X3 really good speakers so far!

Robert Capa 'The Falling Soldier'

Dorothea Lange.'The Migrant Mother'

H.S.Wong. 'The Baby on Shanghai Railway Station'

Still working hard on my essay for the PVC (Photography and Visual Culture) unit of the course. I have chosen the question ' What impact has digital imaging had on Photo-journalism. Dealing with the question I have had to look at the history of the photograph and its relationship with the truth, and also how long before Photoshop came along, photographers have tried to manipulate their viewers. Researching this point I looked at important iconic images that are strongly believed to have been staged. Here are three of the most famous. They were all extremely powerful images when they were published and had an extreme effect on the public that viewed them. Wong's photo of the baby sitting on the bombed platform of Shanghai Railway Station was seen by approx 136 million people in the USA and is widely believed to have been instrumental in preparing the American public psychologically for war with Japan. Where there is definitely ethical questions to answer about these images and their authenticity, there is absolutely no denying the power of the photograph.

In Memoriam: Dennis Stock, 1928-2010 (YA20100113-Dennis Stock)

Dennis Stock, Magnum photographer, 1928-2010.



It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Dennis Stock, 81, on Monday night. A photographer with Magnum Photos for nearly 50 years, he was one of the first Americans to join the agency. Dennis was particularly well known for his intimate and now iconic photographs of James Dean for Life magazine, which were taken shortly before the young actor's untimely death in 1955. He’ll also be remembered for his unique and often atmospheric photographs of the New Orleans jazz scene of the late 1950’s, which were published in his book, Jazz Street. In the 1960's, he documented the world of the counterculture, ultimately publishing the noted monograph, California Trip. Later in life, he began to work more extensively in color, attracted especially to the natural world. Dennis was the author of 27 books and his work is in museum collections around the world, including the International Center of Photography, New York, the Chicago Institute of Art, and the Musée d’Arte Moderne de la ville de Paris. He will be greatly missed. Here is how Dennis described his life as a photographer: "I have been privileged to view much of life through my cameras, making the journey an enlightened experience."
-Alex Webb, President, Magnum Photos

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What strikes me when I look at Dennis Stock's iconic photographs is the interesting way that he has approached his subjects and the strength of his sometimes unconventional composition, that catches your eye and demands a longer look from you. - Madeleine

I return to college tomorrow after the 3 week Christmas break. I spent yesterday afternoon looking at some (more) professional bloggs by photographers that Aaron had suggested we looked at and realize that I need images on my site!! It is my New Years Resolution to make my blogg more personal and interesting. I need to bite the bullet and post some of my own images, as well as images that inspire me and links that I think are worth everyone looking at......Just need to pick the brains of my younger more computer literate colleagues to find out how to physically do it! How sad is that!?......

It is the penultimate day of the Christmas Holidays and I'm afraid that I have not blogged for the whole of them. The briefs for the technical workshops were completed and handed in the day before we broke up and we had our critique on the final day which was a new experience for me. The tone of the critique was initially harsher than I expected but fair, and I think the lecturers mostly echoed my own criticisms of my work as well as pointing out a few more that I might have missed!!. I left feeling that I had a lot of work to do to get up to standard. The first day back is the Digital image unit critique. It was my worst unit and I struggled with photoshop, producing quite a weak image and now knowing the scrutiny that I have to face, I am not looking forward to my first lesson. I will keep you posted!.......

The shoot on Monday didn't go too well... I am too ashamed to reveal in this public domain my schoolgirl error which meant I had to reshoot, but the day just got progressively worse when the butcher told me he wasn't going to let me come back...Too busy apparently. I drove around Dorset for 3 1/2 hours looking for a traditional butchers that would let me in but they all seemed to think ! was from the Animal Liberation Front and the door was firmly slammed in my face time after time. Back to the drawing board on that one then......
Instead of researching interesting, exciting current photography highlights to put in my blog - I have spent all week, 12 hours a day working in the colour darkrooms trying to get the prints for the Technical Brief crossed of my list.I have been getting home about 8 and falling asleep by 9....I am suffering from a lack of vitamen D and have to squint in the daylight!