Chas Bedford's OCA learning blog (BA Photography 2 • Landscape, Place and Environment)
The most obvious change at the allotments during February is the short period of snowfall (unusual in Maidstone, which is in the ‘snow shadow’ of the North Downs) which I took advantage of by making more frequent visits. This means that the snowfall episode will appear progressive in my eventual timelapse slideshow rather than a... Continue Reading →
Find an advert from a magazine, newspaper or the internet, which has some clearly identifiable signs. Using the example above to help you, list the signs. What are the signifiers? What is signified? Read Barthes’ essay to help clarify your understanding of these principles. You might find Barthes hard going at first, but please persevere.... Continue Reading →
The early part of this section is familiar territory. I have already discussed ‘Marlboro Man’ in my response to Exercise 3.4 together with the Consulate ‘Clear as a mountain stream’ campaign. I discuss Richard Prince and other appropriators in my response to Exercise 2.4. This is the third time, so far, that Barthes ‘Rhetoric of... Continue Reading →
Read Deborah Bright’s essay ‘Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men’, available online. As well as writing widely on photography, Bright is also an established practitioner. This text was written in 1985, and some of the things Bright argues for have been achieved. The text provides a contextual insight (particularly in relation to American photography) and... Continue Reading →
Life, the Universe –in seventeen syllables- and Everything‘Haiku on haiku’ Chas Bedford 2021 The South East Regional Group (SERG) online meeting on Monday was a rather ‘different’ spark to creativity. Group coordinator Liz515728 had set us the challenge of producing an image and linked haiku, which pushed us all gently outside our comfort zones. Creative... Continue Reading →
I 'attended' two online meetings during January: an LPE coursemates group and the SE Regional group, which is multi-disciplinary. The activity was useful in kick-starting my motivation, which has been in hibernation during much of December and January. The two groups have, unsurprisingly, different dynamics and both are useful. In the LPE group, we all... Continue Reading →
Between Tier 4 restrictions and the subsequent national lockdown, I have not been able to visit the Chart Sutton site in January and it is very unlikely in February. Therefore, I have formally abandoned it as ‘plan A’ and will concentrate on the allotments. I made three visits to the allotments in January. Apart from... Continue Reading →
I have mixed feelings about the current project, ‘Landscape and gender’. One the one hand, it has introduced me to some new practitioners and at least one fascinating concept. One the other hand, it is arranged poorly, being a mass of non-sequiturs with only a passing connection to the title. Jesse Alexander, the author of... Continue Reading →
Landscape Lines 