On Shoulders of Giants - Final Integrated Assignment

Just the other day a well know X Factor Judge criticised the new BBC talent show The Voice as being a copy of theirs. As another well known DJ on BBC Radio 2 retorted, wasn't the X Factor a copy of Pop Idol, and if you can remember further back New Faces. Rather than being critical about using certain aspects of a previous show and blending them with your own shouldn't that be congratulated!


So what does this have to do with my Photographic assignment. This project commenced at the beginning of March and will end on the 13th June with the end of year exhibition. Hopefully here I will present a set of images that are unique and distinctive. Will this be a totally new concept that  has not been influenced by others before ? I doubt it.  I have purposely sought out inspiration from aspiring photographers past and present. I have taken a little from one and a little from another, I have then applied my own take on how I want to create the final image. As with the TV show analogy art has a long lineage that can be traced back to the cave paintings. Each artist that followed has developed their skill and creativity from these beginnings of humanity.




For my images the starting point was to come up with a concept, this was the language of flowers -  Floriography. I wanted to create a high key background similar to the one used by Nick Knight in his Flora images. To create this I used John Blakemore's lighting set up from his book the Black and White Photography Workshop. I then captured the flora in a style in keeping with Karl Blossfeldt. Then all were then contact printed in the Gum Bichromate process before digitising and finally manipulating in photoshop.




One of the main challenges I was set by the lecturing staff this year was to provide a strong and creative concept to a collection of images. Following the Professional Studies Assignment, were the use of literature was employed to inspire photographic image. I took on board the leaning outcomes from this assignment and spent time researching different possibilities. It was the Floriography concept that best suited the gum processes and I hope this has been demonstrated in the final imagery.




I really feel I have stood on the shoulders of some major photography giants!