The last classroom session for AD7801 took place yesterday and we all handed in our ‘artefacts’, on time. Part of the assessment was to reflect on our experience of the projects we had undertaken. This post is largely an edited down version of that. However, what the formal evaluation doesn’t say is how much I learned from my fellow students, as well, of course, from Andy and Tony. It would be hard to imagine a more diverse set of projects; food, portraits; ‘product’; conceptual and documentary, nor to imagine a group of people so willing to help each other – with critical but supportive comments and/ or technical support. Whatever the outcome of the formal assessments, I think we, as a group, done good.
Looking back, as I suspected at the outset, geographically and thematically, I attempted too much. Time and the weather as well as the opportunities I found in Blaenavon meant that I concentrated more on the town than on the nearby villages. I would have sacrificed too much depth for breadth if I had tried to capture several distinct communities in a project of this scale. Similarly, I soon realised that I could not convincingly document the area’s history of iron and coal, the bones of which are so often close to the surface. In any case, I was, from the outset, less concerned with the relics and monuments of the past than with the active present of the area. The ‘travel’ motif that was present in my original proposal did survive to the degree that I was able to maintain a ‘stranger’s gaze’ and to see the ‘otherness’ of a place that is only 4 miles from where I live.
On the other hand, I came to envy the depth of understanding that Ian Macdonald and Huw Alden Davies, for example, bring to their work, which comes from a genuine familiarity with the people and the places they have photographed. I had a glimpse of this as, after spending a few days in the area, going into shops, watching the local rugby and football teams, I began to be noticed and people approached me to ask about what I was doing. Some asked to have their photographs taken and a number of people offered me advice about where to shoot. Perhaps I didn’t make the most of these opportunities but the experience helped to change my perspective on the area and so, on the project. There was a danger that the ‘empty streets’ theme that was developing in my mind would present an overly pessimistic, joyless version of Blaenavon. In fact, Blaenavon is warm, friendly and valleys humour is part of most public conversations. I have tried to convey some of this in my submission. I was tempted towards artfully arranged desolation at times but I have no patience with ‘designer suffering’ and gave this up early.
As a nascent photographer, I now understand better how to define and plan a project; to shoot with a purpose as well as to snatch a ‘moment’; to research what other photographers have made of similar projects, with similar and contrasting styles; to take time to reflect on the project and to spend time with the images to identify what is missing as well as to ‘perfect’ in post-production what is there; to examine those images that ‘work’ and understand why; not to be overly concerned with the technicalities; to think about the form through which to present the images much earlier in the process.
Hence, my final submission was a book that comprises 19 images that reflect my experience of a small part of one South Wales valley. The hope is that the images convey a sense of the emptiness that follows from economic decline; of the greyness that accompanies the weather and the geography of the area but which also makes visible the vibrancy, the edginess, the humour and the personality of a community that is getting on with getting on.
I will use the images from this project to engage with others as I develop my interest in urban photography. This is some really strong work being done in Wales at the moment (e.g. Gawain Barnard, Roger Tilley) that builds on a strong documentary tradition (e.g. David Hurn, Pete Davies, Walter Waygood) and some interesting meeting places (e.g. A Fine Beginning, ffoton, #urbanwales – see also #shaunjonesphoto; #nicktreharne; #sven804).
The expression, through photography, of Wales’ developing national identity and the processes of fundamental social change is something that interests me and would be a natural extension of my past work in politics and public policy. And that is not something I had anticipated before I began this project.
