Digital Monsters...

A phone doesn't just ring anymore, it receives little brief digital letters of congratulations or devastating news. The phone can organise your weekly appointments, record sparks of genius monologued earlier that day. and it can also capture those daft occurrences, that you come face to face with in a photograph or video, you'll later show your friends. The majority of my cameras are all analogue, what is meant by this is that i use camera film for those in particular. The minority, you guessed it, are Digital cameras. A mobile phone has a camera built in as standard. If you own a phone without a camera in it, your out of touch with the modern world. Everyone has their phone on them at all times, i know for a fact that i worry if i have left my phone at home, " what if people need to phone me or text me?". I get home and no one has contacted me at all.

Ok so most of the time people have their phones on them. i'll use the camera function to either capture something funny i have spotted, to show my friends at a later date, But most of the time its to record or make reference to an idea for a future project or inspiration in its physical form. I've had the same mobile phone for a while now, its getting old and its getting broken soon to die like the latter before. occasionally the camera malfunctions and part of the image captured has been destroyed. ( you can see where i'm going with this ) The image has been taken but failed part way through the transaction of capturing and displaying the image on the phone. I have currently, two images 'partly' destroyed, the subject matter isn't important at this stage. i guess the worse my phone gets the better the DIGITAL DESTRUCTION gets.

Sign on, you crazy Diamond...

It has been three weeks since Graduating with a 2:1 in Photography BA (HONS) and i have now passed the denial stage of having to sign on. i have searched hi and low and around all four corners of Swansea to find a part time job. I have been Littering the streets with CV's, i have heard nothing for about two weeks now and money is starting to be an issue. If i want to make work i'm going to have some money for equipment and materials. If i want to enter exhibition Submissions i have to pay a little entry fee, for a chance to be envolved. i'm not looking for a job in Photography Straight away, i know i couldn't walk right into the industry, I just need an average part time job to help fund living costs. IS THERE ANY BODY OUT THERE!! WHO CAN GIVE ME A JOB.

POLARoid Explorer...

It has been about three weeks after i graduated from Swansea Metropolitan Uni, i have shot a single frame of work in a while. I have an exhibition in October in a small gallery by the Mumbles Bay. Instead of shifting work from the end of year Swansea and London shows, to Mumnbles, i want produce new work not only for my enjoyment of my practice but also to build on the portfolio.
A few Blogs back i mentioned a box i had inherited from my Father, the box contained old 35 and 120 mm film but also 20 year old Polaroid film. About two years ago my father delved into his staircase cupboard, waided through all sorts of objects, to reach his old 120 Camera.

He brought the camera out to show me and allow me to play about with, Strangley my Father discovered that he had left a Poloaroid back on the camera with a few shots left to be exposed. The film had been in a dorment state for about 10 years on so would not have been in the best condition. Nevertheless this didn't stop us from firing off a few shots just to see what had become of the stale Polaroid sheets. as we had antisipated most of the Polaroid chemicals had dried out but parts of the Polaroid sheet still had elements of mositure and chemicals still there to expose the Polaroid. I am still working with the destroyed photograph, but giving back a little more to the viewer.

One part of the sheet has an abstract destructive blemish, and the other half of the sheet has left a perfect exposed image. This leaves the viewer a 'teaser' as to what the image is of, yet still partly blinds the viewer to read anymore into what has been photographed. Now that i have a large box of old Polaroid i can be certain that most of it has dried out and will not produce anything on the sheets, but in terms of a Russian Roulette aproach,there maybe some sheets with a little chemical left in them to expose bits of the Polaroid. My goal is to hang six or seven Polaroid on the wall in the gallery. I am currently toying with the idea of presenting them back in there empty Cartridges.

The Graduate....

Well i got my 2:1, second class honours degree. I was a tense evening waiting for the online results, friends from other faculties were reciving their results, yet my results were still unavable. The social network status updates were rapildly updated with cheers of joy and some tears of sadness. I was going out of my mind with worry. It was all running through my head, I've failed, I've failed, I,ve failed. I eventually went to bed in a sleepless panic, i woke up the next morning having read a new set of status' i eventually got through to my results. 

My waiting had paid off and the 2:1 came my way. i was worried throughout the time period between the last hand in for assesment and the last exhibition show in Brick Lane. i was not sure about my disserataion passing but now i have the 2:1 i think may have passed that module. I'm not really sure if i want to know what my dissertation grade was, all im grateful for is that  i passed it. My supervisor for the dissertation promised me however my dissertation ends up, she would not allow me to fail.

And here's to you Mrs Robinson Sam loves you more than you will know wo wo wo.

The Truman Show.....

 Brick lane is ram packed, full of art and photography, enjoying the week and the atmosphere very much.

What is all the abundance about?....

Along with the portfolio's, i felt it also maybe a good idea to make electronic versions. I made a DVD portfolio for Marketing and Self Promo, and so now i was making some for real life. I  will only hand out to people that i want to possibly buy my work it contains a few extra PDF files of my work, an artist statement and visual CV. i will also place a few business cards and post cards for contacting me. I only made five as i can't see a high demand for my CD portfolio's. I have my print portfolio for people to look at, but if they want to take something home or to their place of work a simple CD is ideal.

On the road again....

The time has finally come, London is only a day away. I've been packing work up all week, wrapping sticking, and stuffing. collected my light boxes from the framers today, they were the last thing to pack. My father donated his wooden trunk, to haul the light boxes in a protected manner. I would rather  that, than leaving them to possibly break during the road trip to Brick Lane.

 Portfolio's are to head down with our exhibition work for later days after the opening night, it just gives interested parties the opportunity to look at more work for them to deliberate about purchasing a photographers work. the past seven days have seen me drown in bubble wrap and fragile tape. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to expensive prints and and portfolio's full of prints.. Tomorrow i shall be traveling on the train to london, the work shall be taken to london in two van loads for all sorts of must needs at the free range show.