I chose 25 images and showed them as a 'lightbox' slide show. I chose the images to display a variety of projects and ideas that I had been working on. With hindsight, and an important note for the future, I should have displayed half of the portfolio as an exploration of ideas and half of it depicting a singular project, as all of the reviewers said that they would have liked to see how I deal with an idea within a series of images. I had the greatest impact from the B&W images that I showed, especially the 'My Norfolk' series of images and the study of 'Mother and Child' (shown below) which both stemmed from the need to document what was around me and to try and give it meaning.
All of the reviewers were enthusiastic and encouraging, especially Nick and Harry. Nick was kind enough to comment that I had a very keen 'eye' and obvious talent, and Harry likened my work to David Hurn and Tony Ray-Jones (and gave me some very useful references from both photographers to look at, especially David Hurn's 'On Being A Photographer' co-written with Bill Jay). This was high praise indeed, as I am a keen fan of both photographers.
Jon Levy's comments were extremely valuable and gave great food for thought. Of note was his advice on finding a subject that is accessible, which can be worked on over a long period of time with relative ease. He also pointed out the need to put a 'stamp' on the work - to find something that is definitively 'me' and put something of that within the images. This complemented Harry Hardie's comment that a photographer should always have an idea as to what they want to capture - even 'accidents' are opportunities that are created by the photographer because he was looking for them in the first place. By having easy access to a place, it helps the photographer to continue to go back until he captures what it is he is searching for.
All in all, the advice has given me some useful tips on editing my work and has given me an insight as to how I should conduct my practice in the future.
