From my current project by looking at family and Environment, I am looking to move onto my own project based on where I explore my own environment that is of particular significance of me.  I have completed activities recently by trying to include influences from archives when and where I could.  This has included my own personal archive and public archives such as the ones at Alliance Francaise.  I have found it particularly interesting taking shoots of documentary and Tableaux and understand the principles of how this can be implemented in my work for this year.

After this past year since joining Hautlieu, I have explored many different topics, some which I enjoy particularly more than others which essentially some have stimulated my creative desire to explore certain topics further.  I believe that from this, I have a strong understanding of certain subjects which I believe I can strive in.  I particularly enjoyed looking at my landscape: Abstract and Surrealism, and structure topics that I believe I have explored the differing environments which fascinate me which has influenced my decision to persue looking at my own Christian environment.  However topics which I feel I haven’t felt I have enjoyed as much is particularly the portrait work that I have completed.  This is because portrait work for me I feel limits me in expressing my on views and opinions where landscpae photography opens up a lot more opportunity in order to be creative.

When working alongside Jonny Briggs and Tanja Deman I feel I have learned to appreciate different motives of photography and broadened my horizon in possible choices when considering how I can explore my independent project. By working with both artists, I have gained skills that are transferable in how I can construct a photograph in order to convey a particulate message like Jonny, or with like Tanja, how we can show others how we see the world through or eyes.  With this I am more confidant, considerate and careful in when I construct a photograph, or when I look for something to document in a certain way.

By looking at both very different photographers who look at different genres, I now can look for specific details and wider composition within photographs that help define the image and has influenced the format in the particular photographs relating to my independent project.  I have a strong interest in expressing my own feelings towards a particular interest, and with this independent project which I shall explore my own Christianity, I can focus on the specific details which I have learned from my previous topics to help convey what the meaning of faith and Christianity is to me.  This concept will be very significant this year in how I use this composition to explore my feelings at a certain time towards a particular point in my Christian Journey.

One major aim is to explore to the full extent of my own current state of emotions and feelings at a particular point in my life, with the help of archives, producing links between now and the past and so hopefully I can elaborate where I have come from, where I am, and where I may be going next.  In the past I have worked on a lot of photograph manipulation, particularly in my landscape work,  However in my own independent project I shall be looking to work on a more documentary approach to this where I shall do much less manipulation than in the past.  This is because I want to focus more on the realities of my life, and don’t want to distort the truth from the truth and I believe minimal manipulation can help paint a most accurate picture of my Christian journey.  Therefore my work I expect will be a much more simple approach in my editing process where I will particularly look to enhance certain colors or make minor changes that help enhance the truth of how I feel.