Transitions

Transitions is a good title for this piece of work as I feel there have been many transitions in the months I have spent creating this work. Here I will think about some of these transitions, both in me and the landscape I chose to show. I would like to begin by writing about the reasons I chose Shop Lane for the work I completed.

Shop Lane is about a quarter of a mile from home so easily reachable from home. I walk along it almost every day and I see the changes on a daily basis. It has many features which would allow me to work from the same perspective for each exposure. It is part of a dynamic system both naturally and shows its position in a man made environment which nature alters. Shop Lane has existed through all the traumas man has made since it was built in the mid 1800s but remains as a constant. This was the main reason I chose it, it says to me whatever the world is experiencing this road is present, constant and reassuring.

First the transition within the landscape. At the outset I had visions of showing the four seasons our nation is renowned for. Whilst my photos show the dynamic changes within the landscape they are not the four equal and distinct seasons I was expecting to capture. The weather was mild through the Autumn even into December, the leaves fell from the trees and blew away but the foliage in the undergrowth took advantage of the mild weather and stayed around. We had two spells of cold weather in January and February but not the prolonged spells I remember as a boy. This set of images shows just one year it is not enough time to make any conclusions so it may be interesting to continue this project for several years.

Next the transition within me. I have changed a lot throughout the period of time I have spent on transitions. The biggest change has to be the way I now write. I knew I would struggle with Assignment 4. I used a lot of time reading and practising writing and referencing. There is still room for me to improve and I will be working hard to do so. I read Umberto Eco, How to write a thesis, Eco, “How to Write a Thesis”. and Cite them rite, Pears, “Cite them Rite”, whilst spending time reading and practising writing with the Royal Literary Fund Unknown, “Royal Literary Fund”, an informative website for learning and practising writing.

Finally the transition in the political world evidenced by the headlines I took from the Guardian newspaper Unknown, “The Guardian”, on the 28th of each month or if the 28th was a Sunday I show the headline from the previous Friday. When I started out I expected the main topic in the headlines to be Brexit with the odd curve ball such as a scandal or a disaster. It is no surprise that Covid 19 has been the main headline. In fact Brexit is only mentioned in one Headline with scandals in the Houses of Parliament and another announcing Prince Andrew not co-operating in the Epstein enquiry. The world is enduring a huge transition which I could not have foreseen at the begining. However the reassurance that places like shop lane endure, and all will return to equilibrium eventually is visible to me looking at the landscape all around

Taking these photographs has taught me to think how I can portray a message differently. A photograph iS a snapshot of time. Limited by the space in the frame.Taking the images monthly allowed me to show this dynamic system and how it changes. Using multiple views allows more space to be shown. With the outcome being this work shows the superficial change however my main message of reassurance is also their reinforced by the headlines. A single image would have been more difficult to show this message. I feel these images have allowed me to show the viewer time and space. Altering the perspective of both.

https://michaelgreenlevel2landscapeblog.photo.blog/2019/08/26/exercise-1-5-visualise-transitions/

My description of my initial thoughts and influences can be found here.

Work Cited.

Eco, Umberto. How to Write a Thesis. Second. MIT Press Translation Edition, 2015.

Pears, Richard. Cite Them Rite. 6th ed. Pear Tree Books, 2005.