Final Evaluation

This is my final evaluation of all of the work that I have done both leading up to, and during, the examination period. At the end I will sum up how I feel about my work in general and how I feel I have linked back to the exam paper.

At the start of the exam period I chose to base my work on the premise of the 'Passing of Time'. I chose this starting point because I had looked at many photographers, including Alexey Titarenko, who's work could be linked to the 'Passing of Time' during the course of the year and even during my GCSE course. By relooking at this work and researching some further artists/photographers I was able to successfully plan out what I was going to do for the exam. As I researched the different photographers and their different styles I was able to develop different ideas and look at different ways that I could link to and how the 'Passing of Time'.

My research into the 'Passing of Time' photography has helped me to find different ways and different techniques that can help me to link to the 'Passing of Time'. My artist research and even my research log influenced my final images because by researching the different people and their end products I learned new camera technique and even editing techniques too. I was able to do different types of photography as I learnt about people trails and long exposure, time lapse and multiple imagery.

I think that the main influence on my overall exam work was Alexey Titarenko. He was the main reason I chose to do the 'Passing of Time' exam piece. I chose it because I had worked on his photography before, it was familiar to me, and I enjoyed photographing in his style. I therefore thought that it would be a good opportunity to test both my skills and my equipment. Going back and doing work on Alexey Titarenko again was good as I was able to do more detailed and in depth research this time around.

In my preparatory shoots I linked to a number of different photographers and used many different techniques. I looked at different ways to show the 'Passing of Time' and different camera uses that I could incorporate into my work. I went with a more lighthearted tone for my photos than some of the photographers who's work I was linking to. However, as I went along I quickly realised that there was a moral undertone in most of the artist's work. Overall, I enjoyed my time working on my prep shoots and feel that I gained valuable experience whilst doing them. I feel that my work had a natural progression to it. I started off with something quite simple and as I went on my edits and photos got more complicated and more technical.

My exam shoots were, I feel, the next level up from what I had already achieved in my prep shoots. I wanted to go out and take some more photos that linked to the work of Alexey Titarenko as I think that that was the most obvious choice that linked to the 'Passing of Time' and he want mentioned in the exam paper too. But I also wanted to show a different angle on that specification. And so I chose to also do another shoot on the work of John Clang. This was at completely at the other end of the photographic spectrum to Titarenko's work. People trails is all about how you use the camera and then you can change it on the computer whereas, John Clang's work is completely different. It doesn't matter how you take the photo because it is a type of physical experiment and so you use your own hands to make the image. Then, jumping back to the other end of the spectrum again, I did a shoot linking to Tom Hussy. His work is comprised of computer experiments. You use your camera to take the image and then you use the computer to make the final edit. Overall, then, as well as being the next step along on my photographic journey, my exam shoots all showed the 'Passing of Time' but all in very different ways.

During this exam period I have done several different physical experiments. This meant that I had to use the scanner we have in our classroom. Once I had completed a physical experiment I would have to scan it into the computer and then put it onto my blog. Also, I was able to further expand my knowledge of photoshop whilst working on my computer experiments for component two. I used several new techniques including, blur gallery, colour manipulation and the liquify tool. Also, for my final examination blog I gave a simpler layout so that it was more easily navigated.

I think that, overall, I responded to the exam paper quite well. I feel that all the shoots that I have done and all the images that I have finished link well the 'Passing of Time' exam piece. I feel that they all show the 'Passing of Time' in their own way. I think that most, if not all, of my final images were successful and achieved what they were meant to. Which was, quite simply, to link to both the 'Passing of Time' and the photographer in who's style they were taken. One of the strongest areas of my work is my use of the various computer programs that we are supplied with. I used many different tools on photoshop that, overall, improved the outcomes of most of my images, especially the people trails series. However, there are a few areas of my work where I would want to improve. The positioning of my camera and tripod during shoots for example. For some of the shoots the tripod I was using was not overly stable and so my final images were affected, this was mainly for the people trails shoot (Shoot 1). Also, on the second shoot (John Clang) the quality of my tripod let me down when aligning the images for my final piece as not all of the parts of the different images lined up.

Overall then, I feel that even though there are some areas of my examination that could have been improved or be improved upon in the future, I did a good job in linking to the exam paper and making all of my images link to the 'Passing of Time' and their relevant photographers. I have really enjoyed doing this exam, learning newer techniques, researching new photographers and their work.