Due to the current restrictions put in place because of COVID-19, this has meant that I have not been able to access the studio in university as much as I would have liked to.
For one of my other modules (Studio Practice) it is essential that I use studio lighting and other equipment to produce still life work. I managed to use the studio twice before lockdown restrictions were imposed, but I still wanted to use the studio a third time to produce as varied as a response to the brief as I could. Therefore, I attempted to set up my own mini studio at home.
To set up the ‘mini studio’ I simply placed some coloured pieces of slightly reflective plastic on a table next to a large window. I wanted the lighting to be even and bright, and being close to the window allowed this.
Overall I am quite happy with the images I produced. I photographed the fruit later on in the day as the window was at the back of the house, and this meant that I had around an hour or two to shoot, which was sufficient for shooting. Due to the reflective nature of the backdrop I was shooting against, I wasn’t able to use flash, but this wasn’t an issue as the lighting was bright enough, and I was happy with how the images looked without flash. I also liked the shadows produced by the positioning of the lighting, as this adds interesting dimension to the images.
As I was shooting flat lay, I didn’t need an extensive backdrop, however in future I may need to purchase a backdrop off a site like eBay which isn’t too expensive. Also, I may choose to purchase some cheap studio lights if I want to conduct more studio shoots in future, and doing so would allow me to shoot at any time and not have to rely on the opening hours of the studio.
Another challenge I have encountered due to lockdown restrictions is not being able to visit galleries or go to talks hosted by photographers. However, several galleries and talks have been converted into virtual versions which I have been able to engage with. I may plan to check for online versions of exhibitions/ talks in future if I am not able to physically attend them.
Finally, for another module (Photography and the Printed Page) my concept focuses on portraying how the majority of the most deprived places in the UK are in the North, requiring me to visit a number of places to photograph them. I have been able to visit Blackpool and Liverpool and planned to visit Darwen, Manchester and Middlesborough but due to lockdown restrictions I have not been able to do so. To overcome this problem I may choose to change my idea to reflect the neglect in a certain place (such as Blackpool) or I may have to just use the images I already have to reflect my concept.
I plan to discuss this issue with my tutor next week to decide on the best course of action, as I have been making use of virtual tutorial opportunities via Google Hangouts to receive feedback and ask questions regarding my work.
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