Sunday Introduction

I have been busy at work and not spent much time on this blog or on my studies :( But have started reading "The photograph" which is a book that accompanied the course material, and have bought MF's "The Photographer's eye" and Annie Leibovitz: "At Work" and a book on Ansel Adams' colour photographs!! I know! AA in colour when he is best known for B&W landscapes.

I started Annie's book first for no particular reason. Just  browsing through some of her photos and the ones that stand out (at first glance) are the one of Yoko and John with Yoko fully clothed and John Naked and in the foetal position and the ones of the Queen. The ones of the Queen are particularly striking. The Queen and her kingdom. alone.  despite the pomp and the ceremony of all the royal garb and the sumptuous background that are the rooms and grounds of Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty's solitude and burden remain no lighter than those of a religious hermit. Very sad. And then skipped to the book on AA in colour. wow. A treasure trove of lost work. well not lost but hidden from general knowledge.

So, my tools (so far) are the coursework material and 4 books. Knowing how i study is not going to make life easier for readers of this blog. In a word: Chaos. I wont read one piece at a time but rather will draw from each at various stages and then from none at others!

I want to start this course with a the joy and exuberance of this celebrant! here goes......

Little by little

Well here goes. tHis is tHe first time in almost 10 years tHat I've looked at course materials and certainly tHe first time tHat I've applied myself to a visual medium. I'm really excited about tHis course  the art of photography and I've set up tHis blog to map my learning and development.


So, pHotograpHy, wHat do I know about taking pictures? tecHnically, probably just tHe basics. I know that tHere are various rules of compositions tHat have evolved over tHe centuries of western art that give a picture a sense or ratHer are calculated to draw tHe eye into tHe detail. So really the next question is do tHose same rules apply to non-western art and if not wHat can we learn from tHat. I feel like I'm getting aHead  of myself tHough;

Anyway, back to this learning log, I've set up my account, added a picture, registered with NUS and now have no further "admin" tasks to do. Ah, yes, now I have to learn how to see, and importantly, how to take tHat picture wHich will elude me (I hope) for the rest of my life, tHereby giving me endless opportunities to take pHoto's that will hopefully, speak to otHers too.