25th January 2020
Think of a place that holds meaning for you. Note down the reasons why it matters. (For reasons of practicality, choose somewhere accessible – see Exercise 3.10)
Think about how you could photograph that place in a way and in a light that reflects its meaning to you. Is there a particular viewpoint in your minds’ eye? A particular time of day? Make a photograph exactly as you have pre-visualised it and try to convey its special meaning to you in the photograph.
Does the photo reflect your memory at all? Do the colours seem right? If not, change them – and anything else that would help the photo resonate more powerfully.
OCA Foundations in Photography Course Folder pg115
I am always writing about the abuse side of my relationship with my ex because at the moment I am trying to forget those magical times, they make me mourn and I cannot stand it. My ex and I were soulmates, there is no doubt about that but some days, weeks and months were unbearable. I will always love him and to be honest I do not think I will ever want anyone else. The psychologists, counsellors and well meaning friends and family keep on about trauma bonding and Stockholm syndrome but for me to get through this I have to say it was love mixed with tragedy after tragedy otherwise I will go insane.
One of my favourite places, and I have begun crying as I write this, is lowestoft sea front. Three years of walking, holding hands and laughing, sitting and just being in the moment, photographing things and talking by the sea, God I miss him.
I have decided because this is connected with memories I will photograph the areas that I remember talking to him about with my Polaroid cameras because, to me, they give off a timely dated feel to the images they produce. So they will look like an old memory – well hopefully.
I have decided to use my Fuji Instax Wide 300 and shoot in black and white and colour with this model and my Instax Mini which will all be black and white images.
Due to this special place being a collection of memories because it is a journey along part of the promenade in lowestoft, I have decided to approach the end image slightly different than just a single image.
I have decided that my single image will contain a collection of images in instant photograph format. I want to get across that ‘snap’ of moments we do when we are out and about on a date, those little fragments of images which do not have to be in focus, a perfect composition or have the best lighting because they are recording a personal precise moment and are not therefore necessary flawless. How many times has the sun caught your eyes and you get the dreaded sun blindness in what you are looking at, a quick turn of the head and what you see is only partially taken in and out of focus? Those images are real and how exciting if you can reproduce those.
Below are some close up shots of my chosen images in instant photographs, I have placed them on a black portfolio for the background and shot with a house ceiling day light bulb directly over head. The reason I shot it this way is because this is another way of making these real, as though a real person is taking the photograph of them for FB or any other online platform, light glare and even the shadows of my hands etc… are all part of my composition within the smaller cropped images. The larger one I will leave shadow free to make a statement – ‘This is it, this is my significant place!’
Below is my final image, title: ‘This is it, my significant place, hidden within’
I have made sure with the final image that it isn’t picture perfect, again because I wanted it to be real so I have not re-shot it to take out any flaws. Life isn’t perfect after all and this exercise is about a life moment. I have left the glare in and white acrylic spots on my background and even the finger prints on the top right photograph because the fingerprints where I have clumsily handled them also make this photograph personal, after all it had to hold meaning for me.
dawntomlinphoto.wordpress.com 
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