Developing your personal project
Over the Summer holiday you should continue to develop your personal project. Think about what you have learnt during the research and making of your photo books. You should think about what worked well, what you enjoyed taking photographs of, and what you would like to develop further; which techniques and processes would you like to develop. The best way to develop is to take photographs consistently. Use your phone or a digital camera, you may borrow a film camera from the school too. During the 6 weeks holiday, it is an excellent time to take photographs. Remember the Paul Graham article 'Photography is easy, photography is difficult'.
Photo-books are a great way to look at the practice of a photographer, don't worry too much about what or how you will photograph. There are some books that you can loan from the school library or visit your local library. Second-hand bookshops are a great way to browse, and sometimes buy books as they can usually be bought cheaply. View the books on the shelves in the photography studio-please remember though, that they are reference books only and to be shared with various classes and shouldn't be removed from the room, but you can photocopy or scan pages or look at books online, there are also various bookshops where you can view books online through their videos, Mack books are a great example
Try to see as many photography exhibitions as you can. There are lots of free photography exhibitions including various small exhibitions within Tate Modern, the South London Gallery, Autograph, Marion Goodman Gallery, Somerset House, There are also several online exhibitions including Mopa, London Photography Diary, Artsy, NPG, Frank Online, Photo London, MoCP, All about Photo Some of these exhibitions open later in the year but you may still view the work of various photographers. Click on the images below to see a small selection of online exhibitions.
Photo-books are a great way to look at the practice of a photographer, don't worry too much about what or how you will photograph. There are some books that you can loan from the school library or visit your local library. Second-hand bookshops are a great way to browse, and sometimes buy books as they can usually be bought cheaply. View the books on the shelves in the photography studio-please remember though, that they are reference books only and to be shared with various classes and shouldn't be removed from the room, but you can photocopy or scan pages or look at books online, there are also various bookshops where you can view books online through their videos, Mack books are a great example
Try to see as many photography exhibitions as you can. There are lots of free photography exhibitions including various small exhibitions within Tate Modern, the South London Gallery, Autograph, Marion Goodman Gallery, Somerset House, There are also several online exhibitions including Mopa, London Photography Diary, Artsy, NPG, Frank Online, Photo London, MoCP, All about Photo Some of these exhibitions open later in the year but you may still view the work of various photographers. Click on the images below to see a small selection of online exhibitions.
Travel/Workshops
Wherever you travel to over the summer can be an interesting start for your project, viewing a country, or city with curious eyes can turn the most mundane objects into an interesting photo series. Look out for workshops at the Photographers Gallery, Photo fusion, and online platforms via Instagram. There are many individuals, galleries and small groups who run workshops, sometimes they are free of charge, or they have a small fee.
Project
Aim to take a minimum of 120 photographs towards your project, which is just 20 photographs per week. It is more important however that you consistently take photographs and remember that not all of them will be great photographs, but every image you take will be a step in the direction in developing your personal project.