Tuesday 4th March
Surviving as an Emerging Artist - Alan Goulbourne
I found this talk very interesting, as he spoke in an informal manner and stated that he still did not see himself as an artist. This made me feel a lot more comfortable as I was not the only one still not sure about my own future. He talked a lot about the importance of networking which I also view as important, especially in the creative fields, allowing other people to experience your work and creating a bond for any future work together. Networking is important for exposure, and sites to do so include, Blogspot, Facebook and Twitter. Alan also mentioned the essential need to tailor your work to what you are applying for, and to pay attention to and feed off community, this way you can gauge what would be most appropriate for you to be doing at the moment and perhaps what would make you the most money. You can find out what the community needs and whether or not you can provide it, thus selling your brand and craft much more easily. There was also talk of subsiding practices, with examples given of getting a PGC, and so being able to teach it instead of do it, I felt this was very useful as it shows how we can apply our course in the real world in a different way to that expected. At the end of the talk we were given some useful websites for residencies, courses, competitions and exhibitions:
-ArtQuest.org.uk
-Re-Title.com
-TransArtists
-Arts Council Wales
I have managed to look into these sites and as of have now entered The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition(found hosted on ArtQuest), have looked into possible residencies and found a small number in Bristol as well as paid exhibitions and courses.
‘Fotofire’: The business of running a creative web agency - Phil Jackson
This talk caught my eye because it was not only about a business, and so a real world application, but how it has changed and progressed as well. Fotofire was started in 2001 as an events photography company based in Shropshire which caught my eye due to it being the type of photography I find most engaging and would possibly be interested in looking at as a career. After winning a number of awards, Fotofire became a website construction company offering personalised services including website layout, social media design, brand and logo design, copywriting and photography. The business owns a 1000 ft studio which they use to shoot he photos used in any websites they are designing which is also available for hire. This was exciting to me as not only does it highlight a potential studio to use in the future, but it brings into view the fact that although events photography does have it's place in real world application, there is nothing stopping the growth and change of businesses in today's marketplace.
Wednesday March 5th
A life as a media photographer -Melissa Cross
Wednesday March 5th
A life as a media photographer -Melissa Cross
I found this take very enlightening as it was much more directed towards my field of study, although it focused on a different area of photography to what I view myself in, it gave some important and intriguing key points that could be delegated to any kind of photography. Melissa talked about each aspect of her work and highlighted certain things that were expected of her in these areas. This was exciting to me as it brought to light some ideas that I had not really linked into photography before, such as the sensitivity needed when photographing grieving families, the importance of getting a variety of shots, most significantly, those shots that other photographer's would not have got and how to act in a photography job. This talked helped me realise the importance of the communication behind photography and not just "getting the right shot". For example, it is similar to working with people in any walk of life, such as needing to have a confident approach when talking to people but still being able to be respectful. As well as this Melissa mentioned that there were shadowing opportunities with the newspaper she works for(The Leader) and as a result of this I have contacted NWN Media in hopes of being given a week or two of work experience, shadowing a media photographer.
Thursday March 6th
Freelancing: What you need to know - Judith Alexander
Unfortunately I was not able to visit this talk, but I did my own research on the speaker and the services she provides. Judith Alexander works for "The Zone" in Glyndwr, which offers students extra-curricular activities such a events, workshops and conferences, all of these which are tailored towards helping students understand and meet the needs of their future aspirations. The Zone aims to make it easier for students to see and act on real world applications of their course and how it would relate to a career in their area. Membership to The Zone is free and it consists of seven key elements:
-Start Up
-Competition
-Talent
-Skill
-Network
-Creative
-Invention
To me The Zone seems like a very useful experience and offers a variety of benefits, like being able to enter contests and so show off your talent, mentoring and coaching which should aid in getting jobs in your area in the future, enterprising resources and skills workshops to help you properly understand how to sell your work, and help with copyright issues which stood out to be as something really useful for the creative courses when setting up your own brand. I would be extremely interested in looking into joining The Zone as I feel t could help me set proper aspirations for the real world application and career ideals of my area as well as giving me a platform to present it.
Thursday March 6th
The Accidental Photographer - Ray Worsnop
Ray Worsnop's job title is not a photographer, his main job is that of a role model and mentor. This talk confused yet intrigued me as it seemed to not really hold to the title at first. Ray began by asking us to think of what the words "role model" - someone to look up to. He then talked about who he regarded as a role model and why, using words such as commitment, dedication and discipline; this was important to me as these words do fully describe what a role model is and shows in any area or walk of life. This was a very inspiring talk as we were told that Ray left school without any qualifications, and so, became self employed, he stressed the importance of learning from your mistakes, and taking in and using constructive criticism. He used the quote, "It's not what I've been through in my lie, that defines who I am. It's how I got through it that makes me the person I am." which stuck with me and really made me think how true it is, it's not the situation you're in that defines you, it's what you make of it. Ray talked about how he is a mentor for Prince's Trust, a company that aims to help young people start up a business, with advice and a loan; he also mentioned some ideas to get stared such as selling on a market stall. Similar to previous lectures I attended, the significance of networking was again brought up, however Ray added a point about needing to focus and apply yourself quickly. He left us with what he called "three life lessons":
-Surround yourself with positive people.
-Always work with people who know more than you.
-It's what you learn after you think you know everything that matters.
After the talk I did some of my own research into the Prince's Trust and much like The Zone, I find them a very useful business that I would really like to get involved with. I also looked more into some of Ray's photography.
http://www.photoboxgallery.com/sunraypictures
Thursday March 6th
Freelancing: What you need to know - Judith Alexander
Unfortunately I was not able to visit this talk, but I did my own research on the speaker and the services she provides. Judith Alexander works for "The Zone" in Glyndwr, which offers students extra-curricular activities such a events, workshops and conferences, all of these which are tailored towards helping students understand and meet the needs of their future aspirations. The Zone aims to make it easier for students to see and act on real world applications of their course and how it would relate to a career in their area. Membership to The Zone is free and it consists of seven key elements:
-Start Up
-Competition
-Talent
-Skill
-Network
-Creative
-Invention
To me The Zone seems like a very useful experience and offers a variety of benefits, like being able to enter contests and so show off your talent, mentoring and coaching which should aid in getting jobs in your area in the future, enterprising resources and skills workshops to help you properly understand how to sell your work, and help with copyright issues which stood out to be as something really useful for the creative courses when setting up your own brand. I would be extremely interested in looking into joining The Zone as I feel t could help me set proper aspirations for the real world application and career ideals of my area as well as giving me a platform to present it.
Thursday March 6th
The Accidental Photographer - Ray Worsnop
Ray Worsnop's job title is not a photographer, his main job is that of a role model and mentor. This talk confused yet intrigued me as it seemed to not really hold to the title at first. Ray began by asking us to think of what the words "role model" - someone to look up to. He then talked about who he regarded as a role model and why, using words such as commitment, dedication and discipline; this was important to me as these words do fully describe what a role model is and shows in any area or walk of life. This was a very inspiring talk as we were told that Ray left school without any qualifications, and so, became self employed, he stressed the importance of learning from your mistakes, and taking in and using constructive criticism. He used the quote, "It's not what I've been through in my lie, that defines who I am. It's how I got through it that makes me the person I am." which stuck with me and really made me think how true it is, it's not the situation you're in that defines you, it's what you make of it. Ray talked about how he is a mentor for Prince's Trust, a company that aims to help young people start up a business, with advice and a loan; he also mentioned some ideas to get stared such as selling on a market stall. Similar to previous lectures I attended, the significance of networking was again brought up, however Ray added a point about needing to focus and apply yourself quickly. He left us with what he called "three life lessons":-Surround yourself with positive people.
-Always work with people who know more than you.
-It's what you learn after you think you know everything that matters.
After the talk I did some of my own research into the Prince's Trust and much like The Zone, I find them a very useful business that I would really like to get involved with. I also looked more into some of Ray's photography.
http://www.photoboxgallery.com/sunraypictures
No comments:
Post a Comment