This module has been very rewarding in terms of learning around the surfaces and strategies that link to my practice.

Most of my time over June – August was spent heavily experimenting and developing concepts around photography methods, that I had not attempted before starting this course – as well as refining existing ones.

I also spent considerable time looking into my practice and to what context the duration of my MA and beyond could take it.

The following three entries are a summery of the photography methods that have been developed over the course of this module.

Time-lapse – This has been a genre of photography that I have long wanted to attempt, but until joining my MA course, lacked the confidence to try.

Over the years I have been inspired by many pieces of work, either shown in film / TV – or as pieces of art in exhibitions.

The work of Enrique Pacheco in Iceland has repeatedly given me inspiration, such as his 2011 film Raw Lightscapes 

Another source of inspiration has been Mattia Bicchi and the Amazing Series  produced from cities across the globe.

All of this work and more has inspired me to want to develop this photographic method further and to fully understand the principles behind this artistic practice.

I do see time-lapse as an element of photography, as to me it brings a stills image to life and creates a living genre that enhances the viewers experiences.

Within my own practice I see this as being an ideal way of showcasing the connection the river has through its natural environment and how this changes over time. Not something as easily done as a single stills image.

Never one to be satisfied, I have since become inspired by the application of hyperlapse and HyperZoom, both art-forms of time-lapse that move up a level.

A Hyperlapse is a technique in time-lapse photography that allows the photographer to create motion shots. In its simplest form, a hyperlapse is achieved by manually moving the camera a short distance between each shot.

Source –Wikipedia

Geoff Tompkinson and Rob Whitworth are a huge inspiration for me on this subject.

Geoff Tompkinson’s film This is Hyperlapse can be seen below:

A second incantation of the time-lapse – only with a difference, is HyperZoon. A technique developed by Geoff Tompkinson. The concept is to take the viewers on a journey, but over a much wider area and within much more detail than achievable by the hyperlapse.

A good example of this (and a better way to describe what it is) is the film Singapore HyperZoom by Geoff Tompkinson seen below:

Sources – Geoff Tompkinson Merging Time and Motion 

I feel that these applications hold a great deal of opportunity for my practice. I justify their use by there potential to help develop the story of the river Otter and show the connections between the many worlds found there.

I am currently starting to watch workshop films on how to achieve this and other more general time-lapse processes. The best resource for myself has been from Matthew Vandeputte, who’s Youtube channel offers a teaching style that most appeals to me. 

During July I started to attempt time-lapse photography for the first time. As I was travelling around the UK at the time, I felt that it would be better to use the locations I was in, rather than wait to be on the river Otter.

For the first experiment I chose the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia. I set up my camera (D850 with a 24mm, F2.4 lens) to capture the valley and weather conditions.

The first attempt failed as I hadn’t correctly set up the camera, however after some practice the following film was achieved:

I was initially pleased with the results as a first attempt, but the image is notably dull, with the sky blown out.

A second attempt was conducted at Falmouth – looking over the docks, with the same camera setup. The results are shown below, again I was initially pleased with the results, but I can see a number of areas of improvement, especially within the exposure.

Over the coming weeks I shall be looking to take this method further and to start experimenting with ways of integrating this into my current practice.