Rachel Heyes: March 2014

I started my project by brainstorming some ideas for each of the themes:

The theme that I decided to go with was Spirit of the Place. This was because I had to most ideas for this theme. I initially wanted to create a project based on Shena Simon Campus (part of The Manchester College) as it has a very creative atmosphere but I was worried about it interfering with my work as a tutor and also using the students as models and how this would relate to personal work in relation to permissions.

This was the least effective, I really couldn't think of anything to base this around. It would have been good if there was an event coming up or I could have created one in a studio setting but this would have been a lot of hard work. And time consuming which was a problem.

This would have been a good topic to cover in relation to a visit to Alton Towers that I have planned for 2nd April but this date was too late for the deadline. I also could have photographed my partner's Ju-Jitsu classes but I wasn't too keen on doing this.

I thought about this project in relation to either different types of faces and I would have liked to have photographed them in a studio setting but I couldn't think of ten different examples. I thought about pareidolia but this would have been a long term project and I didn't really have the time to find ten examples.

My back-up plan was the theme 'A Day in the Life'. I thought about photographing my own day and perhaps relating this to teaching but I'm not very confident in doing this so I thought about focussing on my dog Frankie as she always takes a great picture and I would really like to take pictures of dogs drinking as it's quite a unique thing.

The plan of Park Bridge project - 10 picturesPark Bridge is an old industrial area which is very beautiful. The main focus is the red brick mills but also country living. Many people use the area for walking, horse riding, dog walking and there is also a BMX track.

This was the idea for Frankie's day in the life. Looking at the world from a dog's perspective. These are all of the things that she does and loves to do.

I saw that the fields were full of reeds and it was quite beautiful. They have grown very tall and it's quite spooky. This shot was improvised.

The blossom has started to grow on the tree and it looks unique as there are no leaves, just flowers. Very beautiful. This shot was improvised.

This shot was planned. There is a lot of fly-tipping in Park Bridge and this always upsets me as it is such a beautiful area however it is part of the urban landscape. It reminds us that we are living in a modern city. There are some dens which people use for hanging around with their friends. Evidence of fires and drinking is often left. This is a microwave, in the forrest. An interesting juxtaposition.

This picture is to represent the dog walking that is so popular in the area. There are many trails and paths. It's an okay picture, one that I did think about but didn't plan too much so it has a real quality but I kind of wish he wasn't carrying the poo bag!

This picture is to represent the many horses that are ridden through Park Bridge. I wanted to show what is left behind and how we know that they are always there even if we don't see them. I thought about photographing some horses but I don't have much experience in this and so the ones I took didn't turn out well. I also photographed some prints in mud but the grass looks good.

This is the old point at which there was a railway bridge in Park Bridge. It's a great view of the area but I don't think that this picture is very interesting.

I like this image of Park Bridge. The Victorian lamp-post, the red brick and the trees and grass all next to each other. The lighting is a little dull and I would have preferred to retake this shot when the lighting was more effective. I adjusted it in Photoshop to make it a bit better.

I like this shot. This is how I see Park Bridge. Beautiful flowers, trees, meadows and the red brick of the factory in the background. It also captures the season. It would have been nice to photograph Park Bridge in all seasons but we had no snow this year so I couldn't take any shots of this type.

I really wanted to get a shot of the water that flows through Park Bridge. It was very important to the factory which functioned on the site as it was used to transport materials. I also wanted to show a slow shutter speed so that the water appeared as though it was enveloping the landscape. This was the best shot that I could get. I didn't think that it was good enough for the final 10.

I went up to the BMX track to try to get some shots of the bikes but unfortunately, there were none using the track on this day. I wish that I could have found some time to make some more trips to this site but was unable to spend more than a day shooting for this project. I tried to take some shots of the track without the bikes and this was the most effective one. This one also encompassed one of my other ideas which was to photograph the dense forests around Park Bridge.

I wanted this series of photos to be anchored by ones of the many signs. This is one of my favourites as it is old-fashioned and encompasses the Victorian Mills. It also has the leading line of the path.

I wanted to photograph the brick and although the red brick is more synonymous with Park Bridge, there is a lot of farmland and a lot of stone. This picture also captures the light beautifully even though there is a bit of lens flare.

This is my life. My weeks are packed with teaching. I'd like to drop my hours at work so that I can spend more time on my photography. I put the request for this in weeks ago but it is still being considered. Because of how busy I am in the week, the weekend is RELAX time but I usually do a day or so of photography which I love. Stupidly, I left this project to the last minute so it all had to be shot and edited in one day.

Initial Research (Pintrest)

Local Photographer - Simon Norton

Website - "Firm believer that photography services should be accessible to everyone, and not just a luxury afforded by some"

Professional photographer, based in Dukinfield, Tameside

Salford Quays Images - This is an area that I really want to photograph and it is good to see that this photographer has covered this area also. I like the light and the colour.

I really don't like his work with people and models but I wanted to find a local photographer who photographed the same area that I am interested in looking at.

Park Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne - Went for a little walk in the Medlock Valley to capture some winter landscapes in Tameside

This is not a great picture but it is of Park Bridge and it does capture the spirit of the place.

Landscape Photographer - Adam Burton

This work is beautiful. I really like this shot and the way that the water envelopes the stones. The colour and the curves.

Website - Adam Burton is one of the UK's leading landscape photographers and author of four books.

Adam favours the rich colours of dawn and dusk when natural light is at its most special. He uses equipment to enable him to capture magical moments authentically at the picture taking stage, rather than relying on computer enhancements afterwards.

Although he now shoots exclusively digitally, his beginnings in film photography engendered a strong desire to record the landscape at its natural best, and nothing more. As a result Adams photography captures authentic and natural moments in time, free from computer manipulation.