Ruaridh Cameron

Books Part I: Pieter Hugo: Kin.

I have recently purchased Pieter Hugo’s book ‘Kin’ and thumbing through this book I started to feel a very strong connection with the message, well part of the message any way. I can’t relate to my home being South Africa, but the notion of ‘home’ is a strong one within my most recent project. anna_hugo

“[…]to look at the tenuous ties that bind us to, and repel us from each other. Home is where belonging and alienation coexist. Does this belonging liberate or confine us? Does it tie us to the terrible weight of history or free us from it?”

-Pieter Hugo, Kin.

This is where I go back to talking about myself, my project ‘ ‘S e Croitears a th’ Annainn’ (We are Crofters) looks at crofting in the small area around where I live. Most of these places, though not my home (nor do some of them have children of my age), are places of my childhood memories. I have these ties to the place, we never moved house, my mother has lived in our home for over 30 years. From knocks on the skirting to the way the grass grabs to the rocks in the surrounding fields, it is home.

This project started out as a way to document the surrounding area, in a hopefully new way, most people that photograph the Hebrides, and its ways of life, are not local. I feel that this tie to the place has changed the way I have looked at the area, but thats not to say you will see it in the same way, I can’t tell you how to see. But this project has ended up being about my ties to the land, the inescapable locality, I tried to detach myself from myself, but the place took charge and I am happy with the resulting photographs.

Video Documentation: Part II (Only Some Footage My Own) and Iceland: Part II

If you have read a previous post you will know I was going to be visiting Iceland, and while there with a Graphics friend (Connor Palomino whom I worked with on my first post here on this blog) I took a lot of photographs but I also did some video. I am really beginning to enjoy the way that video looks, I will definitely consider it to compliment my work the the future.

This video only contains some of my footage but I wanted to share it with you as I will soon be sharing my project about the Guardians of Iceland. For now any way, you can just bask in the glory of how tourist-y we were.

Finding Out What I Want To Do: Part II

Don’t panic, everything will be fine, this is an article I’ve just found. I’ve been freaking out about life and now, I realise there is no point, I’m 20, I have a lot of time to do what I want to do, obviously I’m going to try and keep my names in peoples email inboxes so they don’t forget me, but I’m not going to settle any where until I’m ready.

When speaking to the careers advisor at University I said I wanted to travel, and she said that surprisingly few people just want to travel out of uni because we all think we need to get a job.

This article was written by Sophie Grubb, and Published by The Gaurdian.

1. We’re still young

Those who started a three-year course straight from school will have only just turned 21, so there’s no rush to accept the first 9-5 job that you’re offered. Becky Dnistrianskyj, a recent graduate from Cardiff University, turned down several graduate jobs in favour of continuing with bar work.

She says: “I don’t see the point in accepting a poorly-paid graduate job that I’m not even sure I want to do, just because I’m expected to. I’d rather save up until I’ve had time to decide what I really want to pursue.”

2. Comparing yourself to other people is a waste of time

Just because your housemate has secured their ideal job doesn’t mean that you’re a failure by contrast.

3. You can’t discover who you want to be until you find out who you are

Personalities often change at university, which can be daunting beyond the bubble of campus life. Challenge yourself by experiencing something new, while you still have the chance. Chris Jenkins of Southampton University has just returned from Southeast Asia, in time for his graduation:

“I had wanted to travel and experience different cultures for a while, and the summer before starting work provided that opportunity. It was the best experience of my life. I thoroughly recommend going out into the world and seeing it for yourself, regardless of whether you have a job lined up for your return”, he said.

4. Many successful career-people have ‘fallen into’ their line of work

Recent statistics from the New College of the Humanities found that 19 out of 20 graduates had switched jobs within three years. Be confident enough to accept that your dream career might not be as you had hoped, and devise a new plan according to the aspects that you enjoyed.

5. Your degree won’t go to waste

Deciding that you don’t want to be a psychologist doesn’t necessarily mean that the three years and thousands of pounds spent on a psychology degree was all for nothing – any university education teaches a desirable skill set. According to Prospects, many graduate employers seek degree-level candidates rather than those disciplined in a specific subject.

6. You’re not alone

Marcus Zientek, a careers adviser at Sheffield University, says that many students are unsure of their plans after graduation:

“How uncertain they are does vary, from those who have an interest in a general area of work but have not yet decided about it, to those who describe themselves as not having any ideas at all.

“Panicking doesn’t help and is unnecessary anyway. Don’t let things drift – keep calm and make a plan. Realise that you’re not deciding what to do with the rest of your life, but choosing a good next step for you.”

CV Research: Part V (The Final Chapter)

This is the final edition of my CV Research, I have created a CV that can be modified to work for either a photography job or a job in Tesco which ever is needed the most.

It works when printed out in black and white which is important because that will be something that happens when it is sent away. There will be a few things to add in the near future, so perhaps there will be a Part VI, but we shall cross that bridge at a later time.

Book Design: Part I

Today I am in the process of designing and putting together the book for our exhibition. I would like to share with you just a few screen shots of what I’m up to so perhaps there won’t be a lot to say but I’ll just get on with it.

This is the front cover for which we had a competition to have your photograph on the front, and it was a very close vote. I have also designed the inside cover, which is simple but quite striking.

Finally I will give you a preview of the page design for our work and statement, I have enjoyed the process of designing the book. It has its stressful times but if pressure does’t make you work better what will?

Exhibition Possibilities: Part II

Recently I have been looking into which wall I would like and which wall I may get, so I will share with you a few of the ideas I have in mind. First of all, to get it out of the way, the default wall space, which isn’t my dream wall but, with 26 people we can’t all get what we want. I’ll just be happy to have my work on the walls. These may not be my final choices in fact I can already say a couple that haven’t made the cut. Like I have said previously I want to go with full bleed images because I don’t think that any single image tells the full story, not that I don’t trust an image to stand alone. Combining the images into such a full on wall display will hopefully help my work to be memorable, but we were told today by two people from the Carlisle Photo Festival, ‘you’re only as good as your weakest person’. So there needs to be an amazing network of support amongst us all.

. These are two ideas I have for my dream wall, the slant in the roof creates some issues, but also adds to the map aspect of the wall display. I think the option on the left is the one I am going to use, it looks neater and still shows off the images. I will be testing the line on the wall some time after easter and I will update you when I do.

Editing: Part III and Mounting: Part III

Today was another very productive day for me I spent most of it in university trying to decide on what photographs I am going to use. By the time we get to the exhibition you may have seen all of the images, but anyway, I had a tutorial with the two of my lecturers we discussed my edit for the wall and how I would display it. I will do another post about the wall display.

I printed a couple more of my prints onto A3 today which has helped me to dislike more of my photographs because of the dull days on which I was shooting some of the photographs are not 100% sharp which is a bit disappointing. I am going home for a week at Easter, so, if I talk to the local crofters again perhaps I can do a second visit, and get a couple more shots for the exhibition before time runs out.

Today I also tested my image onto A2, and I have learnt that I will have to be very careful with which images I choose. The bigger I go the more mistakes I notice, so I think A2 is the size Im going to stick with. There was also an incident with the printer it chopped the first full A2 print in half.

Finally for today, is (at the top of my page) a rough idea for a wall design. and then below that, sizes and prices for different mounting options. depending on the size I go for depends on the wall and amount of prints I get, I keep planning things for my dream wall, but I also need to plan for the other walls as well.

Web Design: Part II (The Exhibiton)

We wanted to make a simple and easy to use website for our exhibition and so that we did, its all quite boxy and everything is plain.

Currently it is in need of a few updates, because when the deadline for having images to Caitlin Boak, Ffion Scott and myself came around not everyone had sent us images. If you could take just a couple of minutes to go and have a look at some of our work we would all be very grateful.

http://irisphotoexhibition.com

Edinburgh: Part I.

First of all on the trip to Edinburgh we encountered a street performance (a fire juggler) whom for his finale picked three people out of the crowd to help him, I was picked, great fun and very funny. First on the visit however was the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, where the Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse collaboration ‘Ponte City’ is showing in the Photography Gallery, after our lecture on wall presentation that was the what I kept focussing on, as well as the amazing photography. There were large prints roughly B0, but I couldn’t be sure of the size without measuring, and the where mounted on something but I couldn’t say what, and framed within a strip of steel, I would have taken more photographs but they were actually not allowed. The frames suited the work perfectly, they had a solidarity and a coldness that the building in the photographs shares with them. Along with the large prints, some smaller prints were stuck up with small nails, some of the people I spoke to really didn’t like the nails, but I thought that it really brought something to these small repetitive prints. We also visited the Stills Gallery just off the Royal Mile, there was some very interesting portraits here, but sadly the quality of framing was’t all that great, like I said though wonderful portraits but the prints were warped within the frames. On the other hand, the frames themselves were very good, they weren’t solid black so they didn’t create to much of a solid border around the image. As well as this, the white border within the frame was large and this drew you in close to look at the image. One last thing about this gallery in general, the space was amazing, I loved that the two artists work, though it was different didn’t massively contrast each other, if anything they complimented each other. and the two halves of the gallery flowed together very well. Would love to have my work hanging on their walls someday. And after some more wandering around, being tourists and visiting the Fruit Market Gallery (which went over our heads) our day in Edinburgh was done.

Mounting: Part II

Today we had hours of information, looking toward the mounting and framing process, and something came up that I had never thought about doing because (as my lecturer said) borders are something of a convention. With the right images a ‘full bleed’ could really have a positive change, it could help the series to flow or it could even open the images out and make them feel more open. The nature of my photographs could be opened up by this change, this tightly cropped image can suddenly breath and become an immersive experience. I will come back with more on my final edit and the ‘full bleed’ in the next couple over weeks, if everything goes to plan.

Getting onto the main topic of the post mounting, today we were shown a variety of different ways to mount our photography on to, Dibond being my personal favourite, the rigidity of the mounting material for me is the first positive, then it has a very sleek look form the side, the second positive. Its first major downfall however, its cost. It is nearly double the price of the next cheapest material on the list.

The other material that was an early favourite with everyone, was the 5mm black foamex, it is also pretty sturdy and has a very sleek look from the side, but printing on thick paper, as I may well do, might look odd when viewing the edges.

Another part of of today was seeing paper sizes in all their glory, you can be told them, look them up even imagine them but until you see them labeled in front of you you can’t know. B0 very large, A0 also very large, A1 however, that may be large but I think that it is a manageable size. Below our very own Hal holds up an example of B0. Below that again is Kayleigh holding up an A2 print to see how many we can fit into the default exhibition space.