Exercise 4.3: A subjective voice

Write an entry in your learning log (around 300 words) reflecting on any current and previous circumstances and experiences that you think may influence, or may have influenced, your view of the landscape. Describe how you think these factors might inform your ideas about landscape photography or related themes.

Born in 1964, I grew up in Wonersh, in Surrey. I recall it from some research at the time it was Ognersh in the 16^th Century but wiki tells me it was called Wonherche in the 14^th century. It felt good to live in small rural village, especially with history and mystery. The eldest of 4 boys with many cousins living within the same village it’s fair to say I had an active, fun, and adventurous upbringing and childhood.

I never had the distraction of computers, consoles and probably not even television. In the evenings possibly TV encroached and I recall favourites such as the Goodies, Two Ronnie, Blakes 7, Benny Hill and of course Dr Who.

As a youth and young teenager weekends were filled with sport and very much the exploration and fun that can be had living in the countryside. We would roam for miles, never felt scared or isolated and I was completely at ease with my surroundings and most definitely I had a sense of belonging.

My view of the landscape was and remains influenced by freedom that comes with space yet has connections, perhaps a sense of grounding, attachment and is one of space, freedom and exploration.

I currently live in the Forest of dean in a small village called Lydbrook. I’m 30 yards away from the woods/forest, another 30 yards into them and you won’t see a house. The seasons have a wonderful effect on the landscape and the light at different times of the day and also in the different seasons always creates a different look, a different feel.

My influences growing up and how they’ve developed my views of landscape now mean that landscape photography, more importantly my landscape photography needs to capture the feeling of space, ability to explore but somehow a sense of belonging. A picture of the same image at a different time in the day, on a different day in a different season show and reveal something different in the landscape, something not there yesterday, but here today.

Changes in the landscape can be subtle, and generally those of nature are. Changes can also be dramatic and these are normally man made changes. Capturing these changes both subtle and dramatic can be both beautiful and sublime. 

If we can consider how the landscape changes with the weather we have an endless combination of possibilities.

It would be interesting to try and capture images of the landscape that reflect my emotion or feeling at the time expressing emotion through photography.

Exercise 4.2: The British landscape during World War II

Reading the short extract from ‘Landscape for Everyone’, published in John Taylor's (1994) A Dream of England: Landscape, Photography and the Tourist’s Imagination we are asked to summarise the key points:

• Taylor suggests it was conventional to visualise the English landscape in the past and in literary times something Masterman helped bring the reader from historic past to modern day through century intervals. 

• Public fears that the industrial revolution once started threatened to spoil the landscape were re-focused on the threat of invasion in 1940 from Nazi Germany. However despite the threat from abroad and a mechanised army superficially spoiling the small villages countryside, journalist Henry Warren in his book "England is a Village" suggested the strength of the English landscape could never be destroyed

• Interestingly this threat of invasion to a degree resulted in the landscape being "damaged" from within with signposts, distance markers, location names etc being removed with a view to hindering an invading army

• Displacement of people, unaffordability and inability of travel due to poor finances and petrol shortages prevented many people visits to the country and thus remembrance of the countryside as was could only be dreamed about. Interestingly my maternal grandmother was born in London but moved to the countryside due to the fear of bombing. this was also true for many families / children for whom the countryside had never before been seen

• For those that couldn't return to the country, or see it as it once was Batsford's topographic books issued 10 years before were re-published allowing people to see the countryside unspoilt as it once was allowing people to dream of travel once again

• War and the threat of invasion helped people realise the value and beauty in the landscapes within their country they had taken for granted. Value was placed in images of the country side and photographers and writers encouraged to promote it. Interestingly picturesque type images became less popular an those with more narrative encouraged

• The countryside became popular with a British public that grew an affinity to it, understood its value and regarded it as "theirs" and patriotism increased, available commodity in war time with fear of invasion

• The exaggerated and not so exaggerated differences between German and English locations helped promote and therefore increase value in what the British people called freedom both in spirit and way of life

• The threat of invasion changed Dover from a coastal resort to a defensive position. indeed the British propaganda machine even inspired civilians to look optimistically toward the skies whereas the underlying theme was to help spot enemy planes

Reflection
In life in many ways, things we take for granted that are around us all the time can sometimes only have their real value fully understood at a time of potential loss. A phrase that best examples this is "you don't know what you had until you lost it".

Our landscapes, our countryside changes around us all the time, both for the good and bad. We all notice how the seasons change our landscapes. Walking regularly in the woods each year reveals a bit more of what was hidden in the winter time when the leaves and pine needles fall from the trees making a floor of a different material to the one we walked on most of the year.

Local to me history is all around with remains of castles and even an Abbey. I've lived in several areas in England and have always been amazed at the concrete machine gun type bunkers that are around, some obvious and some harder to discover. Kent was a good location for spotting these and an example how events in the past continue to shape the current and act as a good reminder of what could have happened and what we as a nation could have l

Exercise 4.1: Critical Review Proposal

I've submitted my review proposal to my tutor who kindly advised it was a good subject but reminded me to focus the review as a critique rather than an observation of photographers work.

I've also inserted some text from the course work as an extra reminder to myself:

Things to remember when researching and writing:

• Keep track of your references; don’t try to compile them at the end of the writing process.

Use the Harvard referencing system; you’ll find a guide to this on the student website.

• If possible, look back at feedback on any previous essays to identify areas of improvement.

 • Writing fluently takes practice, so keep up with your learning log to help you develop this

skill.

• The more you read, the better your writing will be.

• Don’t start writing your essay without some sort of plan, however rough it may be.

• Divide your essay into three or four sections. Work out approximately how many words

you’ll devote to each part.

• Don’t try to explore too much territory. More in-depth analysis on fewer topics is better than

discussing many different topics briefly.
Stick to the specified word count (2,000 words).

• The critical review will count for 10 per cent of your final mark if you decide to have your
work formally assessed, so it’s worth putting in the time and effort to get it right.

• If you can, start thinking about, and preparing for, your critical review at an early point in
the course. This will maximise the opportunities for support from your tutor and make it less
likely that you’ll be pushed for time later. It may take longer than you expect to access some
of the resources that you’ll need, for example.