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In love and living on a bus - The Open College of the Arts

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In love and living on a bus


One of the most frequent questions we get asked at the OCA starts with a statement and goes something like this: ‘I have been a photographer all my life, do I have start at the beginning?’ Although this is a straight forward question it is one which is extremely difficult to answer. We are absolutely committed to providing a way in which potential students can gain credit for their knowledge, skills and experience and try through a combination of guidance and examples to illustrate what is needed. The essential point is that it is not about technical perfection, the photography degree requires technical skills but it also requires a personal vision – and the ability to articulate it. The photographs in this post are from student Liza Sweeting’s portfolio submitted as evidence to support her application for credits for People and Place.
Firstly, listen to what she says in her personal statement about what motivates her:
‘I have just today seen an exhibition of the photographs of Don McCullin in the Victoria art gallery in Bath where I live which has made me reflect on where my life would have taken me if I had had the courage to follow my passion for photography and photojournalism. I found some of the images deeply shocking, but I identified with the urge to be behind the camera and to capture moments in time. Throughout my life I have been driven to create photographic images of people in their environments as well as landscapes, but unlike this man, who experienced much pain and depression as a direct result of photographing harrowing war scenes and witnessing human carnage, I have generally, to date, chosen to seek out less directly traumatic subject matter. The main issue that has occupied my thinking for many years now has been environmental politics, but I have also concentrated my energies on capturing beautiful or harmonious images of people and place.’

Protest photography is now a significant area within photojournalism, but it was Liza’s take on her work impressed the panel:
These photographs probably fit more closely with the documentary photography genre in the sense of them being ‘evidence of what occurred’ (Clarke,1997). Clarke writes:
“The very subject matter of the documentary photographer is an index of the contentious and problematic … social and political injustice … disaster and suffering ..In terms of the 20th century, documentary photography has visualised history as a series of events and discrete images which speak of the complexities of human experience and disaster.”
My photographs were taken as a means of documenting the conflict of philosophies between radical environmentalists and the current legal system. I wanted to capture images of the protesters ‘at home’ in their culture (at their camp) as well as in conflict with the law.

Liza continues:
I have also included a series of images of children – one of a child sleeping in a wheelbarrow and another three of children at play. I was able to take very natural/unstaged images of the children at play partly as a result of knowing them well. I was therefore able to photograph them without them becoming self conscious. In his book ‘Composition in Colour Photography’, Wim Noordhoek writes, “…it is quite literally the snapshot that is best for children” as opposed to the stereotypically ‘stiff’ and unnatural school portrait. This is what I aimed to achieve. It is capturing the child in action, busy with some activity that is of interest to me – capturing a moment of spontaneous joy or wonder and as Noordhoek writes, “leaving the personality intact”. This is quite a tricky undertaking. It is no good telling the child to ‘do something’ – this often only produces an awkward or unnatural movement. To capture the total personality of the model in their natural environment, it is essential that the child is doing something they want to be doing – not something that has been imposed on them. Often it is better if the photographer is unobtrusive, or often in my case, the children have become unaware of my constant presence with my camera. The art is to manipulate the situation so that the child is doing something that they want to do which is also what you want them to do. I have sought to capture unselfconscious moments in my images of children. What I have also done, in photographing children, is to take lots of pictures as often the most interesting events happen by chance and without warning.
It was this combination of images, contextual understanding and thought through personal perspective which led the panel to approve the credit for the course.
Students wanting to see further images of road protest photography from the same period as Liza Sweeting’s will be interested in the work of Adrian Arbib which is on show at the Pegasus Theatre in Oxford until the end of March. In a slightly different vein the panel also saw similarities between Liz Sweeting’s intimate, closely observed approach and that taken more recently by Venetia Dearden in her Fivepenny Dreams project.


Posted by author: Genevieve Sioka

15 thoughts on “In love and living on a bus

  • An interesting post Gareth. If I’ve understood right you’re saying that the answer to the question “do I have to start at the beginning?” is that people need to ask themselves whether they can meet all the required standards for the relevant course (and not just the technical requirements).
    This post is about an application for a single module: I have seen a good few cases where people APL a whole year (or two) and I wonder what you think are the pros and cons of this option? From my own perspective I have seen people who’ve taken this route sometimes struggling or stalling at the higher levels – not normally fatally so they don’t finish the course, but just needing to take extra time to get up to speed. My observations may not be representative of course but they have made me wonder about the wisdom of APL-ing a whole year.
    I consciously decided to do at least one module from each of the first two levels for a number of reasons. As well as learning what I could from each course I think you get a lot from having to produce work to a required standard time after time, and that your thinking can develop as you work through issues at different stages and revisit the same issues at deeper levels of understanding. I think it would be very difficult to have to start all of that at level 2 or even level 3. I am also very aware that there is a tremendous different between a pass mark for a particular level and the quality of work that would achieve a good standard of award at the next level.
    Do you think I’m being too cautious or negative about the potential downsides of APL-ing a whole year?

    • I am replying after Clive and Rob below, but I do not think that you are being too cautious.
      You are absolutely right when you say ‘people need to ask themselves whether they can meet all the required standards for the relevant course (and not just the technical requirements)’. Even more specifically, the way BNU assess this is by looking at the Learning Outcomes for the course (in the degree handbook) and looking in the student submission for evidence of those outcomes being met. However, there is a subtle difference between being able to claim credit for a course and being fully prepared for the next course in the programme. In particular, there are specific ‘learning to learn’ skills associated with the OCA’s Open Learning model. These skills (time management, motivation maintenance, negotiating the tutor relationship) are acquired in doing the course, but may have to be acquired at the same time as the challenges associated with a level 2 or 3 course for students who APL in at these levels.
      So, APL works well for some people but isn’t without it’s challenges. And it is always possible to learn from level one courses even if it appears that the technical or creative challenges posed by the assignments are simple. James Payne’s colour assignment is an excellent example of this – here is a student who could have gone down the APL route pushing himself to produce challenging and successful images at this level.
      Hope this helps
      Gareth

  • An excellent approach.
    On the general point of APL-ing I do think that’s there’s something in Eileen’s point of view.
    I suppose it depends on how attaining the degree fits into a person’s further objectives and time scales.
    I do believe that the modules are flexible enough to allow pathways through which can develop a student from whatever level of sophistication they have attained when they set out.
    Moving through the levels allows for a longer period of development and reflection, if you have the luxury of allowing the time.
    Unlike many qualifications, where the aim is the rubber stamp at the end and you immediately forget 90% of what you learned to achieve it, the value in a photography degree is actually in the space it creates to make work and understand it. APL-ing curtails that.

  • I thought about APL’ing the rest of the first year after doing TAoP, but then I figured out that I’d be missing some of the tools that I would have otherwise picked up. Maybe my photographs would not be particularly different, but I know I can turn my hand to different things now, should the need ever arise. Maybe it’s just me, but I know I need the confidence that the study gives…
    As ever, it’s horses for courses. Neigh!

  • A further thought arising from the discussion is the choice between trying to stay with a tutor you know and getting as many different angles on your work from as many tutors as possible. I would tend to favour the latter approach in the first two levels at least.

  • Yes I think that’s a very good point Peter and I encourage students who enquire if they can stay with me to seek fresh perspectives.
    When it comes to Level 3 and real themes are starting to emerge then I think it has its pros and cons.
    I know I find tutoring on Level 3 more taxing, because of the anxiety inducing vertigo that the ‘openness’ can create in a student, and by the time a student has done one Level 3 course with me perhaps they’ve used up all my ‘good juices’ in relation to their work.

  • From the point of view of a student who has recently completed YOP and is now beginning ADVANCED. Initially I thought that changing tutors would be a good thing, as peter mentioned ‘getting different angles on your work’, however, a new student/tutor relationship will have to be formed and for this to be successful it takes time. Staying with a tutor who knows and understands you does to some degree mean that you can ‘hit the ground running’ or to put it another way the transition from one course to another cam be more seamless and less stressful, probably for both student and tutor. I’ve only just begun my advanced course and not had much opportunity to interact with my new tutor. I’m still putting together my initial proposal so this is in no way a complaint just a general observation.

  • With level 6 (3), you should have a look through the tutor profiles to find one who seems to have the possibility of particular input into whatever you think you will be making your theme. Remember that both of these are really a negotiated study.

  • Thanks for your reply Peter, I’ve chosen a tutor on that basis so I’m hoping this will work fro both the tutor and myself, I suspect I may be a little nervous but that is probably a good thing. My comment above was only a general observation and certainly not directed at my new tutor.

  • It is said, and I believe that, ” It is better to travel well than to arrive”. By embarking on a photography course a student is given the valuable opportunity to widen their life experience by the enhancement of their technical, cultural and philosophical understanding and involvement in the art of photography.
    I have reviewed the cases of a number of photographers who have sought, by taking the APL route to leapfrog steps in the Photography course and in the majority of cases, although they have provided proof of their expertise in photography, they have been unable to provide proof that they possess the same breadth of experince gained by successful students at the corresponding level in an OCA course.
    In my opinion successful applicants for an APL exemption should be able to demonstrate proof of success in their studies in the tecnnological and cultural aspects of photography, the meaning of art and visual evidence from a body of their work.
    Applicants who possess proven ability should not be held back but the achievement of a degree should only be steppimg stone to gainng more experience. In many professions the qualification is the key of the door to greater opportunity. In sport it is a common mistake to concentrate on the score because it diverts attention from achieving the best performance for which the reward is defeat.

  • One of the biggest values for me in the OCA photography courses is that they and the tutors challenge whether I really know what I think I know!
    The number of times I have been through projects/exercises thinking “this should be easy, I know all about this..” only to find that I am forced to re-think if this is really the case.
    I enjoy challenging my own knowledge and often will realise that I need to change the way I do something or consider if there are alternatives methods I could/should use.
    Perhaps this is the real value of not taking the APL route?

  • I am currently a student with oca studying a ba hons degree in digital photography. I am in the process of completing the third course in photography 1(Digital Photographic Practice) Having read many of the comments on this article, I do feel it is worth the effort to start from the begining. We all get to the stage where we think that we have learned all that there is to learn, when in truth we never stop learning. I am 55 years old and sometimes find it difficult to grasp what is asked in some of the courses. And as the courses progress it will get harder I am sure. But that is the whole point of learning. If it was easy then we would not need the effort we are asked to put in.
    PS,what is apl-ing?

    • APL stands for Accreditation of Prior Learning Tom – basically the technical term for seeking exemption from courses towards the degree. This can be because the student already has a lower level qualification (eg HND in photography) or as in Liza’s case because she has assembled a portfolio of work to show she is already at the standard for the course.

  • Exploring photography is what the OCA course means to someone like myself. Even simple exercises can be rewarding when approached in the right manner. We never know it all and if we think we do then maybe we need to question that conceit!
    I find the exercises and particularly the assignments as useful guidance in this exploration of the photographic medium.
    Amano

  • I considered APL-ing (it sounds like something a climber does!) but thought that I would try a couple of the Level 1 Courses to see if I was really up to the standard required. The outcome is that I am not going to apply for APL but work my way through the Courses to achieve my ultimate aim of the BA(Hons) degree. Sometimes I find the exercises easy and some of the assignments not particularly challenging. Conversely some I find difficult and very challenging. The important thing is that I am learning all the time and being required to think about my approach and above all to move out of my comfort zone. It has had a significant impact upon how I approach photography with, I believe, significant benefits.
    Could I have moved straight into Level 2 Courses? Its a moot point – certainly I have the experience of distance learning at Honours Level but personally I would have missed out on so much more that Level 1 offers.
    There is a comment above about whether it is better to have one Tutor throughout a Level or switch. Although I believe that the benefits lie with the single Tutor who can follow your development and encourage you to tackle areas that would otherwise be ignored I can see the benefits of a mix of tutors. The problem I have found with the latter method is that each tutor has their own approach and underlying philosophy that you only find out through the submission of assignments and luckily in my case the occasional chat on the telephone. OCA learning is very distant because there is no expectation that there will be any meeting between student and tutors unlike my previous experience where at the first level I met my tutor at least monthly with other students on the same Course and this was bolstered by Summer Schools. The latter type of learning was invaluable.
    Time is not really a factor for me other than I will be 71 next month and I would like to complete the Course before the little grey cells atrophy.

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