This may seem like a contradiction in terms and on a literal level it is. However the idea of poetry and prose being simply about description is an outdated idea. In order for literature to move on, writers had to move past descriptive texts in favour of ‘showing, not telling’ in their work. Photography suffers from the same problem. Being a visual medium and, as you’ve seen, often regarded as a ‘true’ record of reality, it can be hard for users of the medium to see its more poetic attributes. Using photography this way can help shift it from operating within a literal scope to a more evocative and affecting one, moving it into the realm of the arts.

Peter Mansell

After looking at the work of Peter Mansell I was intrigued by his sense of space and clever use of framing in his images. I also found it very interesting in his workflow how he began to take much more mundane images as he moved away from more a more technically proficient “style” to one where he photographed things which were important to him. I can see this idea beginning to grow in my own work as I begin to take images that perhaps are not aesthetically pleasing but much more challenging artistically. I to feel that some of my image taking is a method of catharsis, perhaps not as poignant as Peters, but more of a battle I have suffered over the years with mental health. I have suffered from depression for many years and almost all of my personal pursuits now are a way for me to deal better with the problems I have suffered. My search for a better education and my passion for photography has been fuelled by this and I take images in a way that speaks to me and hopefully others. I draw a comparison here with Peters work although it seem we work aesthetically very differently.

Dewald Botha

Looking at Dewald Botha and his work in Ring Road it is most interesting to see how an assignment can evolve and become something quite personal as did Botha’s in this instance. What set out as more of a urban landscape style shoot became more of a personal investigation of limits and displacement in an area where he felt much of an outsider. Again I can draw comparisons here as initial thoughts on an assignment often fall by the wayside as emotion and feelings strike and the identity of what I am looking at or for changes quite profoundly. Botha’s assignment started out as an exploration of a physical object which developed into a metaphor for personal limits and ultimately freedom. It challenges the way we think about freedom and what we define as being freedom, but sometimes purely by the notion of freedom we become contained and limited in our existence. A very interesting piece of work and one that really drives home the thought process of working on a brief and its impetus becoming something very different. I think most of us would agree that this is where the personal journey and discovery of oneself really begins.