As I have been working on this course, I have reached points where I wanted to go in different directions and try new techniques. For example, in the first Covid lockdown back in 2020, I taught myself the basics of cyanotype to create a piece for a nationwide collaborative artwork based on location and the elements.

My work is shown in the exhibition video after 2 minutes 11 seconds at the following link: https://stills.org/exhibitions/elementary-blueprint/

There often seems to be some catchup needed on my technical knowledge and skills as I work through different ideas and want to try new techniques, or rather, techniques which are newer and less familiar to me. Similar to learning about cyanotypes, I also had to pause and teach myself about video production. I identified that this could be broken down into steps:

• learning how to capture video and reading up on relevant technical tips
• video quality – whether my mobile phone was good enough, did I need a tripod attachment or was hand-held good enough for my needs, did I need to capture higher quality video than I could on my iPhone?
• having captured a video, finding a suitable software editing tool and learning about post-production effects and how and where to apply them.
• learning how to use the chosen editing software and building skills and experience as I went along using trial and error to see what worked best for me.
• how to export video and the best format to use and which platform to use to show my work whether to use Vimeo or YouTube? I also had to look at how to use these platforms.
• Searching for videos produced by others which use interesting effects close to what I would like to try, then trying to find information on how to make these techniques.
• there is also a part of new skills where if I don’t use them regularly, I forget things. Where is the button on the camera that starts video recording or I can’t remember how to do a simple task on my chosen editing product if I have not used it in a while?  These needed a quick refresh of what I had previously learned.
• these last two points are all part of the learning process but it can be frustrating as it all takes time and slows down workflow.

An example in my level 3 studies of knowledge which slips from my grasp is when I had produced a video using the archive of images I found on my daughter’s phone after her death. I put these images into a slide show, flipping very quickly across the screen as there were a lot of images. I had decided not to edit the sequence as felt there should be something about Rebecca in that work. Her choices of images rather than mine. My tutor offered very helpful feedback. Firstly, I was now the owner of the archive so I did not have to treat the images on her phone as some kind of shrine and should be free to interpret and edit the images I included or excluded from the slideshow. Secondly, my tutor suggested that I might consider editing my sequence so that the slideshow was an exponential curve and the video speeded up towards the end. This would represent the apparent speeding of time as death gets closer. Very valid and helpful ideas. My issue came when I went back to video, I couldn’t remember exactly how I had achieved effect and had to teach myself the skill all over again.

In the small selection of video work I have made, while I feel that my skills in this area are fairly basic, I have reached a point where I can communicate my ideas which was one of my aims in learning this new skill. My stills work uses layers and the manipulation of the image. In my video work, I am still building skills in the layering and combination of still images and video.

I am currently going through a similar process as I want to add sound recording to my skillset or toolbox if I was to use business speak. In addition to video and sound, I had to look at skills recently for moving a domain and web content and while my learning log was down, I refreshed my knowledge in building a website which will be something I think I will need in 3.3. What sounds, on the surface, like simple tasks, involved finding a new host, moving my domain which hosted my learning log from one host to another, moving the content and then get my learning log running once more. In addition to this had to refresh some old website html coding and layout skills for my new site.

This technical skills part of photography is maybe a feature of the modern world we live in. The more features or programs or new gadgets and tools are invented the more we have to keep abreast of and potentially learn. Is this any different from early users of photography keeping abreast of new inventions other than in thinking of the frequency of change and the number of new tools and upgrades which seem to happen weekly in our modern world.

Beyond the practical considerations of learning a new skill, there are thoughts on the application of this knowledge. How to use it and when might this be appropriate? As an example, I have always disliked video clips which are given a music soundtrack. I often find these to be distracting and impact on my enjoyment of what I am looking at. I am unable to see the connection between the video and the chosen music. This means that when I watch video, I often turn the sound off. In my own work should video accompany my still images and be seen alongside the still image or should this be seen separately? And what of sound? How and when should I use this in relation to still and video work? In the link above to the cyanotype exhibition, the sound used in the video is natural but has a discordancy which appeals to me. These are all things I need to think about in my own work.

Both sound and video are things which I want to explore as I wonder about using them in my representation of the liminal. If I take my work where I imagine someone standing on the banks of the River Styx and looking across the water into the very threshold of death, then what might they hear and is video appropriate in such a setting? On sound, would this be natural sounds such as running water or the wind or more ethereal, haunting sounds? As with my visual work, I need to be careful my work would not be too clichéd or obvious and leaves space for my audience.