Visual Communication and research skills. Assignment 1. Flatness and Space.

Flatness and Space.
"A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into" ~ Ansel Adams



"Welcome to the second year Pavel"- that is what I was said just after finishing my university registration procedure. And I thought: "Damn! Pavel the summer vocations are over you are not a fresher anymore! Show me some nice works this year!". Words of Ansel Adams come to my mind every time I make a photograph, especially when I am a SECOND year student.
Our first assignment this year was called "Flatness and Space". The aim was to shoot a minimum of one roll of film, develop it and print a series (minimum 3 photographs) that responds to "Flatness and Space". We had to transform the 3-dimensional world that exists within a flow of time to a 2-dimensional static picture. Eva (our tutor) advised us to consider how things in the back of our image can be put into juxtaposition (Pavel loves his old, dusty dictionary) with things at the front. Keeping that in my mind I have started brainstorming, thinking, searching, looking, waiting, thinking, brain...
...Finlay after e-mail check, I decided to go to Brighton and just simply catch some moments on a seashore. There was an "Iraq through the lens of Vietnam" exhibition (scary material) going in University of Brighton.
That was a surprisingly beautiful, chill, autumn day. Lovely elderly couple sitting in a cafeteria, a a big bold ex bodybuilder with five hairy dogs, hippies playing guitars near temporal bungalow an a beach, thousands of small, black birds above the pier. It was probably my best film ever. But definitely not the most successful one.
Unfortunately that was a firs experience with medium format camera ever. Lesson: Stupid mistakes and daylight overexpose the film (crying). Fortunately I had some extra rolls in my bag.
From my point of view images came out quite well developing and printing process ran smooth, yes I am happy with the work I have done. I hope that "Iraq through the lens of Vietnam" did not affect photographs to much but gave them that darkish, surreal, moody taste and you easily will be able to "look into them".

For the project I used: Bronica Sq-Ai, 80mm f/2.8, ilford hp5 iso 400, old German light meter, Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED, ilford photo paper...

My favorites are: Double exposure and the one with people.