Finding my place within the world of photography has been quite a mission of self reflection, research and reassessment of my practice. Working within the heritage sector I am drawn towards historic research so naturally I initially found myself looking at photographers that have a style of work that I’m influenced by. Researching the work of Phyllis Dearborn Massar, an architectural photographer, most active in between the late 1930’s to 90’s, who’s work stood apart from the norm of AP. More interested in recording buildings at nightfall, the pattern and information of city blocks, store-fronts, architectural details and intimate interiors. It was through this research I became aware of the Group f/64, founded by the likes of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston to name a few. The group promoted photography as an art form. Group f/64 as a whole was committed to photographing ignored or mundane objects to which they brought new perspectives and meaning through their pursuit of the purest image. In short, the spectator was often invited to “take a second look” at what they might have otherwise taken for granted.

Looking at my own work with this new approach and ethos has helped me to contextualise what it is I have been creating in my practice. Much of my earlier images from this project had been a way of putting a mundane scene of space between buildings into a new context. At each stage of my project I have gone through a process of theorising how viewers may decode my images and questioning, will they understand or grasp the context of the image. Am I achieving what I set out to do? This has helped in finding the direction my project needs to take. Being able to read an image, either another photographers or my own, has been hugely beneficial in understanding the context and meaning behind that image.

From my historical research I then looked more closely at photographic genres, reading a number of articles and blogs. I have never taken the time to contextualise my practice and thought of myself as an a) Architectural Photographer or b) Documentary Photographer. However by being able to examine and properly look at the context in which I conduct my practice I find myself more aligned with Fine Art Photography or Contextual Photography. My practice is a three stage process:

1. Planning: coming up with an idea or message that I wish to convey.
2. Taking: the act of photographing a subject. creating the raw material to be worked on later
3. Creating: selection, post-production editing and moulding the image/s to create a final image.

Whilst there may occasionally be an element of capturing the decisive moment, more often it is about creating an image to convey a message or evoke an emotional reaction.