My Visual Diary-Week 4
Evaluation On ‘My Visual Diary’
Our Visual Diary was a project all about developing our individual skills within the Art College. My initial thoughts on the project were that it seemed very vague and I thought it was too open, however over these four weeks I have actually really enjoyed the project and the fact I could base this project around whatever I wanted made it great fun.I posted my project on a blog, I thought about using a journal, however I wanted to use something, which I have not used before. Blogging is a completely new avenue for me, something that I have learnt to love over these past four weeks! In week one I began using Tumblr, however I really struggled with it and could not quite get my head round using it. I then discovered Wix, which I felt I clicked with! So I then started using Wix, which is really easy to use, and it has been perfect for what I have been wanting to do!
For me, my favourite part of this project was creating my blog. I loved being able to design it however I wanted and making it look the best I could. One thing I have learnt over these four weeks and feel a lot more confident about now, is writing about my work, what made me take this photo and the story behind it. I experimented with different background colours, however I felt that white worked best as it made my images stand out. Overall I am extremely impressed with my blog, that way it looks. However I may make some small changes overtime. I also thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with film cameras as it was something I have never done before, I love learning new things, so I came away feeling very pleased with how that activity went.
During this project I was able to use Photoshop for a few of my images, which I enjoyed. When starting the course I did not know much about Photoshop atall, however at the end of these four weeks I now feel a lot more confident about the programme and I cannot wait to use it a lot more over these two years.
In week one I did a lot of research on the Internet for inspiration and ideas, Instagram was the best as it was full of visual ideas. I also looked at other peoples blogs, vlogs and websites. I had decided that in my blog I wanted to include what I get up to in my everyday life, including things such as hobbies, activities with friends and family and work.
One issue that I had within this project was my time management. Due to the fact when I am not in college for the second half of the week I work long shifts everyday. In order to not let this affect me in the next assignment, I will stay in for a few hours on a Wednesday afternoon so I do not have to worry about fitting the time in when I come home from a late shift.
At the start of week one, the thought of having to sit and present my work to a student of another course terrifies me, however over these four weeks on many occasions we have had to mix with other students and discuss our work. I have noticed that the more I have interacted with people from other courses, the easier presenting my work has become. Now when I have to present my work, I almost do not even think about it as it has become part of a routine.
If I had the chance to change something, in order to make my blog better. When taking the photographs for my blog, I think I would just write down my initial thoughts on why I took the photo, what I like, angle, settings etc, because it would all be fresh in my mind. This would also save me time having to sit and rethink back to when I took the photographs and struggling to remember certain points, whereas I would just be able to look back to my notes, which would help to refresh my memory.
Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed the project ‘My Visual Diary’, it has given me the chance to show off my interests and what I get up to in my everyday routine. I feel like over these past four weeks I have bonded with everyone more and got to know everyone, we have learnt more about each other from looking at each others blogs and sharing ideas. These past four weeks have made me learn that I am a lot more capable than what I thought I was, I thought I would really struggle with the project and run our of ideas. However my mind has been overflowing with ideas and different concepts that I have been wanting to try. Considering this was my first project since starting Plymouth College of Art, I am very pleased with the outcome of my blog.