SDA Brief and Initial Ideas

Taking single pictures is easy. Telling a story through the intelligent edit, layout and construction of a series of images is an integral part of becoming a successful press and editorial photographer. Using your knowledge of the building blocks of editorial photography you are now being asked to complete a number of assignments with strict restrictions on the number of pictures that can be submitted for assessment and getting used to producing quality work within short deadlines. These two assignments are an opportunity to find stories and subjects you are interested in and passionate about. Through weekly tutorials and critiques you will become aware of the editing process and story construction. 

For the next brief we have been tasked with creating two sets of five picture stories. The first being a more focused five picture story and the second a self directed assignment that should sustain you throughout the semester as you explore the subject matter and how you want to photograph it. 

For my self directed project below is a list of some my current ideas for subject areas...

Arts

- Artists, studios, arts education in Cornwall

- Dance studios, circus companies

Nature/Conservation

- Gardens of Cornwall

- Conservation projects

Cornish Culture

- Producers of Cornish Food

- Fishing Industry

- Sports

- Ship Wrecking

Paranormal

- Ghosts

- UFOs

- Spiritualism

I have taken a particular interest in the more paranormal subject areas that I could explore with my work and have spent a great deal of time researching these possibilities so far. I have looked into different groups that investigate the paranormal in Cornwall and those who have claimed to have seen UFOs and it isn't taking me anywhere. I contacted the people who arrange a paranormal meet up in Truro however they told me they already have two photographers for the event. So I have decided to leave that subject matter for now.

I also like the idea of doing a project on arts organisations in Cornwall however I feel that is a subject matter I would like to dedicate a lot more time and energy to than I am able to do with this brief. The same goes for a project on local food producers in Cornwall, spiritualist churches in Cornwall and conservation projects.

Instead I want to explore finding a way to create a picture story still about the paranormal in Cornwall but instead of UFO phenomena I want to look at hauntings as I have found loads of statements about hauntings across Cornwall. I want to find a way to join different stories up to create a study of claims of paranormal sightings to investigate patterns or the kinds of places where hauntings tend to occur. To explore the psycho geography of hauntings in Cornwall.