The journey so far…it’s 2022 !

Hello and welcome to 2022, please let this be a good year for all.

I thought with this blog I’d take a little departure from the regular form and start with a chattier style which is much more in keeping with the correct ingredients of a blog.

I hope in this one to give an update about my journey so far and what I hope ‘22 will bring regarding this Urgent Temporality research practice. Last year was a mixed year for the study with some highs and lows, one of the main features being that I had hoped to have started the PhD but for a combination of reasons this wasn’t to be.

To counteract this I took some time to rewrite the proposal and have taken a step further with each draft towards the point where I feel that I’m making good progress towards the absolute and desired outcome, but to temper this I’ll hold off on any celebrations as I’m still waiting on feedback/decisions by my chosen universities, I need their thoughts on the proposal as it’s their guidance and approval is the most important part of this process. I’ll need to wait to see if the work I’ve submitted is part of a successful direction or not.

While I’ve been researching, working and writing I’ve been asked many times about the subject of study (4 times in the last week!). So, I’ve been dutifully trying to clarify it into a single sentence which has the opposing clarifying factors of not sounding too academic, being accessible as well as showing the more layered approaches of research. I think I may have achieved this with this one:

How do we look at photography now, is it different from how we used to and does that matter?

I believe that you could exchange ‘look’ in that sentence for several other words such as:

“view” “see” “think about” “consider”

…but I do like the associated multiple meanings associated with the simplicity of the word ‘look’.

In an attempt to further clarify what it is I’m intending to do, I say that I’m aiming to explore the future of photography as a medium, partly though its main ubiquitous usage of Instagram. As we see the continued rise of Insta, what does this mean for photography? Has this ubiquitous nature mainly been brought about by those who use it solely as a tool? Is it’s purpose solely just a tool to make money from or is it (can it be) something more? If any of these are correct then what does this mean for photography? What happens with the old skills of photography that seem to be forgotten due to digitization and automation? Are there any new skills arising from this process that we should be incorporating into this beautiful thing called photography?

I realise that these statements start more questions than it ever hopes to answer, and I see even more topics establishing themselves amongst the proposal, areas such as:

·      The idea of amateur vs the professional

·      Theories of populism versus elitism

·      What quantifies photography’s power?

·      Loss of prints being its main output versus the increased role of screen

·      Ideas on visual literacy versus actions of image recognition

·      Processes in the education of photography versus an ideal of self-taught

·      The new triangle of recognition: “Likes” vs “cash” vs “kudos”

As I write further into this subject many more questions open in different fields, which makes, for me at least, an incredibly exciting idea. I’m very keen to start this exploration as soon as I can, rationally I realise of course, that there may be future alternate directions within this journey as choices are made and circumstance may change. As an older researcher I think I come at this slightly differently to how I would have 20 years ago, that said I wouldn’t have been able to even start this journey at that time, nor 10 years ago…

I have made a few choices regarding the institution and supervisor but await to hear if they are successful and therefore equal a good fit. It’s a very new feeling for me, embarking on this direction where I start afresh, at the very beginning stage of this journey but I feel that it promises to be quite a ride.

As ever we need an image for this, so I’ll take put this one from my New Year’s Day walk, where the light and subject matter seem to come together to form something with a little more depth. As I’ve said on the site: first steps usually contain the act of looking up.

Thank you for reading, any thoughts or comments please contact me through the usual channels.

I wish you all a happy, successful and prosperous 2022.