The theme for my project is ‘nature in studio’ with my images capturing flowers in different ways. This is my first time working in a studio, I have enjoyed being able to test out different techniques and find a balance between creating traditionally ‘still life’ images and more creative, arty ones. I took inspiration from looking at the work of photographers such as Harold Davis, which led me to experimenting with transparency techniques. I have also enjoyed developing my Photoshop skills and learning about different post processing techniques.
For my project I had the intention to display ‘Animals In Britain’ and the beauty surrounding us. I have been heavily inspired by my zoo project and aim to capture photographs of animals in the wild and in farms. This gave me a newfound respect for other animal photographers such as Will Nicholls, who also inspire me. My photographs would be appropriate for wildlife documentaries, calendars and other commercial outlets. It has never been more imperative that we act against deforestation and other forms of wildlife destruction, as so many animals are becoming endangered and are suffering due to our greed; I wanted to bring awareness to this by showing how beautiful nature is in the hope of inspiring others to appreciate what lives along side us.
For my project I wanted to focus on the empowerment of women.
To do this I took a perfume (Daisy by Marc Jacobs) that is stereotypically considered a ‘feminine’ perfume (especially in the adverts that I researched).
I kept to the Marc Jacobs brand and mixed the Daisy perfume with another one of Marc Jacobs perfumes, called Decadence. This perfume is seen and shown as a more mature perfume, meaning more for women who are perhaps of a mature age and with a business / power ethos.
I want to show the beauty and detail in objects that we often miss due to not being interested enough to look and just miss the details or we can’t see the subject’s detail fully with just the human eye. I wanted to pick a topic to photograph that is somewhat relevant to today, so I chose the topics of nature and household objects. This is because, due of Covid, we have all been trapped in doors for months and everyone is trying to find ways to cope with this and their mental health, so a lot of people have turned to nature. Being locked in isolation all year has made people appreciate the smaller things in life, so I wanted to capture this through the lens of a camera.
‘Violet’s Pirates’ is the name of my creative business. Named after my daughter who was born prematurely, the business is the unity of my past, present and hopeful future
I propose to run workshops in healthcare settings that help give the parents and siblings of premature babies the reassurance that they are not alone. When a child is born prematurely, they need to be kept in an incubator, which means the natural urge to hold and cuddle them is limited. Memory dolls can help with the mental anxiety this separation can create.
I have developed my business by combining the skills learnt from many years of employment in the textile industry with the experience of being a parent of a premature baby. I know how stressful a time this can be, and my dream is to help other families who find themselves in a similar situation.
I aim to teach other parents and siblings affected by premature births how to make their own memory dolls. This will not only help occupy the long days spent in hospital wards and waiting rooms, but also provide them with the opportunity to learn a new craft.
The workshops are though not only about making the dolls because they will also provide a safe space for families to re-connect with one another, discuss how they are feeling and try to solve the many practical problems that having a child in an intensive care facility may create.
Violet’s Pirates will also provide opportunities for other people such, as healthcare professionals and social workers, to attend workshops and offer further practical and emotional support to families going through what is a traumatic experience. I am certain of the positive impact my business would have and am applying for funding to start delivering workshops as soon as possible.
Josie Smart
I am hoping to start my own creative business ‘nude.prints’ which will sell urban style clothes and accessories. The garments will all be designed and hand crafted by me, inspired by abstract and line art.
Fashion is something I’ve always been into, but I never previously thought I could create my own brand. I have been excited to see my ideas develop this year and the concept for my business grow.
I hope to make a range of different t-shirts that I can sell through Instagram, Etsy or my own website. Eventually I would like to expand my designs into a range of colours and styles and sell other items such as bags and accessories.
Designing my fashion brand has meant making sure my illustration ideas are on trend. Fashion is a very competitive business and in 2021 streetwear has become one of the most popular trends. This is where I am aiming my clothing brand, as I feel there will be significant interest in what I’m make.
Buying something made by an independent artist gives more meaning to the clothes you wear. Most people also like to have things which are unique, and I want to generate that feeling of exclusivity with my brand identity.
My business will focus on an age range from 18-28. I have picked this age range because typically when you get to the age 18 you start to explore in the fashion industry and become more confident with bolder fashion choices.
Art is something I have always had a passion for, but I realised I needed more experience in the business side of things and this qualification has helped me towards my goals.
2 months from now I aim to be selling my t-shirts and bags online through Etsy, whilst advertising my brand Nude.prints through social media.
6 months from now I will have my own website up and running so that I am able to sell to a wider range of people.
I am passionate about my career in art and design and hope my business will be a success. I am currently working in the service industry but after a year I hope to be running my creative business full time.
It’s important to have ambition and ever since I’ve been financially independent, I wanted to run my own business. I enjoy creating something that I love doing and that other people also love.
You can look at my work on my Instagram account @nude.prints
Diana Waldron
Cathead is my creative business idea that I have developed on the Level 4 Creative Practitioner course. I have been inspired to try and do what I love for a living and that for me is origami and paper related art. I am now on a mission to make origami the next big craft making craze!
Paper folding has always helped me calm my nerves and I’ve wanted to show how it can become integrated more with seasonal events such as Halloween and Christmas.
Origami is fun but can get complicated quickly. Cathead Kits will have a specially designed pattern on the paper that makes it really easy to create origami animals and get professional looking sculptures fast.
My aim is for people to become confident enough to make ambitious and quality designs that decorate their home and create an amazing atmosphere. Cathead products will take the stress of folding and worrying if you’re doing it right. You can simply follow the instructions or watch one of my online tutorials.
A key product Cathead is large scale origami kits. Origami packs are often so small and fiddly, so I am developing large-scale screen-printed origami kits. Going big is the perfect way to inspire children and give new life to seasonal decorations and celebrations. You can even get everyone involved in the making. I am planning to launch Do it Yourself kits online and run regular workshops and online tutorials.
I have looked into how other businesses operate and understand now how it all works. I am confident in large scale origami and digital work and have begun to approach local businesses, either to run drop in workshops or sell my products in their gift shops.
Personally, the course has boosted my confidence. I have needed to look at the business side of running a creative business – pricing – sales, budgets etc… and now have much more confidence in my ability to make my creative business a success.
Students have been engaged in the production of media content for skills development in Script Writing, Cinematography and Video Editing. They have researched, planned and produced videos for various projects, including exploring a narrative theme, The Box and TV advert production for Sony products. Students also explored the theme of ‘Identity’ where they drew upon how they feel about their own image, their ethnicity, their social groupings and their personal tastes. They then planned and produced a series of short films based on this.
The standard of work has been excellent, with students adapting to the restrictions presented by lockdown with limited access to locations and actors, and team work being adversely affected. However, all students have proved themselves to be able to work independently and use their initiative in making good out of a difficult situation.
The work produced this year shows genuine creativity and imaginative uses of available resources.
Stuart McConnell, media tutor
Rhys Atkinson: Sony Advert
Rhys Atkinson: Cinematography
Molly Baynham: The Box Project
Freddie Bowerman: The Good, The Bad, The Bucket. No Other Comment
The theme of my final project is “Nature” looking at different techniques and different views. I took six pictures that I edited myself. I decided to do something that is based around landscape photography. I went to a park in Luton and took photos of the varied landscape including images of a river and trees. My aim for this project was to improve my editing skills and learn new and different techniques.
Dana Carter
Project X – Nature Photography
My plan was to create a nature photography video, so I edited and compiled the images into short movie and added a cross dissolve effect to have the images transition from one image to another as smoothly as possible. I added nature sounds and calm music to the video to have an atmosphere which would appeal to the audience. At first the video was too short but after feedback I made it much longer by adding more images, sounds, improved editing and included title cards. I chose to do this idea as I have watched plant videos in the past on YouTube, I feel people do not appreciate plant/wildlife enough and I love collecting crystals, rocks and seashells.
Bradley Finch
Bumblebee
The main aim was to have three posters that link together. The first one has a lot going on, making it stand out so that the first image attracts the attention for the others in the series. The second one is probably the main one that stands out as being a “remake” as I have combined two of the leading roles to make one character. Finally, the last one was originally going to be Disney inspired however I changed it into a minimalistic, simplified piece of art as I wanted the sunset and the silhouette to be the only things that caught your attention. The final poster is also supposed to encapsulate the final part of the movie as Charlie parts ways with Bumblebee to go back to Cybertron. Overall, I feel that I have captured the main characters and the setting quite well.
Charlotte George
Nature Photography Montage
Circle of Sorrow: For the first photo, I decided to take a picture of bluebells. I’m fond of this image because of how they are grouped around in a little circle together; they are the centre of attention in all the green grass. I particularly like the way they slightly turn down due to the way they grow which makes them look slightly sad which is contradictory because bluebells are a symbol of humanity, gratitude and everlasting love; all very positive things. The darkness surrounding the image though does create more focus to the flowers.
Field Day: My idea for this image was to capture more of nature. Keeping it simple by only having green, blue, yellow and white. I took this photograph because I like how the clouds looked in the sky coming out from behind the tree and with the sun appearing through the trees as well creating the shadow. This photograph is very bright which makes it look like its pouring with happiness, then the clear view with clouds just lightly flowing though the sky giving it a more relaxing feel. The sun very lightly peeking through the trees makes some parts of the grass brighter to the rest creating different shades through the shadows which is very intriguing to the eye.
The Field of Yellow: For this photograph I wanted to be able to get a close-up of some of the flowers so you could see detail while still getting a shot of the flowers across the whole field. Therefore, I chose to take the photo at a slightly lower angle to get that effect. This was a darker image so the yellow of the flowers really brings a staple colour to the image.
House Over Sunset: For this image I wanted to get some of the village below so I got a slightly lower angle allowing you to look down on to the houses. I composed between the trees to give the houses more attention, then having the sunset off to the side in the distance gives the image more of a relaxing tone. Seeing all of the houses gives the picture more of a homely feel. I liked this photo because the trees around the image frame the picture very nicely to give more focus on the centre and sky. Then the almost clear sky fading from dark blue to orange gives you a nice change of tone as well. If you look further in the distance, you can see more hills showing how the village is surrounded by nature.
Light in Darkness: My idea was to take pictures of nature so e.g., sunsets, trees, flowers, scenery. Then put them into a montage to show all the photos I have taken together. I like this photo I took because of how the sky, grass and trees contrast each other. The softness of the orange fading into blue is relaxing contrasting from the darkness coming from the trees in front of them, but still having red/orange glow around them. However, the comparison of brightness and darkness do complement each other. Lower down from the dark trees you can still see the green of the grass displaying along the bottom of the photo seeing the colour come back to the image.
Mother Nature’s Glow: The focus for this photo was the sky and sunset, I wanted to be able to capture the sun setting and all the colours it is displaying. You can see the sun glowing in the distance, having the yellow and orange surrounding it amongst the clouds, trees and grass in the foreground of the sunset gives more colour to the image and the natural feel of the image. In addition to this above the trees you have the blue sky with clouds glossing over it with the natural transition from the blue to orange/yellow.
Orange Horizon: For this image I wanted to capture a sunset. This image shows a lot more orange tones because it was taken during the golden hour when the sun was starting to set which gave the image a lovely orange/golden glow to it. The difference from the cold tones of the blue fading into the warm orange tones really brings out the silhouette of the trees and emphasizes them and shows more detail and texture to the trees and the ground. The two trees framing the sunset focuses more attention to the sun.
Thomas Hendrie
Retro-Portraiture
A merging of traditional portrait photography combined with a faux retro style known as Synth/Retro/Neonwave. This project professionally hand-picked images, editing them to bring out unique, nostalgia-inducing imagery in waves of pink, yellow, and purple.
Teigan Hoult
Nature Photography Montage
Bluebells of Kindness: I have loved photographing this piece of work, mainly because it’s my favourite flower. The colour in this piece of work stands out. So, I decided to change my shutter speed on my camera, so it gives a blurry effect in background and keeps the flowers at the front in focus. The meaning behind this photograph is gratitude. Just look at this photo! The reason behind it, is to be thankful for everything in your life, like your family, friends, yourself and to always stay positive no matter what challenges you face in life. I like how the purple stands out more in the background. The imagery is there to show you always have kindness in your heart.
Creepy Hollow: I loved this photo because I like how the church is positioned in-between two trees which makes the church look haunted and creepy at the same time. It also looks like it could be a very quiet place. The process behind this photo is that I tried to capture the church at the right angle so I photographed from behind the bush allowing the church to stand out more. Also, I like how church could possibly be used for a horror type film because of how spooky it looks behind the trees. My favourite thing about this photo is how the trees look lifeless and have no energy in them which gives off a ghostly look.
Enchanted forest: I enjoyed taking this photograph. You see sun beaming through the trees making a silhouette shape on the ground. I wanted to capture an ionic moment whilst on my walk through the forest, it gives out a feeling of being in a peaceful world. As I walked around the forest, I tried to capture more photos which looked like a magical scene from a film. It could also show a side of horror which is relatable, in addition this image could represent nightmares and not fairy tales. I’m fond of how it can be place that has birds chirping away and planes going through the sky.
Heavenly Dreams: This piece was taken by my house, and it is so unforgettable. I have decided to call this piece Heavenly Dreams because you can see the emotions in the clouds, so it gives out an expression that they are peaceful and relaxed. I wanted to create this piece as it represents goals in your life that you want to achieve. Finally, the process behind this picture is that I had to go behind a graveyard into a field so I could be high enough to capture the shot. I like how the clouds stand out more when they are on a blue background because you can see the detail of every single cloud in the sky.
Pink Carnation: I loved photographing this piece of work. The colour makes the photograph stand out more. I decided to take a photograph of a bunch of pink carnations which turned out to be so beautiful. The flower is to represent never ending love and a perfect flower for your own mother. This might be my favourite photograph so far due to the reason I took photograph, it symbolizes gratitude which means to always be grateful for life and to always say “thank you”. I like how you can see the texture and every little detail of flower which makes the photograph way better.
Winter magic: This photograph just speaks out Winter wonderland. Why? As you are drawn into the winter experience and just picture yourself dancing in the snow just like in a movie. I love how it gives out a sense of a peace, so soothing and calming, I want to show the importance of a positive mindset. I was inspired by a photographer that I saw online doing winter/landscape photography, so I decided to have a go at it myself. However, the first thing I did was to find the perfect place to take the photos. I decided to walk up a hill to the main road and I like how there was trees bunched together with snow on, so I decided to find the ideal angle to take this photo and I feel I have captured the perfect shot.
Caitlin Morton
Project X
My idea originally started as nature photography mixed with ‘dark’ elements, the final products designed to be displayed in a museum/art gallery. When taking my photographs, I changed my idea to focus only on nature. I used flowers that I had brought in from home and a variety of busts to combine. After taking a few photographs I decided to experiment with the lighting, moving the 2 lights that I had with me around to find a position that makes the photograph look a higher quality. The lighting style that I decided on was similar to ‘Rembrandt’ lighting. Additionally, I experimented with various techniques, such as spraying water and using fabric.
Tafari Pettitt
My Project X idea was to produce a set of action photos specifically being ‘in the moment’. The moment I wanted to attempt to capture, was finding different models and showing their ‘experience’, that were varied. I tried to get different topics, so I was varied. So, it would successfully looked like a collection of live action photographs.
I decided to do a stop-motion animation because I wanted to challenge myself by doing something more involved and more practical than a painting.
I used clay for the stop-motion animation because it was the most efficient material for movement. I also used it because it is easier to make models out of clay and the cost of materials is cheaper, I made the backgrounds out of paper because it would take too long to make a set.
The backgrounds and colours used are meant to represent different emotions such as red for anger or blue for sadness.
I was inspired to do the topic of BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) because it interested me and I wanted to talk more about the mood disorder since it is not widely known about.
Ben Brant
The Mirror Knows You!
This design is all the sadness caused by discrimination that the LGBTQ community have been getting over the years.
When people are talking about you, and they do not understand just remember the mirror knows how you are feeling. Know that one day you will be the big star that you will be. The sadness and the fear that is there now will be in the past when you are a super star.
An old friend used to say, “Never Let Fare Strike You Out It Will Just Stop You from Playing the Game”.
Madeleine Darby
My thought was to help to raise awareness about endangered species of wildcats. My final piece is a drawing, of a half of two endangered Wildcat species, I thought this would be more interesting than doing two whole pictures. I used watercolour pencil crayons to blend the colours in and I made my drawing multicoloured, because it would be bright, bold and stand out nicely.
Amelia Grainger
Autism is Like a Superpower
My work is based on Autism Awareness. I chose to do autism because I was diagnosed with it and I wanted to learn more about it. I learnt more about what makes me, me. To be proud of the differences of how my mind works and not thinking of myself as a hindrance.
I did not get diagnosed with Autism until I was in secondary school and proof says that it is harder to tell in girls than it is in boys 1:4. I want people to look at autism as a superpower because everyone is on the autistic spectrum whether you need more help or not so much help in our lives.
Jason Jones
Blood, Sweat and Tusks
20,000 elephants every year get slaughtered. Daily elephants die of injury because of traps. They can live up to 70 years in their natural ecosystem. I wanted to raise awareness of this.
Connor Perkins
The Gaming Triangle
This Artwork Project is about the gaming triangle. It’s all about the benefits of the positives and negatives of gaming. The colours represent common feelings about gaming.
Yellow = Joyful, excited, creative
Green= Powerful, aware, confident
Orange = Scared, anxious, embarrassed.
Within the options I’ve chosen creativity stress and rage – the effects of gaming.
Ginny Whitehouse
The Truth behind the Mask
My design is based on bullying – I want to emphasise the imagery from a personal point of view of what that person is feeling inside. I believe this will be an eye opener to the public, to show how bullies make that person feel inside and that words can hurt.
The inspiration for the mask idea came from the No Tears Left to cry music video by Ariana Grande where she takes off the mask to show the truth that she’s not okay after what she experienced mentally. That came up as an idea for bullying as I experienced bullying for who I was as a person. I listened to other people’s personal experiences and it just made me think that this needs to be addressed some way or another so I decided to do a painting based on this situation and so that people can relate to it.
Over the course of this last year, I have developed a deeper understanding and a true passion for portraiture. This is now something that I want to go into professionally. In this selection, I’ve stepped outside my comfort zone to try self-portraiture.
Using a range of different lighting, from natural sunlight to the studio lights, I have been able to work and experiment with multiple styles of lighting and how they overall affect the final image. Some of my images offer a ‘story telling’ element, for example, the photograph of the adult looking at the barbie doll was from my final project and was part of a theme of work titled “Childhood Influences”.
My work over this last year has slowly begun to develop, along with a new sense of confidence and I wanted to be able to choose images which reflected these statements.
