March 2023

This journal records the detail of my study of fine art photography through 10,000 hours deliberate practice.

• Images as they are made
• References to source materials
• Thoughts that might, or might not, later form part of a full post.

Hours 7,388 to 7,484

(April 2023)

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31^st March

Hours 7,478 to 7,484

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30^th March

Hours 7,471 to 7,477

(2h) working on the “Surrealism” presentation for next Monday

(1h) YouTube:

• Sean Tucker: “Balancing the Emotional and the Rational (a thought for makers)”
  • Structure is good; it helps you be more productive. Inspiration usually comes to people who have already started working
  • Add emotion to your work but keep balance by not getting too self-indulgent
  • Understand which side of your personality is the weaker, and work on it
• Blind Dweller:
  • “The Most Chilling Artwork by Edvard Munch“
  • “The Story behind ‘The Face of War’ (1940) by Salvador Dali“
  • “The Beautiful and Repulsive Art of Ivan Albright“

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29^th March

Hours 7,464 to 7,470

(2h) YouTube posing videos by Jerry Ghionis:

• “Tips on How to Pose Men“
• “Posing Tips For Women“
• “How to Pose a Couple“
• “Ice Society Promotional Video by Jerry Ghionis – Chapter 49-61 Highlights“
• “Erin’s bridal coverage – photography by Jerry Ghionis“

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28^th March

Hours 7,459 to 7,463

(2h) at the Stoke Poges Photographic Club, “Animals” PDI competition.

Image	…..	Comments
		“Antonio and Grutzi” 16 The judge thought the strip at the top was confusing and didn’t like the crop through the man’s head.
		“Cavorting Otters” 16 Otter on the right very good. However, the back of the other’s head is not. Would have been better having them both in profile.
		“A Surrealist on the Tube” 18 Interesting, but I don’t think she noticed the man’s background on the left of the image – she’s not a Magritte aficionado.
		“Corfe Castle Visiting Camber Sands” 16 Clever – but she clearly didn’t like it.

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27^th March

Hours 7,454 to 7,458

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26^th March

Hours 7,451 to 7,453

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25^th March

Hours 7,449 to 7,450

(½h) touristy shooting – travel/ street photography

(1½h) editing and processing the day’s images.

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24^th March

Hours 7,447 to 7,448

(½h) final editing of the Tuscany images in Capture One Pro on my main computer, and exporting to Lightroom

(½h) updating this journal

(1h) working on the “Revised Thought on Art” post and “Surrealism” presentation.

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23^rd March

Hours 7,445 to 7,446

(½h) processing yesterday street photography images, whilst travelling. Then transferring all Tuscany images to my main computer

(½h) working on my “Surrealism” presentation

(1h) YouTube from Jerry Ghionis on posing couples for wedding photography:

• “How to Photograph Couples With Height Difference”
  • shorter person slightly forward
  • tilt the camera
  • one person sitting
  • anything that brings their heads closer together.
• “Posing Tips For Women”
  • Stand slightly side on, towards the light-source/ key-light
  • Weight on back leg
  • Front leg: toes to camera, forward then back so that knees cross and leg bent
  • Lean towards the camera
  • Arms away from body – make excuses for this to happen naturally
  • Hands: wrists bent – use the cross-arm pulled back technique – very feminine
  • Heart shaped hands when adjusting earrings.

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22^nd March

Hours 7,442 to 7,444

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning – sun and mist

(1h) processing the morning’s images

(½h) working on my “Surrealism” presentation for the Amersham Photographic Society

(1h) “street”/ “travel”/ “tourist” photography

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21^st March

Hours 7,440 to 7,441

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning – sun and mist

(½h) processing the morning’s images

(½h) street photography

(½h) processing the day’s images

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20^th March

Hours 7,436 to 7,439

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning – light rain

(1½h) processing images from the last couple of days.

(2h) working on my “Surrealism” presentation for the Amersham Photographic Society.

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19^th March

Hours 7,434 to 7,435

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning – cloudy flat light

(1h) processing the morning’s images

(½h) street photography.

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18^th March

Hours 7,431 to 7,433

(1h) shooting – misty morning.

(2h) processing images from the last couple of days.

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17^th March

Hour 7,430

(½h) updating this journal

(½h) night shooting.

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16^th March

Hours 7,428 to 7,429

(2h) planning my presentation on Surrealism to the Amersham Photographic Society scheduled for the 3rd April.

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15^th March

Hours 7,425 to 7,427

(1h) updating this journal

(1h) rewatching the Art-facts YouTubes previously watched just a few days ago.

(1h) working with Photoshop to create files in the format required for an ARPS submission and completing all their forms.

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14^th March

Hours 7,422 to 7,424

(1h) preparing ARPS and CPAGB images for printing

(2h) Stoke Poges Photographic Club – “My Journey into Theatre Photography” by Cat Humphries.

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13^th March

Hours 7,419 to 7,421

(1h) processing images from Les Crosets

(2h) Amersham Photographic Society – Print Competition – no skin in the game.

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12^th March

Hours 7,416 to 7,418

(1h) transferring images of Les Crosets from laptop to PC for processing.

(2h) YouTube:

• Art-Facts:
  • “David Hockney” – interestingly, he used a lot of text (sometimes coded initials) in his earlier work which was almost neo-expressionist – like Kandinski, Hockney claims to have synesthesia, that enables him to visually see the sounds he hears
  • “Wassily Kandinsky” – believed that abstract art offered the posiblity of a profound relationship with art. However copying from nature merely got in the way of this process.
• Aurelio Salvador: “Julian Schnabel“
• Nowness by Porfirio Munoz: “Julian Schnabel – In the Course of 7 Days” – intimate portrait of an artist whose hybrid approach keeps him at the forefront of contemporary art.

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11^th March

Hours 7,413 to 7,415

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning

(1½h) editing and processing this morning’s images.

(1h) updating the “Revised Thoughts on Art” and “Winter 2022/ 23” posts.

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10^th March

Hours 7,410 to 7,412

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning

(1h) editing and processing images from the last few days

(½h) updating this journal

(1h) YouTube:

• Sotheby’s: “Expert Voices: Emma Baker on Magritte – La Leçon de Musique” – ear and bell image.
• Hochelaga: “Art of the Unconscious Mind“
• All Things Art: “Salvador Dali – The master of surrealism“

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9^th March

Hours 7,407 to 7,409

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning

(½h) updating this journal

(1h) importing and editing the above images in Capture One Pro

(1h) YouTube: “Joan Miró – Painter of another reality and creator of a theatre of dreams“

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8^th March

Hours 7,403 to 7,406

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning

(1½h) editing and processing images from the last couple of days

(1h) drafting a “Winter 2022/ 23” post and updating my “Revised thoughts on Art” Post.

(1h) YouTube:

• The Photographic Eye: “The Photoshoot Which Changed Fashion Photography” – the story of Peter Lindbergh
• The Canvas:
  • “How One Man Fought Hitler” – John Heartfield’s antifascist propaganda photography
  • “How Magritte Seduces Us” – Magritte’s concept of the visible that is hidden, creates enigma and leaves us wanting more – what more is there to seduction than that!
• Cultural Studies: “Interpreting Magritte’s The Lovers“
• Pursuit of Wonder: “The Terrible Paradox of Self-Awareness | Fernando Pessoa“

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7^th March

Hours 7,400 to 7,402

(1h) shooting first thing in the morning

(1h) editing and processing the above images in Capture One Pro

(½h) YouTube:

• The Canvas: “Francis Bacon destroyed his million dollar paintings“
• BBC Arts Documentary: “Philip Guston, Odd Man Out” – the man who, as a member of the New York School made a move away from the belief that the purest form of art is complete abstraction. [This is a key thought for my “Revised Thoughts on Art” post.

(½h) updating this journal.

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6^th March

Hours 7,398 to 7,399

(½h) shooting first thing in the morning.

(1h) working on my “Setting Up the Sony a1” post

(½h) night photography

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5^th March

Hour 7,397

(1h) working on my “Revised Thoughts on Art” post and drafting a “Setting Up the Sony a1” post

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4^th March

Hour 7,396

(1h) Updating this website

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3^rd March

Hour 7,395

(1h) YouTube on posing couples for wedding photography.

Time spent with Lottie and Darwin planning their wedding shoot and a pre-wedding woodland portraiture shoot.

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2^nd March

Hour 7,394

(½h) shooting horses in Hastings Meadow.

(½h) editing and processing the above including mono conversion in Capture One Pro.

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1^st March

Hours 7,388 to 7,393

(1h) updating this journal with all the new month admin

(1h) prep for this afternoon’s shoot with the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire at the Memorial Gardens

(1h) shooting the Lord Lieutenant with the great and the good of Stoke Poges in the Memorial Gardens.

(2h) processing the above images

(1h) creating the next version of my prospective A panel with the newly shot images in positions 12 & 14.

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(February 2023)