Week 2

My experiments have led to a cyanotype printing into a plaster brick.I washed it and the image disappeared. Upon further research that the cyanotype doesn’t do well in an alkaline environment. It prefers acid for archival permanence. I decided to push the idea of cyanotypes a little further into a three dimensional object to start to bring on this work.

The initial idea was to use objects that I can’t live without.

This boiled down to Glasses, headphones, and memory stick.I exposed the brick for twenty minutes and washed it in a bath of running water.

The subject of this weeks readings is

You are the business. ….

After Listening to Glyns words of wisdom I decided I have quite a lot of experience in this subject. I have run my own business for most of my life. My photographic business in the 80s and 90s as an assistant in the US and Australia and then selling myself as a fashion photographer. My love as a fashion photographer was sourcing locations and cool ideas for shoots. Sourcing 1950s fridges to finding cool pools to shoot beauty in. I really loved the challenge.

I also did quite well at managing the accountancy side of things. I couldn’t help thinking that so much more could have been said in the video.

My age here is my advantage. The structure of a business is crucial. With the ‘goal posts’ always changing it is worth getting a really good plan in place. I thought the accountancy apps could have been mentioned. You can photograph the receipts and save them to a cloud.(Zero) When a business is first starting this could be brilliant for photographer first starting out with large expenses for production etc.

Drilling down into the allowable expenses could have been great. After watching the video I set up a spreadsheet to tally all the expenses that I have incurred since starting my MA course. This includes the trip to Paris, the MA fees, magazine subscriptions, printing charges and the list goes on.I have spoken to my accountant to help me claim my photographic business expenses. His response was ‘Yes’ as long as I was in business prior as a photographer.(Bingo)!

I will still have quite a lot to do with my other business although I have done well with delegation now and things are almost running themselves.

My business plan.

Is there such a thing as premeditated path or business plan for an artist. This business certainly won’t be sold. It’s called a lifestyle business. This means that the business cannot run without my personal input.

An example of a transferable business would be an ice-cream shop. Anyone can buy it and train to sell ice-creams. The uniqueness of a photographic business makes it a ‘lifestyle business’.

I thought I should structure around some small goals, quarterly and leading up to some bigger goals annually. So I split the year into four quarters and tried to make some small achievable goals.

Mission

My photographic practice is embryonic. My only mission is to create work at the moment. To be free and not shackle myself into one mode of working. The work is personal and at the moment I am interested in the creation of work rather the business of trading photographs for money.

The minute I think about creating for something that is tradable or collectible I think the individualism of my work disappears.

Objectives

To listen to myself.

Express myself and listen to feedback from others.

Push the practice further in terms of the materiality of a photograph.

To connect with galleries and curators globally.

To develop my skills in digital photography

To increase the traffic to my website (update website with new imagery)

To develop two personal stories (bodies of work) in the next year. (2019)

To develop some paid work

Put myself up for some relevant competitions

Collaborate or be able to travel to Photo shows and participate if possible.

Strategies

Reality check (once a week) Check in with myself on theses strategies are they realistic?

Look at sponsors for these two personal projects.

Continue to experiment with the very idea of a photograph.

Collaborate or be able to travel to Photo shows and participate if possible.

To connect with other students/practitioners that work with the abstract idea.

I love to look at others work and help them find a way through or more direction. To develop this area as well.

Network and attend portfolio reviews one per month

Products

· Large handmade paper cyanotypes A1 +

· Large handmade black and white hand printed works

Market (Audiences)

My audience will be varied and I see this building up over time.I think I could think about different channels of exposure to think about types of audiences.

1: Exhibitions: like-minded buyers of art. Appreciators of fine art.

2: Instagram: My followers are a type of audience.

3:Commercial: Interior designers looking to buy art for clients. Art buyers.

4:Quirky portrature/fashion work comercail clients.

Reading list:

Lisa Pritchard, (2011) Setting up a Successful Photography Business,Uk Bloomsbury Visual Arts

Roland Barthes (1972) Mythologies, UK, Penguin

Roland barthes Writing Degree Zero (1953), US,Hill and Wang

Week 2

The initial idea was to use objects that I can’t live without.

This boiled down to Glasses, headphones, and memory stick.

I exposed the brick for twenty minutes and washed it in a bath of running water.

Week 3:

The subject of this weeks readings is

You are the business. After Listening to Glyns words of wisdom I decided I have quite a lot of experience in this subject. I have run my own business for most of my life. My photographic business in the 80s and 90s as an assistant in the US and Australia and then selling myself as a fashion photographer. My love as a fashion photographer was sourcing locations and cool ideas for shoots. Sourcing 1950s fridges to finding cool pools to shoot beauty in.I really loved the challenge.

I also did quite well at managing the accountancy side of things. I couldn’t help thinking that so much more could have been said in the video.

My age here is my advantage. The structure of a business is crucial. With the ‘goal posts’ always changing it is worth getting a really good plan in place. I thought the accountancy apps could have been mentioned. You can photograph the receipts and save them to a cloud. When a business is first starting this could be brilliant for photographer first starting out with large expenses for production etc.

Drilling down into the allowable expenses could have been great. After watching the video I set up a spreadsheet to tally all the expense that I have incurred since starting my MA course. This will include the trip to Paris, the MA fees, magazine subscriptions, printing charges and the list goes on.

I will still have quite a lot to do with my other business although I have done well with delegation now and things are almost running themselves.

My business plan.

An example of a transferable business would be an ice-cream shop. Anyone can buy it and train to sell ice-creams. The uniqueness of a photographic business makes it a lifestyle business.

I thought I should structure around some small goals, quarterly and leading up to some bigger goals annually. So I split the year into four quarters and tried to make some small achievable goals.

Mission

My photographic practice is embryonic. My only mission is to create work. To be free and not shackle myself into one mode of working. The work is personal and at the moment I am interested in the creation of work rather the business of trading photographs for money.

The minute I think about creating for something that is tradable or collectible I think the individualism of my work disappears.

Objectives

To listen to myself.

Express myself and listen to feedback from others.

Push the practice further in terms of the materiality of a photograph.

To explore the possibilities of sponsorships within these bodies of work.

To connect with galleries and curators globally.

Strategies

· To develop two stories in the next year. (2019)

· Look at sponsors for these two projects.

· Continue to experiment with the very idea of a photograph

· Produce with others a gallery show (collaborative)

· To connect with other students/practitioners that work with the abstract idea.

· I love to look at others work and help them find a way through or more direction. To develop this area as well.