I am struggling to come to a view about the best option so I decided to think more about each option and clarify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relating to them. This is an approach I would use in my consulting work helping clients to come to an informed view about the pros and cons in relation to their choices. Noting, of course, that this process is on-going and will be a continuous assessment of my options moving forward.
At this stage I have four options:
- Continue with the same subject matter as my WIPP for Sustainable Prospects – The Reeds of Loch Cill Chriosd
- Focus on the Black Cuillin Ridge
- Focus on trees on The Road to Elgol
- Think of something else
The Reeds of Loch Cill Chriosd
My first option is to continue to develop my semi-abstract work on The Reeds of Loch Cill Chriosd.
Loch Cill Chriosd – Alison Price, January 2019
I really enjoy working on the Loch and with the reeds and it allows me to focus down in a way I had not previously done in my Work in Progress Portfolios. I am emotionally drawn to return, and successes with the quite extraordinary light in early January makes this a comfortable option and one that I am passionate about.
Here is my assessment of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats for The Reeds of Loch Cill Chriosd.
The Black Cuillin Ridge
Another option to which I have emotional attachment is capturing the ridge of the Black Cuillin.
Black Cuillin Ridge
I am fascinated by this inhospitable and often foreboding place and the dramatic changes in light, weather and atmosphere. My plan would be to focus in on the ridge itself and the immediate area around it rather than photographing wider views of it.
This is my initial view of my second option:
Trees on the Road to Elgol
My third option is to be creative in capturing the many trees, their shapes and surfaces in a semi-abstract way. I have recently reviewed the work of Guy Tal and also a photographer working in Orkney called Nicki Gwynn-Jones. Tal is less abstract but provides an interesting window on nature while Gwynn-Jones has perfected her abstract approach over a number of years:
Guy Tal
The link below is to a gallery of Gwynn-Jones’s images taken in The Cairngorms:
https://nickigwynnjones.zenfolio.com/p786731445
For me, Trees on The Road to Elgol is the least developed of my options and the one I have least emotional attachment to although I can see opportunities. My initial assessment of this option is below:
I will return to the Isle of Skye next week and will be working on The Road to Elgol. My intention is to scope and take test images for all three projects to get a sense of my commitment and the relative success of this initial work. Images will follow in my Project Development blog.
Well done and a very interesting application of the principles of narrative SWOT. It was very easy to make the linkages around the SWOT and how they relate to one another. Each circular narrative does point to a strategic issue for you but one does stand out: your lack of confidence in your creative ability. Looking at your work I do not think that lack of confidence is justified, what’s more I think a very clear and reflective style is emerging in your work: reflective as far as the subject is concerned, but also reflective of your own view of the world. Images can be either mirrors or windows, but the best ones are both.
Alison I think you are setting yourself a very high barrier in wishing to be able to convey your emotions to the viewer. I think if you are able to create any emotional response you are doing well.