Tutor Feedback - TAOP Part 1- Assignment 1 Contrasts

Tutor Feedback - TAOP Part 1- Assignment 1 Contrasts
I've detailed below my assignment feedback from my tutor. This is both very constructive and supportive. I thank him for the observations, ideas and suggestion for improvement.
 
Overall Comments:
"The professional manner that you have approached the initial projects have shown a great commitment and a very good level of technique, you have started to develop the ideas and not just ‘ticked the box’. The choice of subjects to use for this exercise is good and the execution well presented"

 I was very pleased with this summary.
I've not included every element of the tutor feedback but it is the vast majority and I'm happy and honest enough to show this plus it also gives me easy and quick access to read this back and refresh my self of elements I need to improve and/or change
 
Feedback on assignment
Demonstration of technical and Visual Skills, Quality of Outcome, Demonstration of Creativity
"The well-presented PDF format shows that you care about your work and its presentation.
The whole collection of contrasts are well considered and executed, they for fill the assignment and show technical skills that are very competent.
I feel that, as with all collections of images there are some less strong than others, but overall this is a good set of images."

I've listed below a summary of my tutor's observations and commented accordingly:
A very good choice of big and the relationship of the small been within a woodland environment was an excellent choice.
However there are some small issues I would wish to address.
The Tree is static, and with the use of a tripod, a long exposure and maximum depth of field (focus) would have helped record the great texture of the bark.
This as well as other images from the series does not follow the rule of thirds, and although the images work, they may have benefited by employing the use of this ‘rule’. You may also have considered the position of the tree and it may have had more impact if it had run diagonally across the image. These observations do not detract from a good image, but the images as a whole may benefit and when capturing the images, alternative views (POV’s) should be considered and ideally executed, to have the alternative at the editing stage.
 
This is a good suggestion and in Part 2 I have already started exploring this aspect of lines and can fully appreciate energy given in diagonal and curved lines. I also fully take on the recommendation of taken multiple images exploring alternate views. This not only allows experimentation but gives a greater chance of creating the best image form the situation

The control of contrast with the subjects is something you may want to consider, some images such as the round post, would possibly benefit from more contrast, a reflector providing a cross light may produce a stronger texture and with the darker shadows, the top would stand out from the similar toned background.  
A reflector is now on my xmas list so let's hope I've been a good boy :D

 The use of limited depth of field and the creation of a Bokeh effect on the floor was a very good use of the technique to emphasize the round post top.
Submitting as a PDF is perfectly acceptable as a reference for the images, but fine detail and photographic quality needs to be assessed, so the OCA policy is that High res Jpegs are delivered to accompany the PDF, as this is an early assessment it is not critical, but as you wish to progress to a BA, it would be advisable to get into the habit of submitting in this manner.
 I had included the high res images within the PDF; they should have been attached with my submission as separate files. A good lesson to learn at the start of the course

The concept of light and heavy, your, rock and feather is a strong idea, but the lightness and delicacy of the feather is lost, as it seems to be damp and imperfect. This great idea is let down by the attention to detail, and combing the two elements in the one image, does not work as well as it could. The ambition of the idea is to be applauded; In future strong ideas such as this will require careful execution to realize their potential.  
This was very careless of me but again, learning from mistakes is important. At times I am focus too much on the assignment and not the basics of photography and attention to detail has waned whilst I've focused too completely on the assignment

  I felt that your colour choice been slightly desaturated worked very well. With extremes of lighting it may well help to bring the images together as a body of work. This shows a sophisticated appreciation of colour this is something to build on and develop in future work.
The Straight and curved images were especially successful, not taking a literal route, but an interpretation of straight, works very well and the twigs and shadows produce strong and well connected pair of contrasts. Sometimes the most simple can be thee best to provide a visual communication.
Well done, I look forward to seeing the next assignments submission

 Learning Logs or Blogs/Critical essays
Context
Your on line Blog, is a showing a very good understanding of the exercises and is very well presented, try to make every image count, they may be technical exercises, but this module is about the Art of photography, so choose your subjects well and execute to the best of your ability, they may not be assessed, but it shows your commitment and helps develop
your skills and eye for detail, lighting and composition.
I would like to see alternative images to the ones submitted to show that your editing skills are developing; this is something that you may wish to consider for future assignments and exercises. It demonstrates how you chose and image and why, don’t be afraid to show the unsuccessful images, the fact that you can communicate why they are less successful than the selected image demonstrates your progress and learning.
I hadn't really thought about doing this but it is such a good idea not only to show the alternatives view of images I've taken but also my selection reasoning and post processing
 
Suggested reading/viewing
Context This included visiting a library for books of images as the printed image can be a better experience than one viewed on a screen.
Visit exhibitions and festivals
The luminous landscape website:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/index.shtml  

Pointers for the next assignment
In your learning log, consider showing how you develop an idea for an image, how you select from a selection.

My Reflective View
This is good feedback. I think in hindsight I have focused too much on the contrasting elements and selection of the images, e.g. the assignment and let this dominate my thoughts to the point of spending less time on the key basic elements of framing subjects. This is a good lesson to learn. That said its my first assignment and I'm getting more used to the process of the course and the assignments, well at least the first one, and also more importantly the process of self critique, understanding, learning and posting of learning within my blog. Its surprising how helpful this is.
I will also look to take multiple images considering alternate views and in my blog comment on my thought processes for selection and any post processing.
I will also plan to experiment a bit more and as my tutor says not be afraid of failed images. I never have been but perhaps to be more honest and constructive in reviewing why some things seem to work and others don’t will also me from a critiques perspective but with this learning and knowledge more firmly embedded will help make more educated consideration at the time of taking future images. I will now include my images of this sort in my blog