Are You Drowning Yet?
- Laura Marsh
- Mar 9, 2021
- 4 min read
Looking back on week 6’s feedback and the weeks before from my 1:1’s and webinars, the dissemination of my work has been an area I have already been thinking about and exploring, from looking at practitioners such as Fleur Olby this week, to printing my work to A4 size and looking at different Photobook and Zine ideas.
My work currently is shared with the world online via my Instagram page, like many of us do, and occasionally my LinkedIn page as more professional social site, a site my colleagues and myself use as a means of networking within education, I also use it for photography networking. I am unsure if this is a good way to disseminate work, but it will expose my work to those within the business who follow me, this can work if the right people are following you, but otherwise it can be lost in the sea of images and posts.
As discussed in previous weeks, social media and how the photograph is shared to become viral and constant is a way artists and photographers these days communicate and promote their work, potential customers can see the work before buying it, just like online shopping allows us to do and sales are instant. This has become more prevalent due to the pandemic as I have observed from friends and relatives who are freelance artists, who are now relying on online sales through social media and their websites, rather than physical experiences and sales at art fairs, markets, and galleries.
During the first presentation, A Sea of Images by Dr Steph Cosgrove, 5th March 2021, I was reminded of an image of mine that I shared on my Twitter feed six years ago in 2015. This related how our location or hometown is perceived via advertising or holiday adverts in comparison to how we see the place.
I shared three images of the main beach, Viking Bay, in my hometown, taken just after sunrise. One of these was picked up by the local tourist company Visit Thanet – Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate and they contacted me to ask if they could share it on their Facebook page as the cover photo, under their #wishyouwerehere? campaign. I was happy for them to use it with my name credited and Twitter tag.
I was not surprised that they chose the image that would suit a tourist company’s area promotion, a shot looking out to sea, sun rising to the right, pier on the left and the beach in the centre, looking inviting and tranquil. My other images looking at their context, would not have worked as it is not completely identifiable as Viking Bay and maybe not as ideal or the perfect pictures of Broadstairs they were looking for to draw in visitors to the town.
Is my image a true representation of the town? For me yes and my intention was for it be true to what I saw and chose to photograph, this image is not edited in any and I did not take it to share with the tourist company, but when I shared it to Twitter it was open and out there to be shared, re-tweeted and to be used, therefore out of my hands and a decision I agreed to by joining twitter.
Over Christmas, I decided to make a photobook of my personal work covering images from my last two years visits to Devon. Selecting a range of images that I felt suited a book as well as the range of images I took at the time. This book is a personal portfolio, as another person has discussed with their work as well on this forum, and I have had copies printed for family to have a keep sake. I am unsure if this would work for my current project, but as the weeks progress and my ideas for the project develop, I am looking at curating another using my project to see how the layouts could work, and if a book would suit, as a test run. This is something I have recently discussed in my CRJ.
I am still unsure how my work could be best disseminated, having firstly thought about a zine but upon reflection and feedback on the reading of my work, I am re-considering the idea, as the images may be too small within that context to be viewed, which is why I am planning to explore further.
Instagram Page: @lauramarshphotography
References:
Cosgrove, S., 2021. Week 7 Introduction: A Sea of Images.
---. “Velvet Black Editions – Fleur Olby.” Fleur Olby, 2021, fleurolby.com/velvet-black-2/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.
Websites:
Visit Thanet. “Things to Do, What’s On, Accommodation in Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate - Visit Thanet.” Www.visitthanet.co.uk, 2021, www.visitthanet.co.uk/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.
Visit Thanet- Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. “Viking Bay by Laura Marsh, Shared as Part of #Wishyouwerehere? 2015,” Facebook, 13 Jan. 2015, Visit Thanet- Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.
Figures:
Fig 1: Screenshot by Laura Marsh, 2021, from Visit Thanet - Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate Facebook Post, 13th January 2015
Fig 2: Laura Marsh, 2015, Viking Bay
Fig 3: Laura Marsh, 2015, Viking Bay
Fig 4: Laura Marsh, 2015, Viking Bay
Fig 5: Laura Marsh, 2021, Devon 2019-2020 Photobook
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