Weeks 1 - 3: Initial ideas, research and first shoot
At the beginning of the project, I was given the FMP brief and spent time deciding on an idea that could realistically carry me through the full project. I knew I wanted to work with nature because it is something I enjoy photographing, but I was also aware that it is an oversaturated genre and I did not want the work to become cliche or purely decorative.
My first idea was based around the transition from winter to spring, but I quickly realised this was too simple, so I began developing it further into micro changes and questioning what change actually means. I started making mind maps and mood boards, looking at ideas around familiarity, impermanence and the smaller changes we often overlook.
​
I also researched artists such as Susan Derges and Andy Goldsworthy, whose work helped me think about collaborating with nature rather than just photographing it. I looked into the 12 week year theory as well, as the idea that visible change can happen within twelve weeks linked directly to the length of my project.
In week three, I completed my first photoshoot, using it as a starting point to capture the late stages of winter and see what naturally stood out to me. Although I would have liked to shoot earlier, taking more time to build the concept helped me avoid simply taking pretty images without depth.
​
Weeks 4 - 6: Experimentation, mixed media, joiners and cyanotypes
During weeks four to six, I began experimenting more physically and conceptually with my images. In a mixed media workshop, I tore apart and manipulated my own photographs, removing layers and combining them into collages. This made me think more about my own role within the project and whether I was controlling nature, manipulating it, or collaborating with it.
Researching Anya Gallaccio also helped develop this idea further, especially through her use of real plants and flowers that are left to decay naturally within exhibitions. This linked strongly to my interest in showing stages of nature that are usually missed or ignored.
​
I then researched David Hockney’s joiners and began adapting the technique to fit my own concept. Instead of using multiple images to build one scene, I combined images of the same subject taken at different times to show change within a single image. This became one of the strongest directions in my project.
I also completed another photoshoot using slow shutter speeds, allowing wind and movement to affect the outcome. This helped me move closer to the idea of collaborating with nature rather than fully controlling the image. Later, I experimented with cyanotypes and sun paper, using both my own photographs and real plants to capture exact shapes and changes in form over time.
​
Weeks 7 - 9: Revisiting locations, prisms and midpoint exhibition
In week seven, I revisited the same locations from my first shoot to compare what had changed in both the environment and my own approach. I noticed that my attention to detail had improved a lot, and I was spotting subjects and compositions that I probably would have missed earlier in the project.
I also experimented with shooting through a prism, which became one of my favourite shoots because it gave the images a more abstract, fleeting quality. The reflections and distortions linked well to my ideas about constant change and the difficulty of fully holding onto a moment.
​
During weeks eight and nine, I focused more on presentation and audience response. I worked on my website and began preparing for the midpoint online exhibition with Ebby. We chose to use a virtual gallery, and I worked on the technical side by uploading, placing and resizing the images while Ebby created the poster and feedback form.
When the exhibition launched, it was sent out to multiple departments and received positive feedback. This was useful because it was the first time I saw my work properly displayed as a series, and the responses helped me understand whether the concept was coming through to an audience. The feedback reassured me that viewers were seeing beyond the aesthetic quality of the images and understanding the deeper ideas behind them.
​
Weeks 10 - 13: Refinement, black and white work, final outcomes and exhibition planning
In the final weeks, I focused on refining the strongest parts of my project and deciding which directions were worth continuing. I returned to my joiner experiments because they were the most successful pieces conceptually, and I tried combining them with cyanotype fragments. However, I felt the strong blue tones were too harsh and did not work visually with the rest of my images, so I decided not to take this idea further. This helped me recognise that not every experiment needed to become a final outcome, and that editing ideas down was just as important as generating them.
​
I was then encouraged to look at Imogen Cunningham’s botanical photography, which led me to Edward Weston and his abstract black and white studies of natural forms. This pushed me outside my usual colourful style and inspired me to complete one final macro based photoshoot. I was really happy with these images because the close crops and black and white editing made the subjects harder to immediately recognise, forcing viewers to pay more attention to form, texture and detail.
In the final week, I planned my end of year exhibition, selected my final images, created layout mock ups, wrote my artist statement and final evaluation, checked through my work, and ordered my prints. This final stage allowed me to bring the whole project together and reflect on which experiments had been most successful in communicating my concept.