Where is this all going?

Where is this all going?

Up until this point I have not fully decided what the final output of this project would be. In my proposal I had thought would like to create a photo book the number of photos I've taken to represent the topic of atmosphere encompassing all different perspectives that I had researched. But because I had not fully defined it I was leaving myself open to be guided by the outcomes of the project so inflexible in terms of what I create. however, product to launch of my survey I have no real through of what this book would look like. This is when I came across the following quote: 

"I don't think books are the wrong format at all. I think they're, They're the best possible format for doing deep thinking, […] the quality of my thought when I'm writing a book […], it's sharper, it's more systematic it's clearer than any other thinking that I do, because I have to wrestle with a big question or topic. I have to build a framework around it and then I have to I'm trying to essentially I'm trying to build a forest where I know what the forest is before I planted all the trees." (Grant 2021)

In the last part of this quote is exactly how I feel presently, the forest for me is this book containing loads of pictures each depicting atmosphere or atmospherics in their own way in a juxtaposition to get the viewer to think about the topic. But I cannot see the trees I have not yet found an individual image that I feel suits the book at present and I'm struggling to see how I'm able to generate all these images in the present state of lockdown. For example, the range and selection of images used in the survey are such variety that it would be unrealistic for me to replicate all of the qualities to fully analyse this topic using my own images. This put doubts on my aspirations of creating a photo book on the one hand I see the photo book being an expression my capabilities and the stamp on the world as a photographer. When one compares their work to the almost infinite selection photographs over the Internet one inevitably the feels inferior.

During this week’s seminar the idea of what would be the final outcome came up in the talks between my peers.  My peers were far more open in terms of what would be the outcome suggestions range from a talk, a paper, documentary, a textbook rather than a photo book.

There is a bit of tension with this, as my objective is to increase my skill set as a photographer, and by inference create a body of photographic work.  Through this process refine my skills by exploring a novel topic . This new direction is a move back to what I do in my day to day, I research, document and analyse technologies and make recommendations and teach their most effective use.  But I now have to balance what I want with what is feasible.  One hope is that the creation of my studio space will give me the time and freedom to work independently of my restraints.