Having finished my Square Mile assignment, the first port of call was to review my initial thoughts on this particular brief which can be found here and here. It is pretty clear to me how the original ideas evolved through each step of the project, just by looking at my final images. Instead of revisiting a town which held significant memories, emotions and specific buildings which meant a lot to me alone, I ended up including family too. 

While I covered most areas I originally wanted to explore, the project was shaped by my grandmother without realising, as I subconsciously retraced our recent visit to Winchester, helping me see the town in a completely different way.

Considering this assignment was somewhat of an introduction to my tutor, I wanted to avoid receiving too much influence from others, to stay true to how I create, hopefully making it easier for my tutor to understand my creative process at current, hence my decision to study one practitioner in depth.

However, having studied Keith Arnatt and his various works, I began to understand how much of an impact your work can have if you create a cohesive series. Choosing to be consistent with your camera settings, lighting and framing can help tell a story, without it being too jarring. 

I took this knowledge and used it in my work, by becoming more aware of what I was shooting, how images linked together through subject matter, composition and lighting which I feel I was successful with. Framing and distance was a struggle due to the available space, as well as the angles subjects were captured at which can hopefully be improved in the future. Examples of this can be found in Nature vs Man Made and Home Sweet Home. While they aren’t bad, I would’ve preferred that I captured the window head-on instead of below and the houses were less tightly framed. 


Despite my struggle with space, the use of depth of field is one of my favourite techniques, which I feel I was reasonably strong at showing throughout, albeit the depth was more obvious in some and subtler in others, such as Work vs Life and Walking in the rain.

Another thing I noticed while analysing my imagery, is my ability to juxtapose. For example, Perspective and Hymns by the bench don’t necessarily pair up at first glance, but the story of my grandparents link them together beautifully.

I’m really happy with how this project turned out as my strengths aren’t found in street photography or architecture, however pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying a few different techniques, made me realise that my horizons can be broadened and be successful. If I were to develop this in the future, I think I would be a little bit kinder to myself in terms of failed concepts and images. Not everything is going to work, but you will find some gems amongst the dirt.

References :

Powell, L. (2019) ‘Initial thoughts about ‘The Square Mile’ + Mindmap’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2019/08/12/initial-thoughts-about-the-square-mile-mindmap/uare-mile-mindmap/ (Accessed 23 September 2019).

Powell, L. (2019) ‘Plan for ‘The Square Mile’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2019/08/20/plan-for-the-square-mile/ (Accessed 23 September 2019).

Powell, L. (2019) ‘Keith Arnatt Research’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2019/08/13/keith-arnatt-research/ ( Accessed 23 September 2019).