Here are two of my initial designs of a logo for a company who buys and sells second hand and vintage fashion. What are your views on them? I like them both and think they both have strong points, but it would be good to hear outside feedback!

Yesterday was the flottracet, which is a big boat race all the Swedish students take part in. They build their own boats and race along the main river through the city center. It looked like the majority of the boats did float, and there was a lot of students there racing and supporting!

By the river there was such a great athmosphere, people were dressed in their colors and also in fancy dress and everyone was celebrating with several drinks and dancing to music. We too joined in with the drinking and then later that evening headed down to the student bar Bunkern, which was a really cool chilled out lounge bar, a few had dinner there and we all indulged in the low prices they had to offer on their drinks.

But for now, here is some scenery

(more photographs and posts to go throughout my stay here)

Luckily it was a gorgeous day for the guests at the wedding, but when the sun is so bright it sucks a bit for the person taking the photos because you tend to get a lot of squinty faces in the photos.

Now I wouldn’t say that this is some of my strongest work, and I think its probably due to the fact that I don’t enjoy wedding photography and I guess it shows in my imagery. But its good to experience it a couple of times and to know how to shoot in different lighting zones. Once you go inside the church after taking images you need to adjust your iso, shutter and aperture pretty fast, and its probably best if you have a flash gun and a couple of decent lenses. My kit failed me that day, with my standard lens still broken from Tenerife and a student budget and even with 3 jobs at the time I still couldn’t afford a replacement because the whole tenerife experience knocked me back about 600-700£ plus I lost a months worth of wages! Oh and also take a couple of memory cards too, sometimes you can get snap happy.

But yeah these are the “best” out of the 800+ photos of the day. And yes I know its about quality not quantity but when you are standing around as a photographer at a wedding waiting for something to happen you feel awkward when people look at you and you aren’t taking any photos so I just kept shooting and deleting the naff ones along the way.

The night was really cool, I have never been to a mehndi night before and it was actually really interesting seeing such a cultural event, the night was colourful and entertaining – I hope the photos resemble the night.

Such a beautiful day, I tried not to cry! The atmosphere in Hyde Park and all of London was incredible, I was glad to be a part of the festivities, and there was so many people about in red white and blue, very patriotic. I am proud to have been there and to have seen everything, I’ve been to London several times before, but this was definitely my favourite time.

Whilst on my placement I found I was developing quite radically in personal skills. Working for the foundation involved working as a team, and also put me in situations which were out of my comfort zone. But being in these situations helped me grow as it’s important to try out new experiences and roles to develop.  I found myself being more confident in myself and within my own work.

We had many meetings with Ed, and he explained to us what projects he had in mind for us. However some of the ideas were mainly long term goals and would have required me being there for a long term period.  I continued the main role of volunteering on the boats, filling out data sheets, photographing fin shots and also talking to the passengers on the whale watching boats and explaining to them about what the foundation do and how they can be involved themselves. We were on the boats three days a week which left us with 4 days per week to begin work on the set projects from Ed.

The projects involved photographing the island, and many different areas that are drenched with culture and nature. For instance we took part in the Masca Bay hike, documenting the flora and the scenery to be used for promotional material such as websites, flyers and presentations. I decided to continue documenting the island, with and fellow photography student Louise, and we photographed Arona, which was the village we were staying in. As well as that we ventured off 80km north of the island to Santa Cruz, and documented the city and the architecture which could be found there.

It was actually really difficult trying to get around to different areas of the island with on such a short time scale. As we had to photograph, edit and publish this work not only onto our own blog space but give Ed copies of this work too. There was around forty volunteers come during the middle of our visit so it was difficult getting time to speak to Ed as he had a lot of other projects going on with several small groups.

Although there were difficulties I still managed to gain a lot form this experience. When I first arrived on my placement, I noticed that my standard lens for my DSLR had broken during my journey, so I had to make do with a tele-macro lens, which wasn’t easy, having never used it before. So this made it even more difficult for me to actually get properly framed shots. I carried on practicing with the lens though and became more comfortable after a few sessions. I then began out a personal project which I have exhibited online. This is of the tourists on the whale watching boats. I actually really enjoyed being able to capture these people in an abstract way, which disguises their identity and I feel it also has a photojournalist feel to them. I continued this style after my placement at the AWF when I went to Hyde Park for The Royal Wedding. So I guess even though it will be a major dent in the bank balance when it comes to replacing my lens, I have actually gained a new perspective with my photography and a new distinctive style, which I will continue to keep developing in further work.

Working for the AWF really opened my eyes for my future and my job. I have been really fickle and broad with photography, but now reality has really hit me and I guess it really is time I should knuckle down and actually chose a career path which I can progress in. After looking back at my work many of times and been given feedback in many ways from peers I have now begun to narrow down my choices on careers. I know I definitely want to continue using my work to aid small and global charities, but I think I can do this in a more personal style. Photographs can send a powerful message to an audience that may never actually get to experience certain traumas, poverty and danger that happens widely throughout the world. I think now I should think strongly about working towards the style of photo journalism as this will be an important quality to have in my work for the future.

The whole entire experience throughout my placement was incredibly positive. I was sad to leave when my three weeks were up, and in honesty, I think three weeks was definitely too short. I think if I’d of stayed for a minimum of six weeks then I would have really been able to develop the assigned projects.  I have actually learnt a lot about myself and what it is I want to gain from my practice. Having connections with the AWF and several volunteers, I can say I am a part of a community within the foundation and I would be welcomed back at any point with in the future. It is really useful that the foundation use similar networking tools such as twitter, facebook, wordpress and flickr, because that means I can be up to date with their developments and stay in contact with them throughout my career. The foundation also has projects running through several different countries so I will always be willing to volunteer again for the foundation, in Tenerife and beyond.

Maria Elizabeth Joynes

Contact

mariajoynes@hotmail.co.uk

Qualifications

Coventry University

BA Hons Photography

September 2009 – July 2012

Undergraduate

BTEC National Diploma
01-Jun-2009
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
Art & Design – Specialising In Photography
Grade: Merit

BTEC National Award
01-Jun-2008
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
Art & Design
Grade: Merit
Module details

Visual Recording in Art and Design Grade: Merit Value: -
Materials, Techniques and Processes in A and D Grade: Merit Value: -
Ideas and concepts in Art and Design Grade: Merit Value: -
Visual Communication in Art and Design Grade: Merit Value: -
Photography Media, Techniques and Technology Grade: Merit Value: -
Multi-Disciplinary Work in Fine Art Grade: Dist Value: -

Key Skill Level 1
01-Apr-2008
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
Information and Communication Technology Level 1
Grade: Pass

Key Skill Level 2
01-Apr-2009
North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
Information and Communication Technology Level 2
Grade: Pass

GCSE
01-Jun-2007
JOHN CLEVELAND COLLEGE, HINCKLEY
English Literature – Grade: B
English -Grade: B
Media Studies – Grade: B
GCSE: Double Award
Health and Social Care
Grade: BB
GCSE: Double Award
Science: CC
Mathematics – Grade: C
Design & Technology: Textiles Technology
Grade: C
Religious Studies – Grade: C
French – Grade : C

Personal Statement

I find myself to be a hard-working and self motivated individual, I enjoy learning new skills on a regular basis and I also tend to develop the skills which I have already achieved. Having worked individually and in teams in several different scenarios, I have the ability to easily adapt to a challenge, and to work positively to gain an outcome. I continue to learn on a daily basis and I am not narrow-minded about my education, I believe that learning is a continuous process and that it is one of the most valuable skills you can attain. Being a part of a diverse work force and an international University has opened my eyes wider to the world around me, and has encouraged me more to explore further into different countries. I have begun doing this by actively seeking charitable work, where I can take my photography with me to allow myself to communicate messages visually.

Employment History

Atlantic Whale Foundation – April 2011

Voluntary work as part of the AWF charity. During my placement based in Arona, Tenerife I was able to develop my skills as working in a team as well as an individual. I found that during my time here I grew in confidence and my attitude towards putting my photography into practice has strengthened greatly. It was an amazing opportunity to work for the foundation and by having different job roles, everyday was different and exciting.

B&Q Plc – May 2010 – present

I began work at B&Q working as a checkout operator, having recently received my first appraisal I was noted as a friendly and efficient member of the checkout team. I have recently changed job role and I have been covering the showrooms event from december as a sales assistant, and it has been a completely different experience which has let me interact further with customers and develop my skills much stronger around the store. Working as a part of a team has really helped build my confidence and I have learnt that I can work hard to meet standards and provide helpful and friendly advice.

Balloonatics Party Shop – Sept 08 – present

Having worked at Balloonatics Party Shop for several years now I have worked in several departments of the store, helping customers where needs be. I have also been chosen to represent the store in several different ways such as judging the Hinckley/Burbage Carnival Princess in 2009, to representing the store at wedding fayres at prestige event days such as Walton Hall and Debenhams, High Cross Leicester. It has been a privilege working for Balloonatics and each day I work is different, possessing new tasks and learning curves.

References available

02)Agata Paraszczak – Coordinator AWF (Manchester/Poland)

03)Kenrick de Grijs – Leiden, Netherlands

04) KC Woolbright – Bremen, Germany/Cebu City, Phillipines

05) Jaime Hurtado – Bremen Germany/Bogota, Colombia

These contacts from the AWF will be really useful for when I begin travelling europe, and also for if when I want to return to the awf!

There were many people I met at my placement and a lot were from Coventry University, So for all of them, I will definitely be keeping in contact with them as friends and they can also help me develop my practice through different skills. I met a lot of graphic designers and media production students who could really help me develop as a business by helping me build a decent website and by also widening my skills by developing more work in film and video.