Colin MacLeod is a digital imaging artist specialising in the production of manipulated photographic material.
His work is available on the Kunstmatrix platform, where a number of exhibitions are currently on show. The images try to be as diverse as possible, ranging from traditional photography to abstraction.
In addition to his online presence, he has held a number of gallery showings in his home city of Edinburgh.
Colin graduated from Edinburgh College of Art, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
He lectured in creative film practice at the Heriot-Watt University, the Edinburgh College of Art, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Napier University and the Screen Academy, Scotland.
Teaching and practice over a number of years have included a variety of activities that range from film production to professional training and research. He has worked in many parts of the world in a variety of capacities, including production, lecturing, and project development.
Reflections on Lens Media and Education
Is photography an art form or a craft? It all depends on how the visual components are used. The distribution of shapes, colour and tones, composition, lighting and framing are the key elements, and if an image conveys the essence of a subject and its meaning with these facets, the greater the artistic regard will be. Of course the craft must be there, but technical excellence on its own obviates the congruity of ideas, observations and methods. Thus it is important that a balance should be achieved with all of the forms and materials that realise the relationship between the art and the craft.
Photographic practices can be amateur or professional, generalist or specialist, artistic or scientific, commercial or non-profit-making, advocative or propagandistic. They cover as much subject matter as that conveyed by other linguistic forms of communication. The difference between the amateur and the professional is not about ability, it is whether it is done purely for pleasure, or as a way of earning an income. Most professionals (and some amateurs) are specialists, using specific methods to covey distinctiveness.
Think of any subject grouping, and you realise that visual information is a text that has to be read. The adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words" describes the complexity of meaning inscribed in a single still image. Verbal descriptors can augment an image, but cannot produce the quintessence of a picture's meaning. Additionally, a picture transcends the barriers of languages, and allows meanings to be shared internationally. Through photography we communicate across the societal divide, and create opportunities beyond cultural domains. As an activity photography is popular globally, because of its universal qualities and common significations.
Basic technology is changing all the time, and the development of digitalisation is affecting the culture of image making. Prior to the introduction of mobile phones taking a picture was a conscious decision to have a camera to hand, and a reason to photograph something. Now nearly everyone has a camera about their person, and the image quality is such that non-professionals' work is being accepted increasingly, e.g., by news agencies and journals. One can record an event, enhance a shot and send it digitally to anyone, anywhere in the world. Commercial organisations no longer need to rely only on professional services, but the professional still has the advantage of being able to produce guaranteed quality and sophistication. Nonetheless, something is happening, which cannot be dismissed, and with the certainty that the next generation of developments will make certain methods obsolete in the mainstream, there will have to be a re-evaluation of practices. Visual imaging, as a long-established, but conventional art form, is now providing conceptual diversities, aesthetic engagements that transcend commercial boundaries. By re-examining the discipline's properties we should see the emergence of new liberties and changed demarcations.
There is a debate concerning exactly what constitutes a photograph. If it means, by its classical definition, drawing with light, do we really need to use a camera? Creating a graphical image on a computer that uses photo software to manipulate its elements is a photographic process, when you call it such. If we work, e.g., with photorealism, and make a picture that is indistinguishable from a lens produced image, then undetected, it has to be accepted as a photograph, even if it is not. It is digital painting, but is a member of the wider imaging family. Where this is believed, stylising by degrees should not make any difference. For example, camera-based techniques can abstract things by using filters, multiple exposures, lens distortions and many other interventions. Is there then any difference between these two approaches when we make comparisons between what it is, and what we see? The purist will classify a photograph as being determined by the apparatus used, but the anti-doctrinaire practitioner will not be held back by such restrictions. I cannot see a meeting of minds on this, as lens-media is a specific term, and image media makes no such descriptive distinctions; the nomenclatures need revision. Four categories come to mind, lens-imaging, light imaging, digital imaging and manual imaging. I know it is clumsy, but there must be someone out there who could suggest another way of naming these parts.
Amateur photographers do not experience the pressures of the commercial sector, but make creative investments comparable with those who work professionally. What distinguishes one from the other is the degree to which a specialism is backed up by talent, knowledge and critical rigour, and no one group has a total monopoly over this. Many lens media artists are dedicated enthusiasts who pursue their craft while working in other waged occupations. The enterprising amateur is often regarded as a semi-professional, competing with practitioners in the established industry, so I prefer to describe them as either being in business, working as an ancillary, or engaged in an avocation out of passion for the medium.
The rise of digital imaging has accentuated the egalitarian nature of photography.
Opportunities in applied photography utilising evolving techniques are plentiful. The disciplines of journalism, the built environment, the natural world, sports, general human activity, entertainment, fashion, industry and commerce have all revised their working methods. The specificities that define their methodologies, theories and principles, have undergone some important changes in production and distribution. The speed and turnaround of material has had an impact upon workforces, reducing the number of people employed in large concerns, but stimulating the growth of smaller businesses; making the media world more competitive. The arrival of the digital revolution has seen access to image making grow, with production and distribution made relatively easy. Too easy some would say, but it is not an exaggeration to claim that more people than ever before are making work of merit, and acquiring visual literacy. The partitions between the amateur and professional having become blurred, the demand for education and facilities that convert levels of ability has grown out of all recognition.
Courses are available, which are either academic or purely practical, and there is always the opportunity to self-teach with the help of manuals and on-line tutorials. However, working within a community of like minded people has the advantage of feeding off the experience of others, and studying within a critical environment. This does not necessarily have to be part of a structured programme, but an environment which offers a facility for comparing and contrasting one's own efforts with the work of others, sharpens artistic ambitions. The acquisition of proficiency can be provided by a variety of resources such as academic study, technical training, research, continuing professional development and life-long learning. Whether you are a starter, or are established, there is always something new to learn.
Academic courses in schools of photography, filmmaking and digital imagery are based on a mixture of practice and theoretical training that varies according to the specialisms on offer. Fine art study, for example, has different objectives from technical instruction. Honour's degrees in the photographic arts tend to be found in universities and colleges, and can be of short or long durations depending upon whether they are at an undergraduate or post-graduate level, or a combination of both. Technical courses have theoretical components, but deal principally with mechanisms and skills needed for employment in the commercial sector. Some art college programmes provide the freedom to pursue aesthetic engagement, and usually give a solid schooling in technique. Short courses can be found in the workshop sector, and can be tailored to cater for specific needs. Camera clubs are modest in terms of cost, but offer the advantages of learning in a convivial community. Photographic societies and professional institutions afford the means to develop knowledge, but can be prohibitively expensive. Apprenticeships are not that common, but employment tasters are available, usually unpaid.
I am often asked to recommend where the best place to study media is, and my response is usually - find out what is available, go to open days, and ask the right questions of course providers - advice, which is better than just advocating one institution over another. Prospective students need to know what providers offer, how they deliver, what their resources are, who provides tuition, where they are located and what their track record is.
When I use the term media, I am talking about a wide variety of techniques and applications, and not just a few popular areas of creativity. The wider the diversity of applications, the greater the chance is for developing transferable creative skills. If you deconstruct artistic boundaries, you dismantle their restrictions. Categories of practice are defined by their processes and artistic intentions. Discrete modes of expression are no longer the only way to work, and changes in technology have had a marked effect upon attitudes. A person learning to develop their craft is more likely to start from a wider knowledge base than just the narrow acquirement of a specific skillset. I like the idea of broad foundations that can unblock strictures on the imagination. Places that encourage uninhibited experimentation, and find the locus for generating the right kind of conceptual enquiry, are worth investigating.
There are differing opinions about what makes an effective course of study.
One school of thought recommends rigorous grounding in traditions, artistry and techniques. The tight control of course delivery makes sure that teaching and learning can be delivered realistically, and assessed securely. Freedoms are acceptable as long as they conform to the design of the curriculum, because evaluation of a student's work must be consistent with stratagems embedded in the controls for quality assurance. On the other hand, and from a much more radical perspective, there is a belief that experimentation releases the frustration of feeling creatively restricted; artistic purpose is promoted over regulated standards. The notion that there is a right way to do things, and a wrong way, should be challenged and not just parked until creative maturity is achieved. This idea assumes that flexibility is built into a programme design. A curriculum that offers a variety of electives, with generous studio time, provides the scope for an individual's development.
What separates these two approaches is that the first is institutionally controlled (for the cohort), and the other is student centred (for individuals). The ethos of a course must be student based.
If the orthodox teaching and learning system ensures work readiness, then it might be difficult to fault, but I believe that recognising individuality is often abandoned by the adoption of benchmarks, which might justify educational objectives, but say more about protecting the provider than stimulating the customer. Some teachers shield their artistic and professional prejudices by working within a tidy system, which gives them the power to promote their own tastes over catering for a student's needs. Whether it is a tutorial approach, project based methods or specialised practices, student centred delivery must harmonise all possibilities in a programme's design.
Some courses manage this, and some do not.
Most courses adequately cover the basics where technical tuition is given, but not all cater for the discovery of concepts and ideas. Learning the mechanics, while being relatively straightforward, is nonetheless important to master if there is to be control over the subject of one's interest. Plainly stated, the subject of a photograph, a digital image or a film succeeds or fails in the way it is thought out and rendered. Therefore, courses that acknowledge the linkage of aesthetic theory to technical practice are to be recommended, but how do you spot them? This where reliable track records come in, and if they cannot be satisfactorily demonstrated, such places should be avoided.
I always recommended that interview panels contained at least one current student, and that candidates for places on a programme had the opportunity to talk to those at various stages of study. Members of staff do not deliver the outcomes, they guide their charges toward the delivery of results, so hearing about this relationship from the learner's perspective is the best way to find the most suitable place to study.
Three other things that reinforce good practice are self assessments, learning contracts and student feedback. Self assessment strengthens critical awareness, and stimulates a healthy debate between student and teacher. Courses that do not recognise this are usually inflexible. Learning contracts allow the individual to state their intentions, and remove any confusion about what their aims and objectives are for a piece of work. Negotiation is important in any student centred philosophy. Feedback helps tutors assess how well their tuition is received, and is a cornerstone for assuring quality.
Areas of constructed, applied and digital image production complement most traditional practices, and when delivered properly, provide the breadth to stretch a student's imagination. Most institutions have the facilities to allow the development and application of new technologies, and candidates for media programmes are normally expected to have a reasonable knowledge of the techniques afforded by computing. Digital processing has revolutionised the way we make work, and has had a profound effect on our ways of seeing. I am not suggesting that emerging applications are completely supplanting traditional modes of practice, rather I am flagging up the increasing range of artistic possibilities emanating out of the techno-cultural revolution. Putative practitioners should be able to enjoy this expanded outlook, and endeavour to find training a programme that reflects it in the curriculum. Finally, reading about a subject and looking at other people's work, from historical perspectives to contemporary contexts, are essential. Understanding the range of opinions, theories and narratives, feed our sense of enquiry, and stimulate comparative thinking. Influences shape our critical faculties, juxtaposing diverse notions to identify, differentiate, and test the evaluation of issues and representations.