Work Base Learning Task

Answering the Question – Why am I here? – Why am I studying Photography?

I had been employed in various posts for the 30 years prior to enrolling on the Photography Degree Course. I had reached a point in my life where I was no longer satisfied being employed in work that gave me no satisfaction or personal reward. I began to think about what I wanted from life. I enrolled on the Extended Degree Course in 2009, a year which for me turned from the worst year into the best year.

My life experience has taught me that we are here for just a short time, this gave me the realisation that it is important to find something to do that you love.

During my working life I had learned many skills; I had been employed at British Telecom, Solicitors Offices, Temp Agencies, Mount Gould Hospital as an Auxillary Nurse, in the Retail and Bakery Private Business Centre, and I had achieved City & Guild Teaching Qualification in Numeracy and Literacy. I was employed as a Tutor/Facilitator at South Devon College teaching students with Learning Difficulties. The skills I acquired from these jobs ranged from communication to organisational skills, interpersonal to time management skills, administration skills of accounting to filing, time sheets to budget predictions, invoice preparation, customer services and teaching on a one to one basis and small groups.

I have always been a creative person, my music had been an outlet for this and I had been interested in crafts and photography. But I wanted to develop my creative expression further. As I have always enjoyed photography but have no formal art background, I felt that this could be my stepping stone.

After completing the Extended Degree last year I achieved one of my goals, and that was to write a Photographic Journal. This resulted from the final work I had completed for our Exhibition and was an extension of it. My first book is called “The Gift of Peace.” It is an account of my journey to Remember a friend and her baby daughter, and the lives taken with them in the disaster at Lockerbie on 21st December 1988.

I now want to continue to develop my photography skills and combine this with writing. I am here to gain knowledge and skills to increase my confidence in my chosen field and to seek opportunities towards my gaols.
I am hoping that by the time the course ends that I will be confident enough to earn an income from photography and to continue to come up with ideas to write more books. At this stage I am not sure what other disciplines of photography I will be drawn to, I am at Art College to find out what opportunities there are. I am keeping an open mind.