FMP – The Plan

by LEN Final Major Project

An outline plan was summarised in the Project Proposal. Set out below is more detail on this plan from project creation through to delivery.

June

  • Draft and deliver assignement Project Proposal for June 22nd. Done.
  • Discussions with Nick Winser, Chairman of the MS Society re possible work for the MS Society relating to partners of people with the disease. In progress.
  • The Self Portrait Experience Workshop. Produce, analyse, peer review and group work. In progress.
  • Gather all material produced so far into a dropbox folder. Done.
  • Sort material in to themes. In progress.
  • Start engagement of Cemre Yesil as curator. Done.
  • Agree Cristina Nuñez as mentor through FMP. Done
  • Produce new material. In progress.
  • Detailed project plan. Done.

July

  • Complete SPEX workshop with an autobiographical project delivered.
  • Complete sorting of material in to themes.
  • Review CRJ postings for links to themes.
  • Complete the Alec Soth Storytelling Magnum Masterclass. 19 Videos and workbooks.
  • Agree workplan, outputs and engagement agreement with Cemre Yesil. Include two one hour workshop review sessions.
  • Produce new material. Including 10 days with professional photographer Tim Mannakee in France.
  • Progress ideas for a product for MS Society with their Chairman – Nick Winser.
  • Research David Heath work in depth.
  • Explore Frida Kahlo work and her method of expressing emotions in paintings.
  • Progress Adobe tutorials for Pro and In Design.

August

  • Storyboard and curate work. Portfolio – review – portfolio – review – repeat.
  • Two workshops of one hour each with Cemre Yesil.
  • Understand markets for the product I have in mind – short film a la Niagara by Alec Soth on Magnum in Motion.
  • Produce new material.
  • Mentor session with Cristina Nuñez.
  • Research Jack Davison work in depth.
  • Progress Adobe Tutorials.

September

  • Dummy product. Plan is for voiceover my images and video clips.
  • Keep producing material.
  • Research Cristina Nuñez work in depth.
  • Progress Adobe Tutorials.

October

  • The product must now be clear in shape. Review problems and create workplan to fix.
  • Keep producing material.
  • Two one hour workshops with Cemre Yesil.
  • Research a photographer that comes out of research in to market for my product in August.
  • Sketch out ideas for Critical Review of Practice Assignement due in November. Begin to populate document.
  • One week photography with professional Rohan Reilly in Ireland and 8 others. Opportunity for professional and peer input on my product.

November

  • Assignment. Deliver Critical Review of Practice.
  • Deliver product.
  • Show and tell.

December

  • Assignment. Deliver CRJ complete and Portfolio and PDF of FMP product.
  • Breath out.

Categories: Final Major Project, Project Development FMP

LEN

I am a Photographer. As well as taking many photographs I am currently studying for an MA in Photography at Falmouth University. I will direct my attention through the lens of my camera for the next couple of years and see what shows up. I see a photograph as a little bit of magic capturing a moment in time. If successful it surprises and engages your emotions. It tells a story about the wonders of being alive or tells us what we need to change to make it a better world to live in. That is enough for me to get going and then like walking a 1000 miles, which I did across the UK in 2010, or walking 200 miles across Cyprus, which I did in November last year, it is one step at a time.

I was a writer. The title of my unpublished book was ‘You Would Have Done The Same.' It is about a successful guy in love with his wife who lets her die when he discovers her in the process of committing suicide. The title gives a clue as to what I think you would have done. The book is 200 pages long. I found it cathartic to write it but after two years of work and reviewing with agents decided it probably needed another 2000 hours to get the whole book up to the standard of some of the pages. Writing is great but it is a lot of sitting down so I decided to get out and walk, play tennis, play bridge, go birding, watch football at Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Valencia and anywhere else if I can, meditate, cook and eat. I was a writer who has so far failed to become an author.
I was a young man who loved Mathematics and thoroughly enjoyed getting a BSc at Liverpool University. While there I went often to Anfield and the Philharmonic Hall. I was all set on doing a PhD until I went for interview practice at BP and got seduced by the excitement of an International business career. BP was a great adventure building trading teams and businesses in London, Antwerp, Cleveland Ohio and Singapore. Fabulous people and some great challenges and also very hard work, constant jet lag and lots of fun along the way. I married Karen, my stunning wife, and had the most amazing time with her and our three boys Alex, Tom and Dan. She has multiple sclerosis and we have taken on many challenges together but somehow keep creating a new normal against the horrors thrown our way. She is the love of my life.

After BP I decided to coach senior executives and quickly realized I had a lot to learn
about what makes people tick. I had a fantastic 18 months on the International Programme of the Cleveland Gestalt Institute. A great faculty and a
wonderful group of people on the programme. We studied and worked in Dingle, Singapore, Holland, Cape Town and
Lisbon. This also got me interested in the way we think and make decisions so I studied for an MSc in Psychology atUniversity College London in 2010. The
Masters was in Cognitive and Decision Sciences and I found it fascinating what
we do know but also how much we don’t know about how we think and make
decisions.

I loved coaching and making a difference. I got a number of people to hear themselves, remove some of their own chains and free up the way they thought about the world. I remain fascinated by how people react to and engage with the world. My Masters thesis was why do two people given the same information make different decisions? Put simply, it is because each of us are unique in the way we are constructed.

Since returning from Singapore I found English winters tough so moved to Spain where I now live. The people are lovely, the scenery amazing, food delicious and the sun shines all the time. Almost.

All of these experiences will feed in to my time now as a Photographer. Three motivations I am lucky to have are enthusiasm, curiosity and a continuous interest in learning. All the time I look forward to meeting old friends and making new friends and experiencing this wonderful life together.