UCOL photography students recognised as NZ's best

[talan]

Hmm some good students emerging from UCOL (Y)

UCOL photography students recognised as New Zealand’s best

UCOL student Leilani Hatch has taken first place in the inaugural national Canon EYEcon awards.

Fellow student Kevin Bone took second place in the awards, launched this year by the giant photographic company to showcase the talent of New Zealand's emerging photographers and give them an opportunity to gain valuable experience with mentors.

The Head of UCOL’s School of Photography, Arts and Design Chris Hubbard says Leilani’s win is an extraordinary achievement and caps a record breaking year for the students and staff of UCOL’s Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging (BAVI) programme.

Earlier this year, staff, students and graduates of the programme won a record number of awards at the annual Epson/NZIPP Iris Professional Photographer awards, including Tertiary Institute of the Year for the fifth year running.

Leilani won Bronze and Gold awards at the NZIPP event and is also one of two top Photography graduates for 2009, as well as a UCOL High Achiever for 2008.

Her first place in the Canon awards wins her an array of prizes, including $5,000 worth of Canon equipment, $1000 cash and the opportunity to spend a day each with four of the country's prominent photographers, with flights and accommodation included.

The Canon award was open to all tertiary students currently studying photography, and apprentice photographers within New Zealand.

Leilani says she is looking forward to what the future holds. She describes her winning portfolio of six images as “offering an insight into my transition to adulthood. The images investigate my process of defining identity as a young adult woman.”

Her notes accompanying her entry said: “My intention is to communicate a sense of awkwardness which best describes my transition to adulthood. Alongside this, I invite the viewer to reflect upon their own experiences of this stage.”
She credits her study at UCOL as an important factor in her success. “The teachers at UCOL have strengthened my passion for photography by giving me the skills needed to communicate strong concepts and push past making pretty pictures.”
As a UCOL graduate from the BAVI class of 2009, she says she is looking forward to what the future holds.
As second place getter, Kevin receives $2,000 worth of Canon products and membership of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers (NZIPP) for one year.

Kevin was the winner of the Student category in this year’s NZIPP awards.

The Canon EYEcon competition was judged on the basis of creativity, originality and technical expertise, combined with a sense of vision.
ends


Source:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0911/S00410.htm

[PureKiwi]

I would love to study photography some where , iv heard good things about UCOL

[laidir45]

Great topic to study!

[/URL][URL="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Valerie-Jefferies-Photography/221952891336"]
(http://www.valeriejefferies.com)

[Raizer]

I'm keen to study photography too, but nowhere seems to offer an extramural course :(

[Spacemunkie]

I'm trying to convince the folk at our place that an extramural photography offering would be a good thing.

Not sure they're convinced yet :(

As for UCOL, Leilani Hatch's stuff was head and shoulders better than anything else in the show at Te Manawa in Palmy. It was on a completely different plane conceptually and I'd expect her to go a very long way. A couple of other decent, very commercial bodies of work but the rest was pretty average IMO.

Perhaps I'm being harsh, but there was a distinct lack of personality to much of it. Full credit to the lecturers on the course though. Everything was very professionally presented and there was nothing of what I would say was a poor standard. Looks like a good place to study for sure.

---------- Post added at 10:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 AM ----------

@ laidir45: I'm using Firefox on a Mac and your home.htm page is just coming up as a blank white block on a grey background :(

[shades]

I'm keen to study photography too, but nowhere seems to offer an extramural course :(


I've been teaching myself the zone system from library books this summer - I can recommend it.

Library books + coffee = all good.

[Raizer]

Sweet I think I will go see what our library has in the way of photography books this arvo, any excuse to drink copious amounts of coffee has to be good!

[robo git]

I'm keen to study photography too, but nowhere seems to offer an extramural course :(There are many courses available extramurally, but it's not really as good as having someone on-hand to assist.

That being said I believe Rick0r is currently enrolled at The Photography Institute (http://www.thephotographyinstitute.co.nz/).

Alternately try this (http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=photography+course+online+site%3A.nz) Google-search.

[laidir45]

coming back to this thread almost a year later or so...@ Spacemonkey... There were many students with a good calibre of work on the course studying alongside Leilani. What may have made her work stand out is that she did something "non" commercial where others chose to do their final projects based around commercial photography work.

I look at her work and don't know what anyone sees in it as far as fine art is concerned. I feel personally that it is good for student level, but it isn't anything that any other student on the course could not have pushed out if they'd applied themselves to that challenge. That work was her final BAVI project/assignment (Te Papa exhibit) and was done over an entire semester and she obviously wanted to do something along fine art photography lines but this is not to say that other areas of the photographic industry arn't as valid career wise. This same body of work was then entered into a couple of photography competitions following the assignment's completion and many students simply did not enter those competitions due to other commitments or time constraints etc. That or their work just not being appropriate for entry i.e. commercial and not fine art of illustrative. Had there been more entrants to some of the competitions that she entered, I'd imagine the stakes where winning are concerned become a little more difficult. In fact I think possibly only about 5 students out of the whole school went on to enter Epsom comps, or eyeKON that she entered her work into on top of the NZIPP Iris Awards. Less entries and more chance of winning effectively as far as winning goes.

As for her post processing and conceptual works, it isn't anything that any student who is doing the third year of BAVI (or has done) couldn't achieve who has achieved B - A grades. Effectively that is what she did as a student which is no more than any other student is able to accomplish who completed the course. She chose for the last semester to work in a fine art direction or non commercial on her final works. This enabled her to have a body of work for competition entry at the finish of it. When she left many articles quote her as saying that she had a strong interest in fine art photography but she is now working in the area of photojournalism for a Manawatu newspaper. Again a job that any BAVI student is capable of.

Had she just been producing commercial portraits for her exhibit at Te Manawa for her final project as many did, her work would I feel not have stood out anymore than any other students works quality wise. Where she excelled was in the conceptual works area and fine art photography. So your comparisons about "quality" of works submitted by her and other students are in a sense a little unfair. Your trying to compare fine art with commercial portraiture? The former will always gain more prestige, the latter is far more in demand as an income earner and on a day to day basis. Guess you could say she thought strategically if you could even think strategically as a photography student. Such work entered into comps after assignment would stand out when submitted alongside other regular commercial portraiture anyway with very little extra effort.

Fast forward to now and take a look at her recent work as a photojournalist...it's straight out of camera and by stark contrast to her artistic works which will be heavily processed and the work that she is doing is in fact nothing that a first yr BAVI student could not turn out in reality. As I said most students that studied at the same time as her and since are also by contrast able to churn out that quality of work. All students are taught the same techniques where post processing is concerned. Search her name and Manawatu Standard though and click 'images' on Google and you will see what she is churning out now. It's first year rated stuff.

As for studying at UCOL, training at UCOL was so so to be honest. You need to have a lot of self drive and determination. You need to be very interested in what your doing because unfortunately it is not all about photography. The first six months of the first year you'll spend doing very little photography. Don't expect to develop a personal photography style til around year two second semester and I'd say she got an "A" to "A+" for her final work (work you saw in exhibition). Most students gained grades of this status for final project. Our work was graded on "quality" and meeting the requirements for the grading criteria and the type of work you were doing i.e. commercial, fine art etc. We were not graded on for example fine art photographers being of better status than commercial photographers although most photographers are aware that fine art will gain you more accolades and recognition. It is harder to make an income with fine art photography though.

Currently Leilani is working as a photojournalist as I mentioned and work is straight from camera but some students have gone on to do quite the opposite turning out highly artistic (albeit commercial certainly more artistic than photojournalism) pieces of work by comparison on a weekly basis. This means continuing on and pushing your visual artist skills if anything not just the photographic skills. That is effectively what you're capable of doing when you leave the BAVI. Initially from second year onwards a few students were interested in photojournalism but after studying to that level and getting to third year, and looking at her job I would feel it a step backwards and possibly would not enjoy doing that as much as the type of photography I do now. The work looks frustrating or would be for an artist as your just telling a story in camera, and restricted to what you do in post process after that. Illustrative photography would be far more challenging to someone who has completed a visual imaging degree with fine art interest I would say.

She was one of those students that pushed boundaries and she spoke much about being a fine art photographer. I see no updated body of fine art work looking at her facebook profile (all images viewable) but the commercial portrait she has done of late doesn't look that great quality wise? Sorry, I'm telling it like it is having done the same training. It is not a patch on her prize winning work. Everything students turn out and submit for critique now in any environment should be flawless and professional standards post BAVI. There seems to be banding on the last photograph due to vignetting? She's possibly enjoying where she is at at the moment with photojournalism but has gone from fine art to that so that illustrates to you the diversity of career options available to you after doing the course. I guess and it also gives you an idea of how basic her work is straight from camera without manipulation.

All students sit business papers on the degree and written papers and everyone is given the ability to start their own business in effect post course. Some students have done this and it's far more of a leap than doing a job for someone else or working as a fine art photographer. The tools are there to run your own business basically though I'm not saying it is bad to work for someone else, just that in working for yourself, you have more time to produce work you are interested in doing and have better control of your financial outcome.

I didn't enjoy my study at UCOL personally. I enjoyed studying photography, not studying at UCOL. Some students were adult, some can be complete assholes. Some lecturers are great, some can be completely unhelpful. I do feel though that I could have learned all I learned in one year to be honest if we had not had to take pre requisite papers. I've learned more when researching outside of the degree curriculum and in the years after leaving where photography is concerned than I've ever learned on course where photography is concerned at UCOL.

UCOL is the only school where you can do a photography degree in NZ at the moment, and only one out of two photography schools that actually having students enter for NZIPP I think so as at last year if there were more photography schools pushing photography as part of their curriculum in NZ and encouraging their students to enter NZIPP (or other photo comps), the chances of winning top photography institution of the year would be less for UCOL. At the moment it is just a numbers game. Bit hard NOT to win at the moment. Not when every student has to do NZIPP as an assignment (compulsory thing) whilst studying on the BAVI whether you wish to enter NZIPP or not. There is no choice; if don't do the assignment, you fail your photography paper anyway. As a consequence there are some 80-100 UCOL students entering their work from the course (and more) each year and more fingers in the pie so to speak. This is why their students win more bronzes, silvers and golds. When I attended print judging, just looking at the way the other school mounts their images (which is also judged unfortunately) I'm not surprised many of them fall short of getting a bronze - it goes towards your professional gradings at the comps and it's an important factor as well as your image.

[Weegee]

Interesting post laidir45 (http://www.photographersonline.co.nz/member.php?u=408), I was recently chatting to the owner of Kingsize studios and mentioned to him that I was at one stage interested in a photography course at some stage and ask what his opinions were of the ones offered here in NZ. Don't entirely quote me on this, but the impression I got is that there isn't a good standard to go by here in NZ (he's done some courses overseas), and the one's he has done had a high standard of photography taught.

Not beating on courses here though, but for the enthusiast/advanced amatuer photographer who knows their basic stuff well might find themselves in a lacking area.

Speaking of which, if I can get together a group of people - Adam Custins (the owner of Kingsize studios) is willing to help teach photography. can be a whole day, half day, and basically what we want to learn. Tailored workshop anyone?

[smurff]

Weegee, loving the idea :D with my shift no idea if i could do it, but would love to.
hopefully i will catch you on saturday. planning to be there at 10 :) (think it starts that early)

Laidir45, your post was great, does show that UCOL may not be the way for every one, sounds like something i would not finish.

[jackinavox]

i think you still have to possess an enormous amount of raw talent and personal drive to really get the most out of these things..

being able to teach and learn the technicalities of photography is a good thing and comes with time, practice and learning, but i think all of that is nought if you lack the vision, or eye for it.

[laidir45]

i would agree with you on that point jackinavox. a photographer should always be learning and developing their skills. even after completion of such a degree, there is not a day that i don't learn something actually.

as for quality education, you will find no better quality, your taught to professional standards on the BAVI and it is an approved course with high training standards. i don't dispute that at all, i did dispute that students could learn more if they did not have to study a minor subject i.e. graphic design or web design etc as well as photography. that is the case on that course. having said that, graphic design can enhance your ability where magazine or wedding album layout is concerned and is useful in business later where designing a logo, web site or studio is concerned. if you don't have an eye for it to begin with, you will develop one on the degree. if you already have an eye for it, it is very frustrating going through basics though in first year. :)

[Spacemunkie]

So your comparisons about "quality" of works submitted by her and other students are in a sense a little unfair. Your trying to compare fine art with commercial portraiture?

So what you're saying is that you can't compare the technical quality of images from different genres? Or make a comparison based on whether or not a series of images grips the imagination?

What she is doing now, the quality of work she's producing and the area she is working in are utterly irrelevant to my comments. Her work stood out for me. It was simply of a higher calibre and wasn't of the frankly ten-a-penny nature of the other wedding and portrait fayre. If she was guilty of 'playing the game' as far as taking a different route to everyone else, then good on her. It worked and it was a clever ploy.

UCOL is not and hasn't been the only place you can get a degree in photography in NZ for many years....

http://creative.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/colleges/college-creative-arts/explore/photography/photography_home.cfm

Unitec also do a photography degree as evidenced by their current advertising campaign :)