Distinction Success

from WE ARE; The RPS Women in Photography Magazine March 2022

Empty Nest Syndrome; A Documentary Photography Project

Fiona McCowan FRPS

Despite Fiona living in the Cotswolds, a long way from the coast, she wanted to do a project based on the sea. By the sea is where Fiona feels most at home, where she feels happiest. It was important to Fiona for the project to be something she felt passionate about. The questions and answers, as well as images that follow, hopefully will inspire members to think about a project to pursue in 2022.

Front cover

In 2013 I took a 6 month sabbatical to study French at Nice University fully intending to return to my rewarding corporate career. However, after 6 months enjoying having time and energy to do the things I wanted to do I decided not to return. The decision was heavily influenced by the untimely death of my best friend from cancer and her advice of ‘carpe diem’.

I have always had an interest in art and photography so in February 2015 I borrowed a camera and enrolled on a local Introduction to Digital Photography course. The course was one day a week for 6 weeks and was a great way to learn the basics. I was hooked! I got my first camera, a Canon 70D for my birthday in May.

Keen to learn more I signed up for the OU/ RPS Digital Photography - Creating and Sharing Better Images course. After completing the course I joined the RPS and worked towards my LRPS which I was awarded in July 2017.

My primary photographic interest is landscape, particularly minimalist seascapes, abstracts and intimate landscapes.

Ed: How did your project come about?

Despite living in the Cotswolds, a long way from the coast, I wanted to do a project based on the sea. By the sea is where I feel at home, where I feel happiest. It was important to me for the project to be something I felt passionate about. I can happily spend all day at the coast with my camera, ideally somewhere remote and without people! The first ‘fine art’ image I took was by the sea in France on a workshop in 2016 and I knew immediately I had found what I wanted to photograph going forward.

Ed: How long have you been working on ‘In the Offing’?

At the 2019 RPS Landscape Group Conference in Malvern I discussed my initial thoughts about ‘In the Offing’ with Paul Mitchell FRPS at an informal session. I had prepared the first draft of my statement of intent and printed about a dozen small sample images. Paul was supportive of the idea and encouraged me to progress with my project.

The images in the book were taken over a period of 4 years. The locations are not obvious but are all very personal to me.

Ed: The images used in your submission - are they taken digitally? Did you consider taking them on film?

All the images in my book were taken digitally. As I only took up photography in 2015 all my photography has been using digital cameras. I love my Canon 6D Mk II so haven’t been tempted (yet) to try film, though people who work in film and other processes like Deborah Parkin, whose work I adore, do inspire me.

My Blurred expectations.

Ed: The images included - were they always taken with a book in mind?

No. In 2020, during lockdown I took a brilliant one day online RPS workshop on concertina books with Alex Hare. I love books and the idea of combining handmade books and image making really appealed. After doing another couple of online workshops with Alex and Lizzie Shepherd I knew I wanted to do ‘In the offing’ as a handmade book.

Ed: Was the design and making of the book as important as the taking and selecting of the images? How many images did you have to select from and how long did this process take?

Hundreds and what seemed like a very long time! I had initially thought about a book submission for the Visual Art genre. When the new Photobook genre was announced in spring I was delighted as the guidelines reflected what I wanted to do: “All elements will be considered that make up your photobook submission, from the images to the colour of the text. What form of photobook you present is under your creative control”.

Sequencing a photobook is critical as it affects how the images and content are perceived. I spent many hours researching the ‘art and process of sequencing’. I also took inspiration from studying the work of some amazing photobook artists including Shona Grant, Edward Ruscha, Alec Soth, Joe Wright and Marianthi Lainas (an external advisor to the RPS panel).

Ed: Can you describe your book?

The book is a hand-crafted, hardback book measuring 22 cm square and covered in Ratchford navy book cloth. There are 48 pages with 21

My fears.

photographic images plus text pages, printed on Fotospeed Matt Ultra 240 paper. The front cover has a small (6.5 cm square) inlaid image (incidentally taken on a RPS Landscape Group workshop in the Outer Hebrides). I spent ages choosing the end papers, finally selecting a Japanese Chiyogami Blue Melville paper. It is housed in a black presentation box with a descriptive card.

The offing is the distant stretch of the ocean still visible from the shore. The book epitomises my study of the offing and is divided into 4 sections - my blurred expectations; my fears; my dreams and my yūgen.

Ed: Can you explain to the readers your ideas around mixing images and words?

All of my handmade books are a mix of images and words. I love language so I enjoy being able to combine my images with words. The words are a mixture of my own and from others, mainly poets and sometimes lyricists. I can spend hours looking through poetry books (or the internet) for the right words to reflect the emotion I felt when I took the image.

Ed: The images included in the book - are they printed commercially or by yourself? If by yourself, what was your thinking behind the decision?

My book is completely handmade and I printed all the images myself at home. I use a Canon 100S to print all my work including my handmade books, prints, greetings cards etc. I like having control over all aspects of the bookmaking process.

Ed: Did you need to include a panel in your submission? Can you explain the process of submitting a book?

You submit your book, you don’t include a panel for the Photobooks genre. All forms of photobook are acceptable, including hard or soft cover photobooks, zines and handmade books. The panel requires a minimum of 2 copies and a maximum of 8 copies for printed books and 1 copy for handmade photobooks. I hand delivered my book to RPS HQ as I live about 25 miles from Bristol.

Ed: I ask all successful applicants - when and how long did you take to write your statement of intent and how many versions did you make until you were finally happy with it?

For the photobook genre you submit supporting evidence rather than a statement of intent. Your supporting evidence can range from a few words to a full thesis or research document. If you exceed 1500 words, they request a 500 word summary. I lost count of the number of versions I drafted before I was finally happy with it!

My dreams.

Ed: If there is one piece of advice you could give to the group’s members about applying for a distinction, what would it be?

Just do it! It is hard work, time consuming but ultimately very rewarding. If I am allowed to give a second piece of advice, it would be to book a 1:1 review. My session with Iñaki Hernández-Lasa FRPS was invaluable, giving me the confidence to submit. I would also like to thank Mark Reeves ARPS for his advice and help.

Finally, I need to warn your readers that photobooks can become an expensive obsession! A brilliant resource for anyone interested in photobooks is Euan Ross’s Biblioscapes website and podcast.