The UCAS Fair

On the 29th of November we went to Manchester for the UCAS Fair there. This fair featured universities from across the country showcasing only their arts-related courses.
My intentions, on my way to the fair, were to find courses in photography. I like design, but I feel my skills lie in the photography area, and I enjoy photography much more. I was open to new ideas, but I had a fair idea of what I was really looking for.

I looked at a lot of Photography courses. These days, almost every university runs a course in Photography, but every course I found seemed to be totally commercial - photographs for advertising, leaflets, magazines. I don't dislike these photographs, but they certainly don't grab my enthusiasm immediately. I like photography with a story and a meaning.

I then found Northumbria University. There were lots of interesting photographs up around their stall, and once I was drawn in, I asked about their course. The lady I spoke to described it as "Fine Art Photography", though the course is actually called "Contemporary Photographic Practice".
I asked what the course entailed, what was I going to be doing during my time, and the answer I recieved sounded perfect.
"You take your time to discover the subject matter that interests you, and then you can base all your briefs around the subjects that interest you the most. If you like portraiture, we won't try and force you into landscapes."
I was never happier. The idea of taking my own brand of personal, emotionally charged, inspiring portrait photos was a prospect that had me giddy. I continued to ask and everything I discovered just seemed to click very perfectly.
I remember walking out of the stall with glee saying "Thats the one, that's the one!" over and over to myself.

After my joyous encounter with Northumbria University, I'd discovered that my chosen artform had a name, Fine Art Photography, and I no longer had to trawl through commercial courses to find another decent one.
I found another, very similar course at Nottingham Trent University. This course was just 'Photography' by name, but the subject matter was very similar, allowing personal growth and study within an area that genuinely interests me, as opposed to trying to enjoy a subject I greatly dislike.

Out of the two courses, I would prefer Northumbria University based purely on how perfectly the course seemed to fit with me. Both universities are close to home, but far away enough to allow me my own independance, which is another important point for me.

Upon leaving the fair, I was filled with much more determination to succeed at my current course, knowing I now have a realistic goal for my future to work towards.

BA (Hons) Graphic Design/Photography at University of Chester

The third course I found was a BA (Hons) course in Graphic Design with Photography at University of Chester. This is a joint degree course, which, according to the course information, is:

"A combined honours degree enables you to combine two subjects from different areas, or two subjects that are complementary, and is ideal for those students who wish to keep their options open. At the University of Chester, two subjects can be studied equally or in a major/minor combination."

This choice of major/minor or equal study of both subjects allows the modules to be split according to what students want to study, which is perfect for me. I like both Graphic Design and Photography, and would like to look into furthering my skills in both subjects. A joint degree would be perfect for this, and would allow me to study more or less of either subject as it suits me.

While the university lists a small list of facilities for photography, there certainly aren't as many avaiable facilities as the previous two places I had found. However, photography studios and darkrooms are still available on this course, and those are particularly interesting to me.

If I were to study this course, I might consider studying major Photography and minor Graphic Design as a way to phase myself into a career in Photography. However, I might find a career in Design is more interesting, and this course allows me to take that option also.

To get onto this course, I would be expected to get between 200 and 240 UCAS points, which is roughly a MMM grade on my current Extended Diploma.

BA (Hons) Photography at Leeds College of Art

The second course I found was a BA (Hons) course in Photography at Leeds College of Art. This course lasts for three years and is a full Degree course.
This course is very similar to the Photography (with Video) course at Leicester College, but it is a full Degree and doesn't include the Video units.

Like the course at Leicester, this course allows students to experience various areas of photography:

"The course addresses contemporary practice in four main areas:
    * Journalism/documentary
    * Fashion/lifestyle
    * Advertising/commercial
    * Gallery/Fine Art

Thought-provoking modules will provide you with opportunities to explore both commercial and personally creative work.

The course structure enables you to work within your chosen genre, resulting in a portfolio of work that is relevant for specific areas of employment/progression upon completion of the course."

 I like the way this course allows you to study within your area of choice so that your work is relevant when looking for a job, but I don't know if I am that certain about the area I would like to work in, and would certainly not want to start working in one area to later wish I'd chosen another. These are, of course, questions I would have to ask before choosing to apply.

In terms of facilities, the university offers a lot of resources:

"You will have access to 35mm, medium and large-format cameras, medium-format digital back and digital SLRs. You will also use our fully equipped lighting studios, two large darkrooms and 35mm, medium- and large-format capabilities (black and white), colour film processing and Hasselblad negative scanner (from 35mm to large format). We have two computer suites with Apple Mac G5s, all with up-to-date industry-standard software. A digital video-editing suite and a range of DV cameras are also available. We provide access to all the necessary specialist library publications and contemporary journals."

The resources include plenty of equipment I would be interested in working with: lighting studios, darkrooms and a wide variety of cameras (including 35mm cameras which I would absolutely love to work with!).

Details on UCAS points needed and other qualifications for this particular course are not listed, but I would easily be able to find this information out if I decided to apply.

Photography (with Video) at Leicester College

Taking a look at my options for courses after college, I found 4 courses that interest me.

The first of these four courses was Photography (with Video), a Foundation Degree course at Leicester College. The course lasts for two years and is a vocational course that can be turned into a full degree.
I find the course really interesting because I have a keen interest in both photography and video, but the fact it is a Foundation Degree is not quite as satisfying, as I was hoping to find a full Degree course that would cover both Photography and Video.

In an ideal world, I would like to be a freelance photographer after I have finished education, and this course clearly lists freelance photography as a career I could get into from this course.

The course features historical and contemporary photography techniques and study and offers a chance to experience editorial, fashion, studio and creative photography before choosing to specialise in one particular genre. I am not 100% sure which genre of photography I would enjoy the most, which is another positive point about this course - the chance to experience a variety of choices before making a final decision to specialise. This is also another reason I chose Photography with Video, as I am interested in both and am not sure which I would like more, though I have more experience with photography.


There are plenty of facilities available for use at the college, including:

"Full range of photographic equipment ranging from medium format/large format cameras through to the latest digital SLR's
Industry standard photographic studios
Black and White film and print darkrooms
Traditional hand print colour darkrooms
Digital Imaging centre
Apple Mac G5 studio
Learning Resource Centre"

All of this sounds very interesting to me, especially the darkrooms as I have never used a darkroom before and the process interests me greatly.

The course requires only 80 UCAS points and seems like a very interesting pathway to a career in photography or video. If I had to decide right now, this would probably be my first choice