We caught up with one of our photography students, Mark Powell, to find out why he chose to study photography, how the course has benefited him and what it has been like to learn and study during a pandemic and COVID restrictions.
Mark Powell is a photographer and is currently finishing his Postgraduate Diploma in photography. Mark worked in Banking/Financial services for 41 years. He says that he became seriously interested in photography "whilst working in Hong Kong in 2011/2012".
Imperial War Museum Salford Quays. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
Before enrolling on the course, Mark was spending his time fundraising for multiple charities, both local and nationally. "My wife and I are also active members of the Welshot Photography club, and both have a passion for photography. We would describe ourselves as enthusiastic amateurs."
Choosing the course
His interest and passion for photography has led him to attend many workshops and even a field trip to Sorrento, Italy. Inspired by three Welshot Photography Club members and looking to improve his skills, he decided to enrol on a photography course. "I wanted to improve all aspects of my photography, composition, lighting, creativity, as I felt my pictures were very much run of the mill. I had not studied photography academically before enrolling in February of last year."
Mark explained that he decided to enrol at the British Academy of Photography because of the accredited qualifications, the topics covered in the courses and the opportunity to study close to home. "It was the Postgraduate Diploma, with a recognised and accredited qualification that interested me the most. The syllabus was varied and included the history of photography which I had never studied before. The opportunity to study fairly close to home with fortnightly face to face classes and the ability to receive hands-on support via an experienced Photographer/Tutor was a key part of my decision making. Plus, the ability to share knowledge, best practice and learn with other students was appealing too."
Behind the band Chester. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
Studying photography during a pandemic
The Postgraduate Diploma student says that the course fitted nicely with his day-to-day and that the lockdown helped him to devote time to "reading more about photography and photographers, completing the assignments, and wandering around the village and surrounding areas with my camera, undertaking a few small projects.", Mark explained.
Mark was enjoying and looking forward to his classes and the "hands-on support (show and tell) and group learning". However, due to COVID restrictions, the classes had to be switched to live online. "The actual physical and group face to face knowledge sharing disappeared. I wanted help using flash, LR/PS post-processing techniques face-to-face, which could not happen. Still, the professionalism, support and amazing encouragement of my tutor Pat Graham has seen me complete the course via live online classes. As a positive, lockdown has given me the opportunity and motivation to complete the course distraction-free."
Northern quarter. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
The first assignment
Even though he was nervous about submitting his first assignment, Mark believes it was essential to understand which skills and areas he needed to improve. "This was my first time in pulling a piece of work together in a “Visual Diary” and labelling images plus undertaking lots of research! I found the “How to” guides very clear and helpful, so I did not feel the need to seek additional support. I achieved a pass for assignment one, which was probably the best outcome I was hoping for at that time, but this set me a baseline on which to build and improve on."
Toungoo Myanmar - Call to Arms (rice 7am). Image courtesy Mark Powell.
Following his passion
Mark told us that he bought his first camera, a Leica D Lux 5, in 2011 from a little camera shop in central Hong Kong. He then booked to go on a secret Tour of Kowloon with a bunch of photography enthusiasts. "I took my camera to work every day and shot over 1200 photographs during my six months out there. Anything from street, seascapes, abstracts, shadows."
Secret Tour of Kowloon. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
He explained that he enrolled on the course to follow his passion and learn more about photography. "Enrolling on the course was not to pursue a new career. For me, it was more about learning, gaining experience, confidence and progression. I believe the course has helped direct my energy down the photojournalist and documentary route, which I am really embracing. I now shoot in raw, on manual and use Lightroom for post-processing."
Cig break, Hong Kong. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
Photography Competition
Mark shared his experience with the Northwich Creates together Photography Competition and how the course influenced his participation. "Northwich Creates requested for pictures “that captured a moment” during the lockdown. I entered a few pictures of neighbours socially distanced celebrating VE day on a bright sunny day. Before the course, I certainly would not have had the confidence to enter a competition or go out and compose villagers' shots as a mini-project. The fact that I submitted pictures to this competition was very much down to the tutor's encouragement of getting your work out there for people to see it."
Man and his furry friend during a VE day “street” celebration - entry for the Northwich Creates together Photography Competition. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in Photography?
"Lets’ be realistic; having a successful career in photography will be hard, but not impossible. Go out and take many bad pictures, then focus on the best 2 or 3 and understand why these are the best, then repeat that process on your next shoot. Pre-visualise what you want to shoot; it saves time and effort. Get your work critiqued regularly. Experiment with all the genres and styles, and then decide which you enjoy the most; you might be surprised!"
Oils and water abstract; ICM - Lake District trees. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
Favourite project to date
"I have enjoyed a lot of the assignments, but my overall favourite was assignment 14 - to document the theme of Photography and Social Wellbeing. From the research to developing a concept to sketching, storyboarding, and finally taking and presenting the shots. I am proud of this work and the concept "Behind the Mask", and I can see how far I’ve come by the images' quality."
The pressure to wear makeup and the impact it can have on self-esteem and mental health. So which image is the more socially acceptable and why?
Behind the mask. Image courtesy Mark Powell.
"I look back with a huge sense of pride and satisfaction. My knowledge, skills, planning and ideas are so much better now than before I started. I’d like to think my pictures are better too! I would certainly recommend the Postgraduate Diploma to friends or other students looking to gain a professional photography qualification. There are so many new skills to learn, to support future opportunities in this field.", says Mark Powell.
You can find more about Mark Powell and his photography here.
Inspired by Mark's story and looking to follow your passion in photography? Take a look at our full list of courses and start your learning journey today!