Upon reflecting on the feedback I received on the draft presentation I produced, the following themes were raised:

Identity

With regards to the idea of my project being about identity, I agree that this theme is encompassed within the work. At this stage my understanding about identity is that of the objects and things we possess which create a meaning. I have argued in the earlier stages of the development of this project that I expect it to have ideological elements moving towards activism against mass consumerism of football. However my expectation is that such ideas may represent an assumption to be made in a summative assessment. This feedback may be relevant in contextualising the position my project and understanding where the idea of identity fits within the broader message of photography as a form of activism. Further consideration will be needed to understand to what extent ‘identity’ works as a vehicle for meaning to the hypothesised message.

Culture and social rituals often with low expectations.

With reference to the the idea of a ‘culture’ and ‘social rituals’, I have identified some interesting rituals whilst engaging with this project most notably the idea of ground hoppers in addition to the celebration of non partisan culture when I visited AFC West Didsbury and Chorlton. Upon reflecting on these ideas I have come to the conclusion that what I am essentially doing with this project is ‘Ground Hopping’. This is very interesting as when talking with or about ground hoppers it is easy to make stereotypical judgements about the typical identity of ground hoppers. Interesting fact about myself, I am a ground hopper.

The ideological element of this theme may be the idea of ‘low expectations’, further reflection/research may be needed here into exploring the reason people attend football matches at this level. Based on the assumption of low expectations, one may be led to considering and exploring the motivations of consumption if the motivation isn’t to see their team win. For teams who don’t often win, why do spectators continue to attend?

Experiment with different styles

Interesting observation regarding experimentation with different styles, since stating the informing contexts module I decided to encompass portraits within my work, at present, I have experimented with the idea of the deadpan face, environmental portraits and portraits within the home. An image that has been pointed out on more than one occasion is a close up photograph of a pair of goalkeeper gloves (Figure 1). This image has raised questions with a range of peers and may represent a possible route forward. Goalkeeper gloves are not used by the whole team and the role of the goalkeeper is very different to the rest of the team, it is a lonely job, using their hands and the only person who isn’t required to chase the ball, they wait until the ball comes to them. If they make a mistake, it usually ends with the team conceding a goal, perhaps the most responsible job.

The interest here may be to explore the role of the goalkeeper in further depth.

Things people miss about the game?

I felt this was a very interesting question, especially in the present climate as the country is on lockdown as a result of COVID-10. However, this prompted me to further consideration. In response, I asked one of my peers on the course who is from Scotland but now lives in the USA what she misses about home. She responded:

‘I miss proper haggis, the coast and family. Not the weather though!‘

(De Ferrier) Falmouth Student: MA Photography.

It may be considered that these elements may be associated with history, tradition and nostalga.

In thinking about this question further decided to ask the some question on the Stockport County facebook page…