a project idea at last!

Okay, sticking with the religious theme, I've finally found a project idea. On a personal level, I feel that Christianity still has quite a significant influence in the Highlands. Although it is far more on the Western Isles, I feel that it does influence the social in Inverness. So in keeping with the principles of grounded theory, I intend to just go out and take lots of photos of churches in Inverness. I took some photos yesterday of about 8 churches but I don't think they were very good - all the rules of composition seemed to go out the window! Anyway at least I'm aware of it and for now I just want to take as many as I can. I also intend to look at graveyards to try and capture the feel of the project.

The most important thing at the moment I think is just to take the photos and see what emerges out of the process.

Happy snapping everyone!

Cheers

Clare

click 'February' to see all the photos

Just realised, apparently you have to click the tab 'February' on the right hand side for the page to display all the photos - not sure why it is doing that but it is a bit of a nuisance!

After applying the Rule of Thirds for vertical lines, I have moved the standing stone to the left - I'm not sure it actually works that well but it's all a process of learning!

Again, initially attempting to put the subject matter in the middle

There is no before or after for this photo, I just thought the angle trailing off to the upper left corner was interesting and almost conveys movement - it's interesting how photographs can do that, I've also seen sculptures that suggest movement too.

First attempt to find an S shape in the road

After applying the principles of composition, I tried to place the switch on an intersection point - where the eye is strongly drawn to

Image taken before as can be seen by the tendency to put the subject matter right in the middle (the light switch is in a store room so please ignore the chipped wallpaper and stained light switch!)

Image taken after applying the Rule of Thirds for horizontal lines - it definitely looks far better although the fence and telegraph pole spoils it a bit I think. As you can probably tell, I normally get others to take photos - this is all rather new to me!

Before - image of via duct at Culloden - the arches are really interesting

In the second image I attempted to apply the Rule of Thirds for vertical lines, the image presents far more information to the viewer and generally looks better

The first photo was taken as I would normally do it (yes I'm definitely not the best photographer) attempting to put the subject in the middle - in this instance I roped my dad into helping me out!

the concept of the collective narrative

I think the collective narrative is different to the individual narrative. Often family albums are taken out and looked at during family occasions or when there are guests visiting the house. To me it seems like a way of recounting their ties, their history and their identity. In more primitive structures where history could not be recorded, different tribal groupings would repeat their historical lineage orally as a way of remembering their history and reaffirming their identity. If one tribe eventually ceased to be, they would simply not be recounted in the telling of the tribe’s history! So it seems that the family album is about reaffirming identity and ties with one another.

essay by Brian Winston - chapter 4

Brian Winston's discussion on the complexity of the photographic image is really excellent. He deconstructs the 'authenticity' of photos such as Robert Doisneau's 'The Kiss', the W. Eugene Smith photo of Albert Schwitzer and Robert Capa's 'Death in Spain' to show the naivety of Arago and Gay-Lussac's claims of the 'scientific evidence' that photographs can produce.

His discussion on The Ax Fight (1975) is thought provoking and in some ways articulates what I have been thinking about the use of images - namely that intepretations rely on inferences made by the photographer. As Winston says, 'in short, we are relying on Chagnon far more than would seem to be the case at first sight. Moreover it is his interpretation which tells us how to read the incident...The problem with The Ax Fight is not Chagnon's commentary but the fact that he is relying on the scientific heritage of the camera to make a strong claim that he is presenting evidence of the real world. However, the claim is built on the sands of inference rather than the rock of objectivity'.

I think his weak realist position is perhaps far more plausible because it invites the reader to examine the issue of authenticity with each image and therefore become a far more discerning viewer, ultimately helping the discipline of image based research.

Cheers

Clare

some thoughts on image-based research

I'm just reading through chapter 7 of the Prosser book. I can definitely understand some of the reservations held by critics as covered in the book. For example, if a researcher is exploring another culture there is always the issue that they will create an image of something that they believe to be important - a value judgement - however they may miss something that is inherently important to the other culture's meaning system but not necessarily obvious. Nevetheless on p104 'personal reactivity' is mentioned as a methodological argument against image-based research however the personal characteristics of the researcher can impact just as much if they were using 'traditional' methods such as the written word.

It seems image-based research still has a long way to go to be taken seriously in the academic world, unfairly so I think. However Prosser's comments on this gap are rather insightful when he suggests that often if things have always been done a certain way, they are not questioned but instead just handed down by teachers, etc. This makes a lot of sense and can definitely make anyone involved in this area feel like a 'pioneer'!

Conclusion - I really like visual sociology!

My First Blog....woo hoo!

I've just created my first ever blog! The fact that I'm not very technically minded is even more reason to celebrate. Anyway here's hoping I'll be a pro by the end of this module.....