Mustard Seed

Like the bookshop, the Mustard Seed restaurant was originally built as a church. As can be seen from the photo, they have kept the original structure so it's quite easily identifiable as a church however when I asked family and friends what comes to mind when they think of the Mustard Seed, they all said 'restaurant'.

Tomnahurich cemetery

Initially, when I took these photos I had presumed that cemeteries were Christian burial grounds however after researching this I found that they are not. A graveyard that is attached to a church is however cemeteries are owned by the local authority. Whilst Christian and non-Christian alike can be buried in cemeteries, they still contain Christian iconography such as crosses and angels therefore I've kept the photos in.

bookshop

Leakey's bookshop in Inverness has been transformed from a church into one of the biggest secondhand bookshops in Scotland. Inside they have even kept the pulpit in tact where sermons were given! From my own experience, I often don't see its past history as a church but instead simply see it as a bookshop (with a great cafe inside incase anyone is interested).

hot cross buns

Traditionaly hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday; the cross representing the crucifixion and the shape of the bun representing the rock that was removed from the front of the tomb on Easter Sunday.

The buns however have a mixed history. Some say they were part of pagan spring festivals and later given the cross by monks wanting to give Christian meaning to the tradition, whilst others suggest the cross represented the moon and its four quarters and, when the Romans arrived in Britain, they introduced spiced buns which were marked with the sign of the cross.

It was believed by some that hot cross buns had miraculous powers. People would hang them from their kitchen ceilings to protect their homes from evil and they were used in powdered form to treat all types of illnesses. It was also said that hot cross buns baked on Good Friday would never go mouldy...!

Holiday traditions often have pagan, as well as Christian roots and many times the symbolism has been changed over time to adapt to those using it in their celebrations.

Easter eggs

According to a survey carried out by a supermarket chain last year, 1 in 6 16-24 year olds knew nothing about Good Friday and over 10% knew nothing about Easter Sunday. However whilst many people may not know what Easter is about, there are many households who still enjoy chocolate eggs over the holidays.

According to various sources, Easter has been associated with old pagan celebrations of the rebirth of earth in the spring. Indeed according to some legends the very name Easter has been derived from ‘Eostre’, who was the Anglo Saxon Goddess of spring. In this way it was earlier addressed as the festivity of Eostre that always occurred during the period of vernal equinox, when the ratio of day to night was exactly the same. But some of the legends say that the Easter festival actually owes its origin to the Hebrew tradition, instead of the Christian tradition. According to the Hebrew lunar calendar it falls in the first month also known as ‘Nisan’. According to Hebrew tradition the reason behind its celebration is that it was during this period that Israel was rescued from the bondage of Egypt.

Eggs were a symbol of fertility in many pagan cultures. Church leaders forbade the eating of them during Lent but lifted the prohibition on Easter. The practice of dyeing and decorating eggs apparently originated in Middle East spring festivals and spread to Europe during the time of the Crusades.

Some facts about Easter

Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.
Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
From very early times, the egg has been considered to be the most important symbol of rebirth.
The initial baskets of Easter were given the appearance of bird's nests.
The maiden chocolate eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies.
Next to Halloween, Easter holiday paves the way for the confectionary business to boom.

Easter flowers

The colours of yellow and green seem to be very much associated with the Easter celebrations and the coming of spring.

Road signs

In keeping with the tone of the project I took the above photos to highlight some of the ways links with Christianity are unnoticed. There are more around the area but these were just a snapshot so to speak. I found it interesting to note that all of the road signs that were named after saints appear to be in Dalneigh. Also, this does not appear to be something that was done in the past, the last photo (St Francis Gardens) is of a new block of flats that have only been built for approximately one year.

Dalneigh and Bona Parish Church

The Dalneigh and Bona Parish church seems to be a far more modern design compared with the styles of traditional churches however, like many of the churches in Inverness it has a large congregation.

churches along the river

I wanted to use this photo to capture the idea that there are many churches in Inverness, for example in one single frame I have managed to capture three.

St Mary's Church

St Mary's Church is situated on the banks of the River Ness. Attached to the church is St Mary's primary school. In keeping with the tone of the project I found it interesting to note that some families of the children who attend the primary school are not practicing catholics themselves. The rules on this are due to change shortly however.

first three churches

The photos taken above were captured at the beginning of the project when I had intended to take a photo of every church in Inverness. However due to various difficulties it became apparent that this would not be possible. The first church in Kinmylies is relatively new compared with, for example, Trinity Church (3rd photo) however it is very popular with many in the community. The second photo of Celt Street Evangelical Church is interesting because the building itself is not reminiscent of the more traditional church structure.

St Andrews Cathedral

The photos above were taken of Inverness Cathedral. I started my project here because I think it is such a lovely building. It was designed by architect Alexander Ross and completed in 1866 (although a lack of funds precluded the building of the two giant spires of the original design). Architecturally it is a beautiful building and fits in very well with its surroundings. Unfortunately I had problems accessing the building and therefore could not provide any photographs of inside. I might try again though!

introductory comment

The following series of photographs were taken as part of a project entitled ‘Banal Christianity in everyday life in Inverness’. The title, it is hoped, reflects exactly what the project is about, namely the integral nature of Christianity to social life in Inverness. The photographs aim to show the way in which links with Christianity have become so engrained within the area that they may not always be recognised. The most obvious of these would be the proliferation of churches in the Highland capital (a current estimation suggests 34) however links with Christianity are much wider and more subtle in context as the project hopes to portray.

the journalistic image as visual sociology

The journalistic image as visual sociology

According to Becker (1998) photographs by their very nature are ambiguous. Indeed a photograph taken by a visual sociologist or photojournalist may be similar however the significance of the photograph is found in the response it generates in those who perceive it. Context is either provided by the image and supporting text or will be left to the viewer to provide. Either way, it is the context that provides meaning. ‘Just as paintings get their meaning in a world of painters …. so photographs get their meaning from the way the people involved with them understand them, use them, and thereby attribute meaning to them. They are social constructions, pure and simple’ (Becker, 2002). As Adelman (1998) highlights the photo of a helicopter on a lawn with a person huddled under a jacket being assisted into the helicopter has only one additional clue and only for those who recognize the building as the White House. That photo document as a representation is unremarkable; when we are told that the person is President Nixon fleeing after Watergate we may be given meaning.

However like context, time is also an important element in understanding the journalistic image as visual sociology. Time is one of the ‘punctums’ identified by cultural theorist Barthes (1980 cited in Cronin, 1998). He claimed that, unlike a painting, when we see a photograph we cannot deny that its referent once existed. A photograph is therefore an emanation of a past reality. News photographs, no matter how iconic, derive their value from context or from the fact that they represent a current event. In this way, they rely on the viewer knowing exactly what the picture relates to. As Becker (1992) suggests, readers do not expect to spend any time deciphering ambiguities and complexities in the photographs that appear in their daily newspaper or news magazine. Such photographs must, therefore, be instantly readable, immediately interpretable.

Whilst the image may not hold its news value years later, such images still have the potential to be used in a much wider context by visual sociologists to document historical processes. Becker uses the aforementioned example of the demise of President Nixon in 1974. Whilst the image of Nixon’s last exit from the White House had immediate meaning for any person who followed the scandal, years later the image has no such connotations. However, as Becker suggests, the Nixon image offers the potential for sociological analysis in a much wider context, such as for example the way the devices of photographic representation are used to indicate the political downgrading of a disgraced leader. In this way, whilst such photographs are no longer newsworthy, they can still be of use to visual sociologists in that they can capture a variety of processes in a much wider context. As Becker (1998) suggests, images have the potential to be used in a variety of ways such as through visual sociology, photojournalism, etc. How they are used therefore depends on a variety of factors including organizations and audiences.

Becker, H. S. (1998) ‘Visual Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism’, in J. Prosser (ed) Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, RoutledgeFalmer: London, pp. 84-96.

Becker, H. S. (2002) Backup of Visual Sociology, Documentary Photography, and Photojournalism: It's (Almost) All a Matter of Context [online] Available at:
< http://oldweb.uwp.edu/academic/criminal.justice/beckerbk02.htm >
Last accessed 07 Apr. 2008.

comment on validity and reliability in visual methods

Okay not sure what happened to my google document, so think I will just post here instead!


Validity is an element of social science research which address the issues of whether the researcher is actually measuring what they say they are. Validity is one criteria by which researchers judge their measurement tools; a valid result is one that accurately measures what it claims to be measuring. Reliability is the other criteria in assessing the quality and rigour of the research. It is a standard against which the tools used to measure concepts are judged. According to Hammersley (1992, cited in Bryman, 2004) reliability ‘refers to the degree of consistency with which instances are assigned to the same category by different observers or by the same observer on different occasions’. Essentially reliability refers to consistency of results over time. In terms of image-based research there are a variety of approaches and definitions that attempt to deal with validity. According to Campbell and Stanley (1996 cited in Adelman, 1998) internal validity concerns the making of accurate inferences about whether the treatment that was implemented caused the effect that was measured for the specific persons observed in the particular setting under study. However Cook and Campbell (1979 cited in Adelman, 1998) equate validity with an imperfect assessment of truth value. In contrast, Cronbach (1982 cited in Adelman 1998) equates validity with persuasion, credibility and consensus: ‘Validity is subjective rather than objective’.

Image-based research involves a process of interpretation that can rest on a subjective and individual response. As Silverman (1993 cited in Prosser 1998) comments ‘The analysis of images raises complex methodological and theoretical issues…Moreover, the theoretical basis for the analysis of images is complex’. In terms of the documentary account, traditional researchers hold the belief that ‘reality’ is distorted by artistic convention and for artistic reason; indeed Walker-Evans is said to have set up his scenes to suit his aesthetic preferences in what is now contested to be authentic documentary film (Curtis, 1986 cited in Adelman, 1998). As such the processing of image-based data may feel more value-laden than the processing of text-based data, even if original image-based data are transformed into text for the purpose of analysis. According to orthodox researchers, ‘the act of image making…unacceptably alters the object in the frame and therefore objective content and subjective meaning of the image; images are, by their nature, ambiguous and do not in themselves convey meanings which are supplied serendipitaly by those who perceive them….analysis of images raises complex methodological and theoretical issues’ (Prosser, 1998). Essentially the main methodological argument against image-based research by other researchers is with images’ perceived lack of ‘trustworthiness’, despite new paradigm trends in such terms as ‘objectivity/subjectivity’ and ‘reliability/validity’ (Prosser, 1998). The concepts of validity and reliability within image-based research are therefore more prominent (Simco & Warin, 1997).

According to Prosser and Schwartz (1998) there are complex contextual issues that have to be considered right at the beginning of the research process such as the researchers’ underlying epistemological and methodological assumptions. For those involved in image-based research, issues such as the collection and interpretation of the data; the genuineness of the findings with regard to the respondents they claim to represent; and the assessment of competing interpretations of the data are therefore issues of importance in that they build robustness and help strengthen validity. As Caldarola (1985 cited in Prosser and Schwartz, 1998) illustrates, all data have strengths and limitations but data that is invalid, implausible, or untrustworthy is not worth analysing. The initial problem for the interpreter of photographs is therefore how best to ensure their plausibility and believability. According to Adelman (1998) the pursuit of internal validity for the photo document entails such things as informed selection of what to document, being systematic through reflection in the taking of photographs and low reactivity of the subjects to the presence of the photographer. The process of analytic induction proposed by Robinson (1951, cited in Adelman 1998) also allows for contrastive categories to emerge which will highlight ‘deviant’ photos and can therefore strengthen the photographers claim that the photo document is valid rather than random or accidental. Adelman (1998) goes on to suggest the acid test of making sense of photographs is whether the photographs communicate to viewers much of the intended messages. As such, to strengthen validity and reliability particular criteria have to be fulfilled. These criteria require that each image be filled with as much contextual detail for the researcher to engage in a systematic and iterative analysis of the image record. According to Prosser (1998) judgments and claims of contextual validity are best made via reflexive accounts and through representation. ‘Reflexive accounts attempt to render explicit the process by which data and findings were produced. Representation for image-based researchers, reflects not only the sources of information in terms of pictorial codes but also the mode of communicating findings to recipients of research’. In this way, full contextual detail enables the trustworthiness and limitations of photographs to be assessed and this means having an understanding of both the external and internal photocontext.

If such processes are acknowledged by those engaged in image-based research it essentially helps to address issues of validity and reliability that are often raised by orthodox researches. Perhaps as Prosser & Schwartz (1998) sugggest the future status and acceptability of image-based research may depend on working within a relatively conservative framework whilst exploring alternative modes of enquiry which are image-orientated yet sensitive to orthodox researchers, methodological concerns.


Bibliography

Adelman, C. (1998) ‘Photocontext’, in J. Prosser (ed) Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, RoutledgeFalmer: London, pp. 148-161.

Bryman A (2004) Social Research Methods. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Open University Press.

Prosser, J. (1998) ‘Status of Image-based Research’, in J. Prosser (ed) Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, RoutledgeFalmer: London, pp. 97-112.

Prosser, J. & Schwartz, D. (1998) ‘Photographs within the Sociological Research Process’, in J. Prosser (ed) Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, RoutledgeFalmer: London, pp. 115-130.

Simco, N. & Warin, J. (1997) Validity in Image-based Research: An elaborated illustration of some of the issues, British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 23, No. 5.