I’ll Never Look Through A National Geographic Magazine The Same
A good picture can tell a story but according to Sarah Pink so can a bad picture. It’s not about the picture that is taken but the approach to representing knowledge.
I found Doing Visual Ethnography by Sarah Pink to be way more interesting then I initially thought. I love different cultures so the study of people, what they say, how they act, etc. is pretty fascinating and there is no arguing that pictures, video, and media add a whole new realm to ethnography that didn’t always exist.
While reading this book I couldn’t help but think about the National Geographic magazines my family subscribed too. My dad always kept them low on the bookshelf so I could flip one open anytime. They were filled with great pictures and often left you wondering how they ever captured that moment. It was flipping through those magazines that introduced me to new cultures and opened my eyes to new ways of living, but after reading Sarah Pink I’m wondering what she would think about magazines filled with only the best possible pictures taken.
I was really drawn to the truth Sarah Pink shared about absent photographs. Pink says, “Pay attention to how informants speak about images that they have hidden or thrown away; it is not only the photographs that people keep that are of interest, but those that they reject and their reasons for doing so may be of equal interest.”[1] If we only talk about the highest resolution pictures or the most difficult to capture shots then we are missing an important part of culture.
Currently, this can most easily be seen by grabbing a college students cell phone and scrolling through their camera roll. The selfies that make it to Facebook and Instagram clearly represent a different image of a person then the pictures hidden for no one to see. If we want to understand the life of a college student through visual ethnography we best not stick to their well-crafted image portrayed on social media alone. It is with that same thought I’d be curious to hear Sarah Pink’s perspective on magazines like National Geographic.
It is this approach to ethnography that I so appreciate in Sarah Pink’s writing. It’s not about “capturing” ethnography or “collecting data.” Sarah Pink presents ethnography as an on going process of collecting knowledge. This becomes never-ending and multi-faceted. This approach means the ethnographer must give up an element of control to the audience. Pink says, “Photographs produced as part of an ethnographic project will be given different meanings by the subjects of those images, local people in that context, the researcher, and other (sometimes critical) audiences.”[2] This means the ethnographer becomes vulnerable to the knowledge and concern of an audience. It is humbling and difficult to give up control of your project, but if you view ethnography as Pink does then it is not a project to control but an ongoing journey to understand.
Sarah Pink has taught me that the next time I flip open a National Geographic magazine I should do so as a critical audience member. Not someone choosing to just stare at the beautiful high-resolution pictures, but an audience member willing to advance the conversation based on my own experiences and thoughts.
[1] Pink, Sarah. Doing Visual Ethnography: Images, Media, and Representation in Research. London: Sage, 2001, 94.
[2] Ibid., 68
About the Author
Nick Martineau
Nick is a pastor at Hope Community Church in Andover, KS, founder of ILoveOrphans.com, and part of the LGP5 cohort.10 responses to “I’ll Never Look Through A National Geographic Magazine The Same”
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Nick, I thought the statement “This becomes never-ending and multi-faceted. This approach means the ethnographer must give up an element of control to the audience. Pink says, “Photographs produced as part of an ethnographic project will be given different meanings by the subjects of those images, local people in that context, the researcher, and other (sometimes critical) audiences.” was particularly insightful. Giving up control is the remedy to the tendency toward manipulation. The ultimate assignation of meaning resides with the person viewing the work.
Good thoughts!
Jon
Great post Nick! Love the National Geographic application. As I read through Pink’s work I was thinking about documentaries I have seen and was applying most of her thoughts to those. I too grew up in a home with a National Geographic subscription and similarly can now see what a great place to apply the methods, practices and concept “Doing Visual Ethnography” presents. Thanks for you great insights.
Nick,
I appreciate the ideas “giving up control” as well as “advancing the conversation” not only in visual ethnography but in life generally. Be it in a cultural study or when having coffee with my friends – I don’t need to control how I’m perceived, nor do I need to control the flow of the conversation/study. Instead I want to learn from others and advance the conversation. For the researcher I guess it’s “advancing” towards knowledge in that field, or of said culture. In life simply advancing the friendship.
Dave…You did well advancing the conversation with your comment. Thanks! (-:
I like your thoughts of “For the researcher “advancing” towards knowledge in that field, or of said culture. In life simply advancing the friendship.”
When doing research of a specific culture those hopefully go hand in hand. To advance in knowledge of a culture will ultimately help us to build relationships with those in that culture.
Nick,
Thanks for reminding us of the absent photographs. With digital photography, the number of absent photos far outweigh those that are actually presented. In many ways, selecting photos is like editing a paper. Unedited, a paper often becomes clumsy and difficult to read. The same is true for visual reports. In many cases, hundreds of photos need to be taken to produce a handful of truly usable ones. The question we must ask is, do the absent photos tell a story that is different from the one we are trying to present.
Brian,
I love your comments on absent photos – which made me think “what about changed photos”? People use photoshop all of the time to change the look of a photo or to remove things from photos. Technology is so good that it is often difficult to tell if a photo has been manipulated.
Dawnel, Great point. There is hardly a picture out there these days that hasn’t been altered in some way.
Nick, I had to laugh when you took me back to the Natural Geographic books. I kind of forgot about them but you made me remember. I like all of what you said. I kind of went the same way in my comments on the book. People show you what they want to show you and that could be a problem. Yet at the same time its a good thing to. Everyone wants to paint or see a better picture and i think thats real bad. It gets bad when the picture they have chosen to portray is meant to deceive and they pass it on as if its the truth. I have seen pictures on Face Book by people i know giving the impression like they own something when i know they don’t or something similar. Then when this happens visual perception can become misleading and fraudulent. God bless you brother!
Thanks Travis! It looks like true ethnography requires real integrity.
Nick, In addition to appreciating the National Geographic reference, I really liked your critique on the “missing photos” story. The illustration of grabbing a college student’s cell phone and looking at the posted vs. un-posted pictures definitely would tell different stories of the “college experience” :).