Research Photomapping: Discussing the Method

Abstract

Photography is often used in socio-humanitarian research, but is not always subject to consistent discussion. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the methodological reflection of research photography. Research photomapping (RPM) is presented as a possibility of method, as well as research and a cultural practice that presupposes a special convention, or pact in the sense of Ph. Lejeune. The properties of RPM are revealed in comparison with neighboring methods, among which an important distinction is made depending on who is photographing — participatory photomapping, visual diary, and more general categories — research photography and observation in the field. The definition of RPM through a set of methodological principles is proposed: photography, which is carried out by the researcher as an active participant in the field, without or together with informants, in the process of the fieldwork.

The experience of using RPM is considered from the point of view of the capabilities and limitations of the method. Various formats of interaction between the researcher and the informant in the process of photographing are highlighted. It is shown how an informant can induce a sociologist to capture a particular object, how a place in a photograph becomes overgrown with a whole story or provokes the creation of a new one. There is always a connection between photographing and storytelling, which is not always reflected. In a broader sense, the discussion deals with the practice of fieldwork, the interaction of researchers with informants and with each other. The outlined problems of the RPM show the complexity and promise of both this research practice itself and its methodological reflection.

Acknowledgement. The work on this article was funded by Russian Science Foundation, project No. 21-18-00418 “Small Town Museum: Multiple Cultures of Memory (Historical and Sociological Analysis)”.