The usefulness of photos
I was thinking of things that I could take a picture of that bring me joy. One of my first thoughts was of my cats. But the more I think about it, the more I began to question the usefulness of trying to photograph things that bring me joy because it's not just seeing the cat that brings me joy.
For one thing, it's hearing them purr. When Pauline purrs you can hear her across the room and she'll purr for just about anyone but Virginia only purrs for me and, very rarely for Tommy or anyone else and when Isaac purrs you can't really hear it at all but you can feel it in your fingertips. Still on the topic of sounds, they all "talk" in different voices and for different reasons. Pauline's voice is a chirp and she talks all the time. Sometimes makes a very soft, almost silent chirp when she wants to be snuggled. Virginia's voice is very strident and she only speaks when she wants something (usually to be fed, allowed to go outside, or brushed) and is very insistent. Isaac hardly talks at all and when he does it's in a very soft, tentative voice which is very interesting because there is really nothing tentative about Isaac!
And it's not just sounds. All three of them are different in the way they feel too. Virginia is solid and chunky and has moderately silky fur while Pauline is much more frail feeling and has very silky fur and Isaac's fur is shorter and thicker than either of the girls'. I also love the way they smell, always have. The cat smell has always been a very comforting smell to me. I used to think that was just the way cats smelled (as opposed to the way dogs smell or fish or birds smell) and I just recently figured out that it's their food that makes them smell the way they do. BUT, while the smell of their food reminds me of them, it's only the way my cats themselves smell that brings me joy.
Which brings me back to my question: how can you convey all of that in a photograph? At the moment, I don't think you can. At least, a photo of one of my cats would convey all of that to me but it might convey something completely different to a researcher who didn't have the context of what I've just written. So how can photographs be useful data in a qualitative research study where the purpose is to elicit rich, detailed data about the participant's experience?
For one thing, it's hearing them purr. When Pauline purrs you can hear her across the room and she'll purr for just about anyone but Virginia only purrs for me and, very rarely for Tommy or anyone else and when Isaac purrs you can't really hear it at all but you can feel it in your fingertips. Still on the topic of sounds, they all "talk" in different voices and for different reasons. Pauline's voice is a chirp and she talks all the time. Sometimes makes a very soft, almost silent chirp when she wants to be snuggled. Virginia's voice is very strident and she only speaks when she wants something (usually to be fed, allowed to go outside, or brushed) and is very insistent. Isaac hardly talks at all and when he does it's in a very soft, tentative voice which is very interesting because there is really nothing tentative about Isaac!
And it's not just sounds. All three of them are different in the way they feel too. Virginia is solid and chunky and has moderately silky fur while Pauline is much more frail feeling and has very silky fur and Isaac's fur is shorter and thicker than either of the girls'. I also love the way they smell, always have. The cat smell has always been a very comforting smell to me. I used to think that was just the way cats smelled (as opposed to the way dogs smell or fish or birds smell) and I just recently figured out that it's their food that makes them smell the way they do. BUT, while the smell of their food reminds me of them, it's only the way my cats themselves smell that brings me joy.
Which brings me back to my question: how can you convey all of that in a photograph? At the moment, I don't think you can. At least, a photo of one of my cats would convey all of that to me but it might convey something completely different to a researcher who didn't have the context of what I've just written. So how can photographs be useful data in a qualitative research study where the purpose is to elicit rich, detailed data about the participant's experience?
posted by SWS | 1:23 PM
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