Let it speak
In the field, objects/events, as we observe as such, are always sending us messages. To be precise, we are always making sense out of what we observe, as if objects/events are communicating to us. For instance, you might be able to understand the flow of time by discovering the footprints at the research site. It is indeed a sign that we have capacities to construct meanings through a series of observations.
Here is a practice to think about the diversity and flexibility of our sense-making processes.
Go out to the field, and take 2 or 3 pictures:
- First, take photos of objects/events of your interest. Then, onto each photo, place the “balloon” wherever you like.
- Fill in the “balloon” with words, characters, or codes.
- If possible, share the photos (with “balloons”) with your friends and colleagues to have them speak.
During the fieldwork, researchers are taking pictures based on their own motivations and purposes. However, it is also important to recognize that, concurrently, the “readers (or receivers)” of the information are also “reading” the photos from their own standpoints.