Research focused on crop restoration, cultural revitalization, and treaty living. Researchers who believe in collaboration and knowledge sharing. Learn more about the Manomin Research Project.
By Gabrielle Goldhar with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation
As the common saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Images capture a moment in time and allow viewers to reflect on a scene. A photo diary is made up of a series of photographs. A photo diary results from “the practice of re-photographing the same scene as it appears in an earlier photograph.”1 By attempting to record the same location over a period of time, researchers are able to compare and contrast images for similarities and differences.2 Photo diaries then become a valuable research method as they prompt researchers to think critically about what they see, what they do not see,3 and most importantly, what caused the changes between photographs.4
The Manomin Project uses photo diaries to document the extent and density of manomin5 growth at sites selected by Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation’s (NAN’s) Elders. Since 2018, team members have ensured photographs are taken bi-weekly between July and September in chosen fields. During these summer months, Manomin experiences many life stages: floating leaf, aerial shoots, flowering, and ripening.6 For the Manomin Project, capturing photos every two weeks facilitates the identification of changes in the environment that may influence crop health at these different life stages. However, it is important to note that the “length of time between [images] varies with the purpose of the project.”7
By comparing annual pictures of manomin field sites, one can identify if Manomin experienced a good or bad year and then uncover the causes behind any noted changes. This presents a great opportunity for community engagement as “photographs alone cannot explain the reasons for change, additional research or other materials collected on-site may be necessary to understand the paired images.”8 Elder testimonies and community observations are essential to making sense of repeat photography.
So, how are photo diaries created? The first step in creating a photo diary is to generate “a frame of reference for assessing future changes.”9 This is done by identifying a subject in geographical space that is to be photographed and then creating baseline images.10 The Manomin Project has used subjects like boulders, channels, and transmission lines to orient photographers. When establishing a baseline image, it is necessary to consider lighting – which changes over the course of a day – as “light plays an important role in defining the subject in an image.”11 Safety is also an important factor to consider. The Manomin Project seeks to photograph early in the day to avoid direct, overhead sunlight which can result in overexposure. Morning photography also helps to ensure workplace safety as team members must travel by boat to access the sites. As noted by meteorologist Tom Skilling, wind speed increases “from early morning into the day.” Greater wind speeds create rough conditions on the Winnipeg River, which is not only dangerous for the team but can also make taking a steady photo challenging. For this reason, photographers seek to be on and off the water early.
Once baseline images are created (which take light and safety into account), new pictures attempt to duplicate the spatial location (i.e., coordinates), lighting,12 field of view, and direction (i.e. cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West)13 of the original images captured. Note: “attempt” is an important verb. It makes clear that photos “made at one time can never be exactly replicated in another.”14 It is the differences between images that allows researchers to detect change when photos are analyzed collectively.15
The Manomin Project used geographical coordinates to mark the spots from which all photographs were (and are) to be shot. In 2018, four baseline pictures were taken during the morning hours at each site to document the North, East, South, and West directions. Markers that stood out in the environment were documented as a field of view indication. Then, every two weeks during the summer months, new photographs have been (and are) captured that attempt to replicate the coordinates, lighting,16 field of view, and direction17 of the original images. By repeating this process every year, the pictures become “an excellent technique for evaluating landscape change over time.”18
At the end of each field visit, metadata (i.e., data about data) is embedded in all photographs to specify the date, site, coordinates, direction, water depth (if applicable), guide, photographer, guest(s) (if applicable), and marker (if applicable). The digital photo diaries are then archived in the Agri-Environmental Research Data Repository where NAN determines who can access the pictures outside their community. To gain access, an individual must request permission from Chief and Council. As such, the photo diaries start and end with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation.
Despite being a “powerful method to produce knowledge about place,”19 repeat photography has its limitations. While photo diaries document a moment in time and invite comparative analysis, they themselves cannot explain the events that caused a change in the photographs.20 Therefore, understanding dissimilarities may be limited without the use of additional data.21 Furthermore, unintentional differences between images can be caused by errors in the lighting and the use of several cameras.22 Such challenges are known to the Manomin Project as photographers can monitor, but cannot control, weather conditions. Taking into account the restrictions of photo diaries, the “value of repeat photography for the historical assessment of landscape change is [still] well established.”23 Photo diaries are thus a unique, tangible, and relevant research methodology that offers the Manomin Project a way to “watch the fields” with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation.
Notes
1 Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels, “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research,” in The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011), 488.
2 Robert H. Webb, Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner, Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010), 3.
3 Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels, “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research,” in The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011), 2.
4 Kelly K. Lemmons, Christian Brannstrom, and Danielle Hurd, “Exposing Students to Repeat Photography: Increasing Cultural Understanding on a Short-Term Study Abroad,” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 38, no. 1 (2014): 90.
5 Manomin, more commonly known as “wild rice” in English, is a cereal crop that is indigenous to North America.
6 Margaret Lehman with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation, “An Introduction to Manomin,” Manomin Research Project – NiCHE, 2019, https://niche-canada.org/2019/11/01/an-introduction-to-manomin/.
7 Robert H. Webb, Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner, Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010), 17.
8 Robert H. Webb, Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner, Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010), 32.
9 Ibid., xiii.
10 Kelly K. Lemmons, Christian Brannstrom, and Danielle Hurd, “Exposing Students to Repeat Photography: Increasing Cultural Understanding on a Short-Term Study Abroad,” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 38, no. 1 (2014): 44.
11 Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels, “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research,” in The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011), 8.
12 Ibid., 2.
13 Christopher Burton, Jerry T. Mitchell, and Susan L. Cutter, “Evaluating post-Katrina Recovery in Mississippi Using Repeat Photography,” Disasters 35, no. 3 (2011): 491.
14 Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels, “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research,” in The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011), 2.
15 Ibid., 2.
16 Ibid., 2.
17 Christopher Burton, Jerry T. Mitchell, and Susan L. Cutter, “Evaluating post-Katrina Recovery in Mississippi Using Repeat Photography,” Disasters 35, no. 3 (2011): 491.
18 Robert H. Webb, Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner, Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010), 8.
19 Kelly K. Lemmons, Christian Brannstrom, and Danielle Hurd, “Exposing Students to Repeat Photography: Increasing Cultural Understanding on a Short-Term Study Abroad,” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 38, no. 1 (2014): 90.
20 Eric Margolis and Luc Pauwels, “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research,” in The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011), 2.
21 Christopher Burton, Jerry T Mitchell, and Susan L. Cutter, “Evaluating post-Katrina Recovery in Mississippi Using Repeat Photography,” Disasters 35, no. 3 (2011): 491.
22 Robert H. Webb, Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner, Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010), 49.
23 Ibid., 54.
References
Burton, Christopher, Jerry T. Mitchell, and Susan L Cutter. “Evaluating post‐Katrina Recovery in Mississippi Using Repeat Photography.” Disasters 35, no. 3 (2011): 488–509.
Lehman, Margaret with Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation. “An Introduction to Manomin.” Manomin Research Project – NiCHE, 2019. https://niche-canada.org/2019/11/01/an-introduction-to-manomin/.
Lemmons, Kelly K., Christian Brannstrom, and Danielle Hurd. “Exposing Students to Repeat Photography: Increasing Cultural Understanding on a Short-Term Study Abroad.” Journal of Geography in Higher Education 38, no. 1 (2014): 86–105.
Margolis, Eric, and Luc Pauwels. “Repeat Photography in Landscape Research.” In The SAGE Handbook of Visual Research Methods, 114–31. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2011.
Webb, Robert H., Diane E. Boyer, and R. M. Turner. Repeat Photography: Methods and Applications in the Natural Sciences. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2010.
Image by Steve Johnson on Unsplash.