Visual Ethnography:

Usi ng Photography in Qualitative

Dona Schwart z
University of Minnesota
Research
ABSTRACT." Thi s ar t i cl e proposes a new way to use phot ogr aphs i n et hnogr aphi c
research. The met hod bui l ds on ear l i er exami nat i ons of t he uni que pr oper t i es of photo-
gr aphi c ar t i cul at i on, i nt er pr et at i on and use, empl oyi ng t he i nher ent ambi gui t i es of
phot ogr aphi c i mager y. Responses t o et hnogr aphi c phot ogr aphs of a r ur al f ar m commu-
ni t y wer e recorded dur i ng group i nt er vi ew sessi ons and anal yzed i n r el at i on to addi-
t i onal et hnogr aphi c dat a gat her ed i n order to st udy soci ocul t ural cont i nui t y and change
across gener at i ons i n f ar m fami l i es.
Discussions of photography in the emergent traditions of visual soci-
ology and anthropology have been concerned with two principal areas:
the use of still photographs as a methodological tool in social research,
and the use of photographs as a means of presenting social research.
The use of still photography as a research method has been fruitfully
addressed by a number of scholars (see in particular Bateson & Mead,
1942; Becker, 1974; Byers, 1964; Caldarola, 1985; Collier, 1967; and
Wagner, 1979). 1
Using pictures in social research requires a theory of how pictures
get used by both picture makers and viewers. In order to use photo-
graphs either as data or as data generators we need to have some
notion of how viewers t reat and understand photographic images,
whether those viewers are informants or researchers. Ruby (1973,
1976) has drawn attention to the pitfalls awaiting people who take up
photography as a research tool with too little awareness of the social
practices surrounding photographic production and use. The following
discussion offers a theoretical foundation for using photography in
qualitative research.
Address correspondence to: Dona Schwart z, School of J our na l i s m and Mass Communi -
cations, Uni ver s i t y of Mi nnesot a, 111 Mur phy Hal l , 206 Chur ch St r eet , S.E., Min-
neapol i s, MN 55455.
Qualitative Sociology, 12(2), Summer 1989 119 1989 Human Sciences Press
120 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Phot ography as a Soci al Transact i on
Byer s (1964) and Sekul a (1975) have ar gued t ha t Amer i can vi ewer s
t ypi cal l y appr oach phot ogr aphs f r om t wo di st i nct per spect i ves. Byer s
r ef er s to:
a historical two-headed view of photography as 1) an art and 2) a precise
machine-made record of a scene or a subject. In the first view, the
primary concern is the vision of t he photographer-artist who uses the
technology to produce a creative photograph of which t he photographer
is the %ource." In the second view, the primary concern is t he accuracy
with which the subject is recorded on film, in which case the subject is
the ~source." (1964, p. 79).
Vi ewed as wor ks of art , phot ogr aphs ar e t hought t o embody t he per-
sonal concerns of t he phot ogr apher - ar t i st . These concer ns can r ange
f r om t he expl or at i on of f or mal aest het i c i ssues to t he expr essi on of t he
phot ogr apher ' s i nner emot i ons. Vi ewed as records, phot ogr aphs ar e
t hought t o r epr oduce t he r eal i t y i n f r ont of t he camer a' s lens, yi el di ng
an unmedi at ed and unbi as ed vi sual report .
Appr oached f r om ei t her of t hes e per spect i ves, phot ogr aphi c meani ng
is concept ual i zed as bei ng cont ai ned wi t hi n t he i mage itself. The pho-
t ogr aph becomes a r ecept acl e f r om whi ch i ndi vi dual vi ewer s wi t hdr aw
meani ng. However , t hes e t wo per spect i ves fai l t o consi der t he rol e of
t he spect at or i n t he process of const r uct i ng phot ogr aphi c meani ng. The
vi ewi ng process is a dynami c i nt er act i on be t we e n t he phot ogr apher ,
t he spect at or , and t he i mage; meani ng is act i vel y const r uct ed, not
passi vel y recei ved. Bar t hes (1964) char act er i zes phot ogr aphs as "poly-
semi c, " capabl e of gener at i ng mul t i pl e meani ngs i n t he vi ewi ng pro-
cess. Byer s descr i bes phot ogr aphy si mi l arl y:
. . . the photograph is not a '~message" in the usual sense. It is, instead,
the raw material for an infinite number of messages which each viewer
can construct for himself. Edward T. Hall has suggested t hat the photo-
graph conveys little new information but, instead, triggers meaning t hat
is already in the viewer (1966, pp. 31).
The t endency t o t r e a t phot ogr aphs as obj ect i ve evi dence i gnor es t he
convent i on- bound processes of bot h i mage ma ki ng and i nt er pr et at i on.
I n order t o benef i t social r esear ch, t he use of phot ogr aphi c met hods
mus t be gr ounded i n t he i nt er act i ve cont ext i n whi ch phot ogr aphs
acqui r e meani ng.
Vi ewi ng phot ogr aphi c i mager y is a pat t er ned soci al act i vi t y s haped
by social cont ext , cul t ur al convent i ons, and gr oup norms. I n or der t o
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 121
pr es ent phot ogr aphs t o i nf or mant s for pur poses of phot o-el i ci t at i on,
some f or eknowl edge of t he r es pondent gr oup' s us e of phot ogr aphs is
r equi r ed so t ha t met hodol ogi cal s t r at egi es can be pl anned, and t he
r es ul t i ng dat a assessed wi t hi n t he cont ext of i nf or mant s' s har ed mean-
ings. St udi es of Amer i can mi ddl e-cl ass appr oaches t o vi ewi ng photo-
gr aphs and fi l ms pr ovi ded a s t ar t i ng poi nt for t he met hodol ogi cal
s t r at egy pr es ent ed here.
I n hi s s t udy of f ami l y phot ogr aphy, Musel l o (1980) f ound t ha t hi s
sampl e of mi ddl e-cl ass ~Euro-Ameri can" f ami l i es appr oached phot o-
gr aphs as ~mechani cal r ecor di ngs of r eal event s, " not as symbol i c
ar t i cul at i ons. The vi ewer s he st udi ed pai d l i t t l e consci ous at t ent i on t o
t he rol e or i nt ent i ons of t he phot ogr apher i n t he process of ar t i cul at i on.
The use of f ami l y s naps hot phot ogr aphs wi t hi n a ~'home-mode" cont ext
pl aced a specific behavi or al f r ame ar ound t he act of vi ewi ng whi ch
excl uded consi der at i on of t he f or mal char act er i st i cs of t he i mage. Mus-
el l o wr i t es:
Meanings and interpretations are most often based on a belief in the
photograph's value as a document of natural events and on recognition of
its iconic referents. The photographic allusion is increasingly expanded,
however, as viewers interact with the natural events depicted and draw
references and significances from a broad range of events, experiences,
people, and responses which they recall, derive from, relate, and attrib-
ute to the depicted contents . . . . The use of the home mode seems heavily
reliant on verbal accompaniment for the transmission of personal signifi-
cances. Photographs presented to others are typically embedded in a
verbal context delineating what should be attended to and what signifi-
cances are located in the image, and providing contextual data necessary
for understanding t hem (1980, pp. 39). 3
Cust en' s (1982) s t udy of t he wa y a gr oup of young Amer i can mi ddl e-
cl ass vi ewer s t al ked about a f i l m i mmedi at el y af t er t he vi ewi ng experi -
ence pr ovi des addi t i onal evi dence of t he r out i ne use of i mages as
pr ompt s for per sonal nar r at i ves . Ra t he r t ha n act as i nt er pr et er s, at-
t endi ng t o t he f or mal mes s ages embedded wi t hi n t he f or m and st ruc-
t ur e of t he fi l m, Cus t en f ound t ha t vi ewer s' t a l k about f i l m t a ke s t he
f or m of '~talk through film": ' ~Viewers t end t o di scuss how t he f i l m is
meani ngf ul t o t he m i n some cont ext pr es ent i n t hei r l i ves pri or t o and
apar t from t he movi e" (1982, pp. 240).
Vi ewer s r esponded t o t he f i l m t he y wer e shown i n t er ms of i t s l evel of
r eal i s m by i nt egr at i ng el ement s of t he f i l m t he y consi der ed per sonal l y
si gni f i cant i nt o t a l k about day-t o-day exper i ences and concerns.
I n t hes e st udi es, t he i nt er pr et at i onal s t r at egy empl oyed by vi ewer s
cons t i t ut es a f or m of ~at t r i but i on" (' Nort h & Gross, 1974). Vi ewer s
122 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
adopt an attributional strategy when they treat an image as a natural
event rat her t han as a symbolic event, and they fail to consider the
author' s intentions guiding the structure and meaning of the image.
Naive viewers who have not learned the cultural conventions t hat
facilitate the process of interpretation may mistake photographic im-
ages for the objects and events they represent. Lacking a conscious
awareness of the presence of a message, untrained viewers substitute
their own immediate reactions for the author' s intended meanings. 3
These studies suggest t hat in group viewings, photographs elicit
extended personal narratives which illuminate viewers' lives and ex-
periences. American middle-class viewers routinely respond to photo-
graphs by telling stories t hat stem from specific pictorial elements
which seem personally significant. Instead of responding to an encoded
message, most viewers' responses reflect their own social realities.
Thus, the social interactions surrounding the activity of looking at
photographs provide an arena for studying the meanings viewers at-
tribute to aspects of their everyday lives.
Doing Ethnographic Photography
My use of photographs in the ethnography of a rural Iowa farm
community builds upon the contradictory nat ure of photography, a
medium noted for its realism, yet routinely subject to multiple percep-
tions and interpretations. I consider photographs inherently ambig-
uous, their specifiable meanings emergent in the viewing process. This
ambiguity is not a disadvantage or limitation; rather, the multiple
meanings negotiated by viewers can be mined for the rich data they
yield. Building upon the evidence t hat viewers tend to look ~'through"
photographs, I have made use of the ways in which photographs are
routinely used by middle-class family viewers in order to elicit reac-
tions and information concerning community life which might other-
wise never become apparent.
By maki ng ethnographic photographs of community life and present-
ing them for discussion within family viewing contexts, I have tried to
establish a Werbal context delineating what should be attended to and
what significances are located in the image" (Musello, 1980, pp. 39). By
eliciting this verbal context, I have attempted to gain access to mean-
ings shared by viewers. In what follows I will discuss my use of
photography and photo-elicitation as a method of gathering data. The
approach I outline addresses the inadequacies of existing visual eth-
nographies discussed by Wagner:
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 123
In the first place, there are too few visual studies of people acting in
natural settings. We simply have not seen enough of what people do and
the physical contexts in which it is done. In the second place, we know too
little about how people themselves see the settings and their activities.
Even when we have images of the people in the setting, we have little
sense of what t hey make of it all or of the images themselves (1979,
pp. 286).
Waucoma, Iowa
I n August , 1985, I began an et hnogr aphi c s t udy of Waucoma, a r ur al
f ar m communi t y i n nor t heas t er n Iowa. I had vi si t ed Waucoma a num-
ber of t i mes, accompanyi ng my hus band on t r i ps t o see hi s grand-
par ent s who wer e st i l l l i vi ng on t he f ami l y f ar m. My hus band' s mot her
and uncl es had all l eft Waucoma, choosi ng occupat i ons ot her t ha n
f ar mi ng. Tri ps t o t he f ar m under scor ed my husband' s per cept i ons of
ongoi ng change; each t i me we vi si t ed t he f ar m s eemed l ess l i ke t he
pl ace he r emember ed. Rent er s pl ant ed t he fields, t he dai r y oper at i on
ceased, and fi nal l y, af t er hi s gr andf at her ' s deat h, hi s gr andmot her qui t
r ai si ng chickens Bui l di ngs wer e l eft to det er i or at e or wer e razed.
Weeds gr ew wher e t her e was once a bar nyar d. Af t er hear i ng ma ny
st or i es about t he appar ent demi se of Waucoma, I deci ded t o l aunch a
phot ogr aphi c s t udy exami ni ng t he nat ur e of t he changes t aki ng pl ace
i n t hi s smal l f ar m communi t y. The i ni t i al f i el dwor k was car r i ed out
f r om Augus t t hr ough December 1985. Dur i ng t hi s t i me I l i ved i n
Waucoma wi t h my husband' s 90-year-ol d gr andmot her .
Waucoma is an agr i cul t ur al communi t y wi t h a popul at i on of 308
(U.S. Cens us Bur eau, 1980). The ar ea was set t l ed i n 1855 by Iri sh,
Ger man, Scot ch and Engl i sh and i n 1883 t he t own was i ncorporat ed.
The Davenpor t and St. Pa ul br anch of t he Chi cago, Mi l waukee and St.
Pa ul Rai l way ar r i ved for t he f i r st t i me i n May 1880. The t own
pr os pe r e d- f our pas s enger t r ai ns and t wo f r ei ght t r ai ns st opped i n
t own dai l y. By 1900 i t had gr own to i ncl ude a mill, a post office, f our
chur ches, t wo banks, t wo hot el s, t hr ee l i ver y st abl es, dr ug st ores,
ha r dwa r e st ores, gr ocer y st ores, schools, a t own newspaper , and an
"opera house. " A box f act or y was opened i n 1919, pr ovi di ng empl oy-
me nt for ma ny resi dent s. The f act or y bur ne d down i n 1923 and i t s
owners, sons of one of t he t own' s f oundi ng fami l i es, deci ded not t o
r ebui l d (t he f ami l y moved a wa y somet i me af t er t he fire). Accordi ng t o
ma ny r esi dent s, t hes e event s ma r ke d t he t ur ni ng poi nt i n t he t own' s
pr osper i t y.
Once a t hr i vi ng commer ci al cent er ser vi ng s ur r oundi ng f ar ms, t he
124 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
number of main street businesses has declined since the 1920s. The
town has experienced a gradual reduction in population, from 457
persons in 1920 to the most recent figure, 308. The majority of these
residents are retirees: farmers who have moved to town, merchants,
and elderly widows. Residents often mention greater numbers in dis-
cussions of the town population at the t urn of the cent ury, and Marron
(1976) reports a population of 600 in 1919. The railroad depot closed in
1972 and by 1976 the number of businesses and professional people
counted among the population had diminished (Marron, 1976). Today
the town has a small feed mill, a grocery store, a branch bank, a
tavern, a fertilizer dealer, a grain elevator, a filling station, a welding
shop, a beauty shop, two churches, two funeral homes and two insurance
agencies. An attorney holds office hours one day per week, as does an
optometrist, and a veterinarian resides in town. Waucoma has evolved
from a relatively self-contained, self-sufficient agricultural community
into a less clearly definable unit, economically and socially dependent
upon surrounding larger communities and on more distant urban centers.
The intermingling of traditional rural values with urban culture is
clearly in evidence as Waucoma continues to undergo change.
The study addresses the following set of questions: As rural commu-
nities undergo structural change, how do farm families adapt? How do
successive generations view their community? Are traditional values
transmitted intact from generation to generation or is there evidence
of significant cultural change over time? Do views of family farming
change from generation to generation as family members' experiences
are rooted in different historical times? What meanings do kinship,
community and the notion of the "home place" hold for farm families?
As small towns atrophy what sociocuttural adaptations occur? How do
residents maintain a sense of community as the community' s spatial
and cultural boundaries are reshaped?
Farm families were selected from the possible range of informants
because of the historical centrality of family farms to the organization
of small communities like Waucoma. The social and economic liveli-
hood of the town depends on the farm families living beyond its bound-
aries. Farm families' patronage assures the solvency of town busi-
nesses. Their participation in the community' s religious life, civic
organizations and voluntary associations is crucial to the maintenance
of these social institutions.
Photographing the Community
How and where to begin photographing requires some strategic plan-
ning, because the act of making photographs may serve as the commu-
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 125
nity' s introduction to the photographer, her activities and her aims.
Data produced during this stage of an ethnography require closer
inspection later on- t he status of initial pictures is uncertain, their
value as data is determined during the course of the research. I fol-
lowed Collier's (1967) suggestion and photographed the physical envi-
ronment at the outset. A descriptive record of architectural and ecolog-
ical features is likely to be less equivocal t han other kinds of
photographic documentation, and serves as a good starting point. Upon
my arrival t began photographing the buildings in Waucoma and
mapping the physical surroundings. I made my activities visible so
t hat residents would become aware of my presence. While photograph-
ing the town, I observed ongoing patterns of daily activity. I included
these observations in my fieldnotes, along with descriptions of my own
photographic activities.
Seeing a stranger in their midst making photographs of their town
piqued the curiosity of residents, many of whom approached me to ask
questions about what i was doing. Initially they sought to identify me
and understand my presence by pinpointing my kin relationships
within the community. When they asked why I was photographing the
town, I told t hem t hat I was studying Waucoma and the changes t hat
had occurred over the years. Their responses took one of two forms:
they expressed surprise t hat someone found Waucoma interesting or
important enough to study; or they told me how worthwhile my effort
seemed, considering the interesting history of the town. 4
The camera itself became an important means of entering into the
social life of the community, allowing me to engage in understandable,
task-oriented activity in the course of observation. My picture-taking
provided residents with an obvious reason to start up a conversation,
and the longer I made photographs, the more people I met. I was able to
move from photographing the environment to photographing public
events as my contacts with community members multiplied. Residents
came to expect me to appear with my camera at community events.
Over time, I was able to ask and receive permission to photograph
family activities as well. I became known even among families I had
not yet met, and, with cursory introductions, I was invited to photo-
graph them.Waucoma families welcomed me among them, expediting
my fieldwork. 5
From August to December, I kept fieldnotes detailing my observa-
tions, photographic activities, and the results of informal interviews. I
also built an extensive photographic archive showing such things as
the physical environment of the town and surrounding countryside,
church, associational, and civic events, family activities, the organiza-
tion of farm labor, farm auctions, and alternatives to farming (e.g. jobs
126 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
in manufacturing at a plant 25 miles away). I made work prints in my
~Tield darkroom" (temporarily situated in the cellar of my farmhouse
residence) in order to review the photographs as the work progressed.
From January until July 1986, after returning home to St. Paul, I
printed photographs which would be used for elicitation during inter-
views with members of farm families. My fieldnotes guided decisions
about which photographs to print and which to bypass.
I made frequent visits to the community during the winter and
spring, and began conducting formal interviews in August 1986. Sepa-
rate interviews with members of different generations in five farm
families were held. Interviews were conducted in groups whenever
possible. The number of participants ranged from one (in the grand-
parent generation) to eight (in the third generation). I had spent sev-
eral days' time observing and photographing each of the families
during the previous year and pictures of each family and their day-to-
day activities were a part of the documentation presented during
interview sessions. Interviews were taperecorded and transcribed. Ses-
sions lasted from two and one half to five hours.
Photo-Interviews
Interviews centered around discussions of the photographs. I pre-
pared and assembled photographic sets representing locales, activities,
and events which appeared to be significant to community members. I
chose what to include and how to sequence the photo-sets on the basis
of analytical inferences drawn from fieldnotes. The picture groupings
were: 1) the physical environment, a photographic survey of Waucoma,
2) specific locales such as churches, businesses, or the community
center, and the public events or activities which occur at these sites, 3)
farm families, including different kinds of farm work, different ways of
organizing farm work, family activities, events, and rituals, 4) the
town's Memorial Day Celebration, 6 5) auctions, including a farm auc-
tion, an estate sale held by an elderly woman preparing to move into a
nursing home, and a sale of the house and household goods of a young
couple forced to leave the community in search of better job oppor-
tunities, and 6) work activities at a factory 25 miles from Waucoma
which provided a significant source of off-farm employment for local
residents.
Interviews were held at the homes of the respondents. I arrived with
a box of pictures and a tape recorder, and I was almost always beck-
oned to the kitchen table. I told my informants t hat I would be showing
t hem my pictures of Waucoma, explaining t hat I had tentatively ar-
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 127
ranged the pictures into groups organized according to what seemed to
belong together and what seemed important. I stressed t hat I was
trying to gain a better understanding of life in the community, and
t hat the interviews were the key to t hat understanding. "I can' t hope to
understand in the short time I've been in Waucoma, the experiences
you've accumulated during your lifetime," I told them. I explained t hat
I wanted to write about Waucoma, and also to s how people what
Waucoma is like by using photographs. I told my informants t hat I
wanted to ask a series of questions about the assembled sets of photo-
graphs: do these pictures represent things t hat are important about
living here? about being a part of a farm family? which pictures are
especially important? which are not? if you were going to show people
what it is like to live here what else would you include? what kinds of
things are missing? I invited suggestions for changes in the photo-sets
I had arranged.
Then I gave t hem the photographs, group by group, and asked t hem
to make comments. I did little to guide their responses, particularly
during the first interviews I conducted; if topics were raised t hat
required clarification, I probed for further explanation. I took this
approach because I was most interested in the range of responses the
pictures might evoke and the intergenerational comparison among
them. These interviews were similar to family viewing situations
described by Musello (1980). Although I had made and ordered the
photographs, they were treated attributionally, in much the same way
t hat family snapshots might have been approached. (Since pictures of
interviewees, their friends, and their neighbors were among those
presented, this similarity appeared to be enhanced.) Viewers attended
to the content represented in the pictures, and used t hem as prompts
for talk about community events, institutions, and social relationships.
Neither the formal aesthetic properties of the pictures nor my inten-
tions in making or ordering them were ever questioned or discussed.
The only comments offered with regard to photographic articulation
had to do with how ~clear" or sharp the pictures were, especially in
comparison with viewers' own pictures. A typical reaction was: ~'These
pictures are so clear! You must have used a good camera!"
After the interviews I wrote fieldnotes describing them. I made note
of the patterns t hat were emerging in the informant responses, and I
compared the kind of responses generated by members of different
generations. After conducting three interviews I was able to play a
more active role during the sessions. I could draw upon data from
previous interviews in order to probe for overlaps and divergences in
response to the pictures. In this way, I began charting and comparing
the worldviews held by members of different generations. Differing
128 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
attitudes towards the American Legion, for instance, emerged during
discussions of pictures of a Legion meeting. The following is a sample
of the kind of data generated in these interviews.
Exampl e 1: The Ameri can Legi on
While kinship ties establish the primary basis for informal interac-
tion among community members, association membership provides
formal mechanisms for interaction across families. Organizations like
the American Legion are central to the social life of the community.
Most of the town's World War II veterans belong to the Legion Post,
while only one Vietnam veteran is an active member. As older mem-
bers die, new ones do not take their places. Younger men are either
preoccupied with farms and families, or feel bitter about their military
experiences and shun the Legion. In addition, the interview data
suggests t hat some townsmen do not share the patriotism felt by the
Legionnaires and prefer playing golf to participating in Legion activ-
ities.
Legion members' ritual obligations include assembling at veterans'
funerals throughout the year and marching to the town cemetery on
Memorial Day, clad in their military uniforms (when possible), for a
special ceremony. Members hold a business meeting once a month.
After the formal business of the meeting is accomplished, members
spend several hours together drinking and conversing. Legionnaires
meet at the Belding-Fox-Slagle Legion Post, a large "hall" in the
middle of town. Prior to its purchase by the Legion, the building was
the town's Opera House. The Legionnaires have renovated the build-
ing twice, making it more suitable for their own and the community' s
use.
Because the building is the largest gathering place in town, the
Legion generates revenue by renting it to community groups and
individuals: public dances, private receptions, and agribusiness pre~
sentations are among the kinds of activities held in the hall. Groups
like the senior citizens' club, the Boy Scouts, and 4-H hold their meet-
ings at the hall free of charge, a community service provided by the
Legion. Legion members rotate bartending and clean-up duties on a
month-by-month basis; they agree to be ~'on call" to oversee rental use
of the hall. The women's arm of the Legion is the American Legion
Auxiliary. Auxiliary members' activities focus on aid to disabled ser-
vicemen, support of their husbands' Legion activities, and fundraising
events, like the annual arts and crafts show, held each fall at the
Legion building.
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 129
Within the set of photographs showing specific locales and activities
there was a group of pictures made at the Legion Hall. The first part of
these pictures showed a monthly Legion meeting. Included (Figures
1-6) were shots of members reciting the Legion pledge at the beginning
of the meeting; Legion Post leaders conducting the meeting; members
seated, drinking soda pop and beer; members drinking at the bar after
the adjournment; Legionnaires standing at the bar, arguing. I showed
these pictures to a retired farmer and his wife and to their son and
daughter-in-law during two separate interviews. The retired farmer,
Gerald, belongs to the Legion. His son, Tom, now farming the family
farm, is not a member despite the fact t hat he is eligible as a Vietnam
veteran. Gerald and his wife Lola, and Tom and his wife, Mary, did not
always refer to specific pictures from this series during the course of
the interview. The series elicited extended talk about the Legion and
its place within the community. Their discussion is represented below.
Geral d age 59, and Lol a age 58, Ret i red Far mer s
Dona: These are pictures from the Legion Hall.
Geral d: There's Phil.
Lola: And Roy. (See figure 3.)
Geral d: Gene's Commander now I think, isn't he?
Lola: I don't know.
Geral d: I think he is. That's the only night you ever was to a meeting,
huh?
Dona: Yeah.
Geral d: That one night.
Dona: They were discussing whether or not to renovate the hall.
(Referring to figure 2.)
Geral d: Gee, something was going on here (See figure 6.)
Dona: They were having an argument.
Geral d: They must have been. Looks like Smith was madder t han hell
at me.
Dona: They were talking about farming and-
Geral d: Oh yeah. Smith got mad t hat night about something anyway.
About renting more land or some darn thing. I don't know what it was
about no more.
130 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 131
132 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 133
Dona: How long have you been a Legion member?
Geral d: I don't know
Lola: Ever since you've been out of the service. When was that?
Geral d: I don't know. (Gerald takes out his wallet and begins to shuffle
through the cards and pictures collected in it.)
Dona: Do you have a Legion card in your wallet?
Geral d: Here it is. Nope. Here it is right here. No, that' s not it either.
It's in there someplace. Fve got more kids' pictures in there t han
anything else. It's got to be in there. Here it is right here. Thirty five
years. (He shows me his card, with obvious pride.)
Dona: What kinds of things do the Legionnaires do?
Geral d: Well. Memorial Day, they put on t hat whole thing. Then they
furnish the hall for the senior citizens. (The Legion makes the hall
available to senior citizens for the weekly hot meal program and for
the monthly senior citizens' club meeting.)
Dona: They don't have to rent it when they use it?
Geral d: Oh, they pay a little bit, but not much.
Lola: Whatever they want, right?
Geral d: Right.
Lola: And they have the Booster Club meetings in there a nd. . .
Geral d: Anything, any town meeting. Like if something big goes on
they have all the meetings.
Lola: And voting.
Geral d: Something big goes on, that' s all donated. Well, voting gets
paid for from the county. It's just a community deal. But it's going
downhill too. We can' t get our quota anymore or nothing. (At the
meeting I attended twelve men were present. Figure 4 shows a small
number of men amidst many empty chairs.)
Lola: We can't get any new members. (Their son's failure to join likely
underscores this dilemma for them.)
Geral d: Well the old ones are all dying, you know. The young people
don't want to belong no more because what do they want to join there
for? ~'What do I get out of my money?" That's the way they figure it, you
knew. (Only one of twelve Legionnaires was under fifty years-old.)
134 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Dona: Wha t do you get out of bei ng a member ?
Ge r a l d : Wel l you get bur i ed, for one t hi ng. Get a mi l i t ar y f uner al ; but
you get t ha t anyway. See l i ke t hi s year t he Legi on is f i f t een dol l ars,
you know. So t ha t t hi s her e post t hey mi ght get a dol l ar out of i t
maybe. Al l t he r es t of i t goes down t o Des Moi nes. And t he n you' r e a
Legi onnai r e. Then you get a magazi ne once a mont h and t ha t l i t t l e
paper too, but t hat ' s wha t I mean, young ki ds ai n' t goi ng t o bel ong t o
t hat . Wha t t he heck, al l you do i s pay.
Lol a: Her e' s t he money. Wha t do you get out of it?
Ge r a l d : I don' t know.
Dona: But it' s i mpor t ant t o you t o be a member ?
Ge r a l d : That ' s ri ght . As l ong as I ser ved my count r y I mi ght as wel l
suppor t t ha t too. I me a n wha t t he heck, once a ye a r i f you can' t even
pay, i t was onl y $12.50, now it' s $15. I me a n l i ke young ki ds, t hey don' t
f i gur e t hat ' s i mpor t ant . I me a n wha t t he heck do you wa nt t o bel ong t o
t he Legi on f o r - y o u got t a pay $15 and t hen you got t a wor k all t he t i me.
Wha t woul d t he y wa nt t o bel ong t o s omet hi ng l i ke t ha t for? I don' t
know.
Dona: Wha t ki nd of wor k do you have to do?
Ge r a l d : Wel l see now, t hi s mont h is our mont h; anyt hi ng goes on, we
got t o t end t he bar and i f t he y don' t cl ean i t up, we' ve got t o cl ean i t up.
Lol a: Then he goes t o ever y mi l i t ar y f uner al . You have t o have so
ma ny of t he m go and us ual l y t her e' s nobody who' l l go.
Ge r a l d : Li ke Lawl er l ast t i me, t her e was t hr ee post s up t her e. Then
you get t hr e e fl ags and t hr ee colors, and t he n di f f er ent me mbe r s come.
But t he s ame bunch goes ever y t i me, t he s ame peopl e ever y t i me. J us t
a cer t ai n few, about f our or fi ve of ' er a out of about 60 of ' em. They got t a
go ever y t i me. The r est of ' em s ay %h I don' t have t i me. I can' t go. I
got t a go her e t oday, I can' t go." So t he same ones have t o go ever y t i me.
And I t hi nk t he y coul d ma ybe t a ke once a year .
Dona: What ' s t he di fference bet ween t he peopl e who go and t he peopl e
who don' t ?
Ge r a l d : I don' t know, t he y al ways got some excuse. They' r e not i nt er-
es t ed i n i t or somet hi ng, I don' t know. We got a heck of a t i me t o get
f our of ' em t o go usual l y, and I don' t t hi nk t hat ' s r i ght , ei t her , because
even when we have a mi l i t ar y f uner al up her e, not ma ny show up.
Memor i al Day we don' t even have a ver y good t ur nout . And ever ybody
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 135
shoul d come for t ha t you know. I don' t know, peopl e ar e di f f er ent
t oday, t oo much ot her s t uf f t o do. You got t a go gol fi ng t oday or I got t a
do t hi s or I got t a do t hat . So t hat ' s wha t t he y do. ( Ger al d is not a
me mbe r of t he count r y cl ub/ gol fi ng net wor k composed of upper s t at us
professi onal s, mer chant s , and ~cosmopol i t an" f ar mer s. )
Da n a : So, de you t hi nk it' s i mpor t ant t o do t hes e t hi ngs?
Ge r a l d : Sur e i t is.
I ) ona : In a wa y is i t l i ke you' r e cont i nui ng your mi l i t ar y servi ce?
Ge r a l d : Yeah, ki nd of, yeah. Toni ght was a meet i ng so I shoul d' ve
went , b u t I di dn' t go. Ther e ai n' t much goi ng on now anyway. It was
mer e f un goi ng whe n t hat bui l di ng t hi ng was goi ng on. Then t her e
wer e mor e ar gument s . (The r enovat i on of t he hal l gener at ed l engt hy
a r gume nt s pro and con as t o t he wi s dom of empt yi ng Legi on coffers
and r ai s i ng addi t i onal f unds t o f i nance t he project. Fi gur e 2 shows
di scussi on of t he issue. ) Now ai n' t nobody comes anymor e, about
ma ybe fi ve or six of ' e m comes, t hat ' s all. Before t ha t t hey' d get i nt o bi g
a r g u me n t s - h o w do you wa nt t o do it, do you want t o do i t t hi s wa y or
t ha t way.
Da n a : So t her e' s us ual l y t hi ngs l i ke t ha t h a p p e n i n g -
Ge r a l d: That dr aws peopl e in, sure.
Da n a : But before t he r e n o v a t i o n -
Lol a : They us ed t o t a ke t ur ns br i ngi ng l unch and st uff, and t hey' d si t
t he r e and vi si t , si t t her e, eat t hei r l unch and have t hei r beer and s t uf f
and visit~ and a l ot mor e of t he m came t hen, too.
Da n a : But no one' s doi ng t ha t now?
Ge r a l d : No, I don' t know.
Da n a : Because I r e me mbe r at t hi s meet i ng I t hi nk when Wa yne came
in, i n t hi s pi ct ur e, B60, he was aski ng wher e t he l unch was. (See f i gur e
5.)
Ge r a l d: Yeah, ri ght , ri ght .
Lol a: One ni ght I made a whol e cr ackpot ful l of mai dr i t es ( bar bequed
be e f for sandwi ches) and what ' d t he y have, f our packages of buns ? And
t her e wer en' t ver y ma ny peopl e t her e, b u t t he y cl eaned t he m up. A l ot
of t he m woul d j us t come t o eat you know, but not now si nce t he y qui t
meal s. But i t don' t cost t ha t much t o have a l i t t l e sandwi ch or some-
t hi ng, you know.
136 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Dona: Was there any t al k about quitting it?
Geral d: All of a sudden one night whoever was supposed to bring it
didn't bring it. Then it quit. So I don't know. If you brought the lunch
then they' d ask you if you wanted to get paid for whatever it cost you to
bring it, you know, they' d give you the money. But then if you donated
it, it was so much the better. It made more for the Legion.
Lola: Doc used to get meat and crackers and stuff like t hat and take it
to every meeting when he was commander. CDoc" is the town's resi-
dent veterinarian and mayor. As a college educated professional, the
veterinarian and his wife occupy high status positions within the
community. A lunch of ~'meat and crackers" would be far less common
fare t han ~maidrites.")
Geral d They' re always talkin' about what they, if they should put on
another pancake and sausage or some deal to make more money or
something, you know (the Legion sponsors an annual pancake and
sausage supper to raise funds). That' s about all it is, how much money
they got left in the bank.
Dona: Do you enjoy being a member just to get together with people?
Geral d: Yeah, sure, right. You know, you have a little session, what
the heck, this argument here, an argument there. (Refers to figure 6.)
Dona: Like in the picture?
Geral d: Yeah, right.
Tom age 35, and Mary age 34, Farming the Family Farm.
Dona: I have a lot of pictures here of things t hat happened in the
Legion Hall. It seems like so many things happen in the hall, it gets so
much use.
Tom: It's the only place big enough for a gathering, you know, of any
size.
Dona: The first thing is a Legion meeting.
Mary: This is upstairs.
Tom: This is upstairs before they remodeled isn' t it? (Referring to
figures 1 through 3.)
Mary: A lot of PBRs.
Dona: What did you say? A lot of what?
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 137
Mary: PBRs (cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer).
Dona: Oh.
Tom: The Legion probably wishes they had a picture like this, a before
and after picture. Now t hat could be a gag box too. You never know
what could be in there, the way they' re standing there grinning at
Wayne's opening t hat box. You don't know what' s going to jump out of
there. (See figure 4. Waucoma residents frequently play practical jokes
on one another. They range from gag boxes to relocating cars without
their drivers' knowledge. In the interview with Gerald and Lola, this
picture elicited a lengthy discussion of the recently discontinued prac-
tice of bringing ~lunch" to Legion meetings. Gerald's and Lola's re-
sponses were rooted in first-hand knowledge of the group's activities,
while Tom and Mary were unable to interpret figure 4 with reference
to such "insider" knowledge.)
Dona: Well I think it was just more PBRs.
Tom: Could be (laugh). But that' s not really a formal meeting is it? I
don't think they even have a gavel or anything like that.
Dona: Well in the beginning they had a regular formal ceremony
where they say the pledge. And this is, they are conducting business
here. (Because he is not a Legion member, Tom does not know the
protocol of the meetings his father regularly attends. This reinforces
the inference t hat father and son have differing domains of community
knowledge.) I remember the last time I was talking to you, you told me
t hat you' re not a Legion member, but you could be, right?
Tom: Right.
Dona: Why did you decide not to join?
Tom: The only reason Fd be a Legion member is for military funerals,
because I want a military funeral for myself. (Tom and his father both
consider military funerals to be important. Despite the fact t hat Tom
does not want to join the Legion, the cultural value attributed to this
ritual persists across generations.) But I could go up and march with
t hem for any military funeral without being a member. They' d be glad
to have somebody march. (Gerald made it plain t hat he thinks too few
Legionnaires come to military funerals, and even though Tom is aware
t hat he would be welcomed among them, he does not voluntarily
attend military funerals with the older veterans who regularly repro-
sent their post.) But if I join for whatever the dues are, it doesn't
amount to t hat much, then I get to go up and work. I gotta go up and
when they have a dance you have to take tickets or you have to go and
138 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
be a ba r t e nde r or you have t o cl ean up t he next day or t ha t ni ght or
somet hi ng l i ke t hat . And t he ma i n t hi ng I suppose, you know, i f t he y
don' t s t ar t get t i n' some young peopl e in, it' s gonna fold up, too. I n t he
me a nt i me I j us t never j oi ned.
Da n a : So, wha t is t he r eas on t ha t you woul dn' t wa nt t o wor k?
Tom: Wel l not al l t he t i me. I me a n I coul d go up and I coul d t e nd ba r or
hel p anyt i me I wa nt and nobody woul d care. I f you wa nt t o vol unt eer t o
work, t hat ' s fine. But you' d be put on a schedul e wher e you have t o
wor k t hi s ni ght or t hat ni ght or wha t have you, and i f you don' t,
somet hi ng el se comes up, you have t o f i nd a r epl acement . And I t hi nk
t he y get a mont h of t i me. Wel l ma ybe i n t he wi nt er t i me you don' t have
har dl y anyt hi ng t o do, but i n t he summer , ma ybe you' l l have t wo or
t hr ee weddi ng dances pl us t hi s or t hat , and you have t o go up ever y
Sa t ur da y ni ght and ma ybe cl ean up on Sunday mor ni ng. (Tom' s re-
sponse suggest s t ha t he di sl i kes t he cons t r ai nt s on hi s i ndependence
t ha t Legi on obl i gat i ons woul d impose. )
Dana: Is i t t ha t you don' t have t he t i me, or you' d r a t he r have cont rol
over t he t i me t ha t you have?
Tom: Pr obabl y r a t he r have my own t i me. (Tom' s not i on of appr opr i at e
uses of t i me and Ger al d' s cont r ast . Thei r di f f er ent pl aces wi t hi n t he
life cycle, begi nni ng f ar mer wi t h young chi l dr en ver s us r et i r ed f ar mer
wi t h gr own chi l dren, pl ays a pa r t i n shapi ng t he na t ur e of t hei r
communi t y act i vi t i es. ) It ' s l i ke r i ght her e, r i ght now, I know how muc h
wor k I have l eft t o do out si de t ha t has t o be done t oday and wha t coul d
be done t ha t I c a n put off, too.
Dana: Wha t i f t he y r eal l y needed peopl e t o join, or t hey' d fold?
Ta m: Oh t hen I woul d, yeah. I f t he y come out and as ked me I pr obabl y
woul d. (Tom' s r esponse suggest s t ha t he consi ders t he cont i nued pres-
ence of t he Legi on i mpor t ant t o t he communi t y but he exhi bi t s conflict-
i ng val ues i n hi s s i mul t aneous accept ance/ r ej ect i on of t he Legion. )
Dana: Ar e t her e ma ny peopl e l i ke you who coul d j oi n but haven' t ?
Ta m: Well, t her e wer e a lot. Most of t he ki ds t ha t wer e my age ar ound
her e all went t o t he service. (The mi l i t ar y offers young peopl e f r om t he
communi t y a pr omi se of s t eady i ncome, some ki nd of t echni cal t r ai n-
ing, and wha t s eems t o be a cl ear pat h out of t he communi t y t o t he
wor l d beyond. ) Ther e i sn' t anybody my age i n t ha t gr oup i n t her e. A l ot
of t he m ar en' t her e anymor e, b u t i t us ed t o be t hey' d have me mbe r s
f r om al l over, l i ke Ronni e i n Wes t Uni on. You know, t he wa y i t us ed t o
be he woul d have bel onged her e. Bel onged, b u t ma ybe i nact i ve or wha t
have you.
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 139
Dona: Why would be belong here if he lives in West Union?
Tom: Because this is home.
Mary: This is home and he would know all these people and stuff.
Tom: Same way, I think Barney belonged for a while. And he lives in
Cedar Rapids.
Dona: What about people who live close, so it would be real easy for
them to go?
Mary: I don't think there is many.
Tom: Well Johnnie don't belong.
Mary: But he's about the only one I could think of.
Tom: Johnnie' s got two purple hearts. He says, "they don't put food on
my table. I don't need the Legion. I don't need these," [purple hearts].
He' s real sour on the war. So they just kinda let him alone. (Vietnam
veterans' war experiences differ from those of other war veterans and
their contradictory feelings about their military service are manifested
in a lack of involvement in patriotic organizations and rituals.)
Mary: His wife belongs to the Auxiliary, though.
Tom: Oh, yeah.
Dona: So she can belong, even though he's not a member?
Tom: He's maybe an inactive member or something, too.
Mary: Yeah, I'm not sure.
Dona: So then I suppose you could belong to the Auxiliary too if you
wanted to.
Mary: I suppose I could. (Mary made it clear in the way that she
answered that she had little interest in doing so.)
Tom: Uh huh. But I don't think there' s any, most of 'em are gone. I
don't think there' s any right around here. (Tom's discussion supports
the inference that military service routes young people out of town,
often permanently, among members of Tom's generation.)
Mary: I can't think of anybody, other than him.
Dona: So he's the only person who could be a member who isn't?
Tom: Well there' s got to be more than that. Some of the Koudelka boys
and stuff were in the service.
Mary: Yeah, that could be.
140 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Tom: They' r e younger t ha n me, but I ' m not sure. Wel l Ada m is st i l l in,
b u t t her e' s qui t e a few. You know, you r ead t he paper , you see all t he
ki ds, you know t he Homet own Ne ws wher e so and so was i n or out of
t he servi ce, or wha t t hey' r e doing. (The t own news paper r egul ar l y
f eat ur es a col umn devot ed t o ~' Hometown News" det ai l i ng t he activ-
i t i es and accompl i shment s of young peopl e f r om t he communi t y who
ar e i n t he mi l i t ary. ) But t hey don' t pi ck up any new member s up t her e.
Dona: How much ol der t ha n you is Jeff?. ( Jef f is t he si ngl e Legi on
me mbe r under 40 year s of age, a Vi et nam vet er an. Hi s f ami l y has
l i ved i n Waucoma si nce t he t own was f ounded, and over t he ye a r s t hey
have f ar med and owned a var i et y of bus i nes s ent er pr i s es i n t he com-
muni t y. Cur r ent l y J ef f heads t he f ami l y busi ness, a smal l chai n of hog
buyi ng st at i ons he a dqua r t e r e d i n Waucoma. He al so owns t he local
t aver n. He empl oys ma ny communi t y r esi dent s, and hi s Legi on mem-
ber shi p ma y be pa r t of a consci ous a t t e mpt t o bol st er and sol i di fy hi s
posi t i on i n t he communi t y. J ef f is a Legi on officer, i nt egr at i ng hi m i nt o
t he social life of me n wi t h whom he t r ans act s bus i nes s deal i ngs. )
Tom: Thr ee year s I t hi nk.
Mary: Thr ee year s.
Dona: So he' s a me mbe r a n d -
Ma r y : But he' s about t he youngest , I' ll bet .
Tom: Yeah, pr obabl y so.
Dona: Do you t hi nk t he Legi on is i mpor t ant t o t he t own?
Tom: Yeah, you have t o have mi l i t ar y f uner al s. She doesn' t l i ke t hem,
but I i nsi st .
Dona: You don' t l i ke mi l i t ar y f uner al s?
Mary: Unh Uh.
Dona: Why not ?
Mary: I don' t l i ke i t whe n t hey pl ay t he t aps.
Dona: How come?
Tom: It ma ke s her cry.
Mary: Oh I j us t ha t e t hat .
Tom: You had how many, six uncl es i n t he Na vy or somet hi ng?
Mary: I j us t don' t l i ke i t whe n t he y pl ay t hat , and t hey shoot t he guns.
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 141
It al ways seems t oo fi nal , and it' s too har d on t he women. I don' t l i ke it.
I' ve been at t oo ma ny mi l i t ar y f uner al s.
Do n a : But you' r e goi ng t o do i t anyway?
Tor n: Yep.
Ma r y : I' m gonna di e fi rst . I ai n' t goin' t hr ough t ha t crap. (Despi t e t he
i mpor t ance of mi l i t ar y f uner al s wi t hi n her own f ami l y and her hus-
band' s, Ma r y r ej ect s t hi s r i t ual , and does so wi t h a di spl ay of emot i on
and vehemence. )
Tom: I sai d we went t o sl eep wi t h t ha t ever y ni ght i n t he ser vi ce for
f our year s. They pl ayed t ha t ever y ni ght when you went t o sl eep. You
get used t o it.
Ma r y : I wi l l never get used t o t hat . (Here, t he cul t ur al cont r adi ct i ons
so of t en expressed, by younger communi t y member s , seem pronounced.
Mar y' s di savowal of t hi s r i t ual , whi ch s eems cr uci al l y i mpor t ant t o her
hus band, di ffers f r om Lol a' s avi d suppor t for Geral d' s pat r i ot i c activ-
ities.)
Dona: Ar e t her e ot her t hi ngs t ha t you t hi nk t he Legi on is i mpor t ant
for?
Tom: I d o n ' t . . . Wel l t hi s is t oo smal l of one, I t hi nk. I n some of t he
bi gger cities, i f you need a pai r of crut ches, or a wheel chai r , or some-
t hi ng for t he kids, you can go t o t he Legi on and get it. I don' t t hi nk t he y
ha ve t ha t up here. ' Cause most of t he t i me Bob Munch, one of t he
auct i oneer s ar ound here, i f he fi nds cr ut ches or canes or anyt hi ng l i ke
t ha t on a f ar m sal e or any ki nd of sal e, he' l l hol d i t up and as k i f
anybody needs it. And t he n he' l l pay a dol l ar or wha t e ve r and ma r k i t
t o hi ms el f and say, ~where's t he cl osest Legi on member ?' and ha nd i t t o
him He buys i t hi msel f, ' cause t her e' s not r eal l y t oo much r esal e on
crut ches. Bu t gi ve t he m t o a Legi on somewher e.
Do n a : Ot her t ha n t hat , i n t e r ms of ot her ki nds of communi t y func-
t i ons?
To m: Wel l t hey keep t he hal l goi ng for anyone t ha t uses it.
Ma r y : They' r e t he guys t ha t have t o wor k on dance ni ght s, you know,
when t he f i r emen have t hei r dance and all t ha t stuff. It ' s t he Legi on
member s.
Tom: I f you wa nt t o have a f ami l y get t oget her up t her e, t hey' r e t he
ones t ha t have ever yt hi ng r eady for you. I f you want , t hey' l l cl ean up
or you can cl ean up, you' r e char ged accordi ngl y. So t hat , you know
142 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
they always have the place available. We used it for a family get
together a couple years ago.
Mary: They have a lot of anniversary type things in there.
Tom: And if you' re going to have a big party or something at home,
and you' re not sure about the weather, you can have it reserved and
not use it, too. It's not a mat t er of having to pay for it; they' re pretty
liberal about it. Well OK, you had it reserved, but you didn' t use it, so
you don't pay. Maybe there' s a small fee or something if they got to go
and get the heat on and stuff in the wintertime for you. (Like his
father, Tom draws attention to the public service the Legion performs
by making the hall available to community groups and individuals.
Even though Tom has made the decision not to become a member of the
Legion, he acknowledges the important role played by the group.)
Comparing the responses of father and son to this set of photographs
of an American Legion meeting draws out similarities and differences
in the values held by members ,of each generation. Gerald avers the
importance of membership in the Legion as an extension of his mili-
t ary service and an affirmation of his patriotism. Gerald's Legion
activities give form to his commitment to the community, and he
questions some of his peers' lack of steady participation in group
activities. He wonders at their prioritizing golfing and other leisure
pursuits above their obligations to the Legion and to their neighbors.
He worries about the future of the Legion, given the younger genera-
tion's lack of commitment or interest.
Even though Tom maintains t hat he is uninterested in joining the
organization, he is nevertheless intent upon having a military funeral,
despite his wife's vehement objections. His responses suggest t hat his
Vietnam experience has played a major role in shaping his political
views, making him question the values represented by the Legion and
its activities. The future of the Legion is likely to be reshaped by
incoming members whose military experience is rooted in the Vietnam
era, if in fact these younger men join at all. Perhaps later in the family
life-cycle they will feel able to devote time to Legion activities. Other-
wise, the post might be consolidated with posts in other neighboring
towns, diminishing the central role of the American Legion within the
local community.
The American Legion Post provides Waucoma residents with a vehi-
cle for expressing their commitment to the community. It seems likely
t hat the cultural life of the community will change as the Legion's
membership and viability diminish. Unless there is an influx of young,
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 143
active military veterans, a new mechanism for community integration
will have to evolve in order for cultural continuity to be maintained.
Acknowledging this dilemma, one of my interviewees, a man in his
30s, made this cynical prediction:
I think pretty soon we'll have another one [war] and they'll be all Rambo
and then the Legion will get another shot of good enthusiastic mem-
bers. . . Yeah, some gung ho Legion members. At least something good
wilt come of it.
Ex a mp l e 2: Us i ng t he Ambi g ui t y o f Ph o t o g r a p h s
In this interview method the photo-sets function like a semistruc-
tured interview schedule to create an ordered sequence of data elicita-
tion and repeated use of the photo-sets provides comparability among
the data obtained during each session. The photo interview is a forum
for the active construction of meaning. Taking an attributional ap-
proach to the viewing process, informants respond with extended nar-
ratives and supply interpretations of the images, drawing from and
reflecting their experiences in the community. The photographs them-
selves provide concrete points of reference as interviews proceed. De-
pictions of specific locales, events, and activities function as prompts
which elicit detailed discussions of the significances of things repre-
sented. Because photographs trigger multiple meanings dependent
upon the experiences of viewers, what is considered significant may
take the ethnographer by surprise, leading to unexpected revelations.
My informants' responses to two photographs illustrate the useful-
ness of this method in generating data unobtainable through observa-
tion or conventional interviews. In my architectural inventory of Wau-
coma there were two photographs, presented to respondents as
illustration numbers A1 and A5. As this numbering suggests, I saw
these images showing the post office and an insurance agency as two
separate, noncontiguous entities. However, community members saw
t hem as one, linked by the people and events associated with them.
The range of responses elicited by these pictures offered me new in-
sights into community dynamics and the ideas different respondents
had about events and relationships within the community.
The most frequent kind of response to pictures showing the physical
environment of the town, especially among my older informants (over
50 years-old), was a history of different buildings, the businesses they
housed, and their proprietors:
144 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 145
Ba r b: . . . I remember when t he drugstore and t he doctor's office was
there, and t hen t here was a t aver n where t he bank is wasn' t it?
Bill: Well, t he drugstore, t here was a drugstore, t hen t he post office, or
vice versa. Drugstore was first.
Bar b: The drugstore, t he post office went in where t he drugstore was.
After Burnside died.
Bill: Did it?
Bar b: L~ huh.
Bill: Ok.
Bar b: And t hen old Dec Freligh' s office was ri ght along there.
Bill: That' s where the bank is now; hal f t he bank.
Bar b: And t hen t he t avern, right.
Bill: And t he l awyers are where t he drugstore used to be in t he post
office.
These two photographs elicited additional narratives. Duri ng t he
first interview I conducted, a hi nt of what seems to have been a well
known controversy surfaced. Bill: '~Well, Sloan built t he building for
his i nsurance agency, and t hen how t hey got the post office in t here we
never knew. " This issue came up agai n and again, and was elaborated
by others in t he course of t he interviews:
They pay pretty good rent for a post office and so when they moved them
out of the hardware store, wasn't it? and into the bank. . , then this
postmaster bought this building and made one end into an insurance
office and made the back end into a post office so he could get the rent
hi msel f. . .
Er ni e: Well, it wasn' t an advant age when t hey moved t he post office
over there, I don' t t hi nk, do you?
Rut h: Well, no, but t hey had to do it and t hey had to do it ri ght
t he n. . , because the wall on t he other building was cracked . . . .
Er ni e: He' s [the postmaster] t he only one t hat advanced t hrough the
thing.
Rut h: And he' s real l y t aken advant age of it too, I mean, because he
can r un his office and he can r un his post office at t he same t i me . . . .
Er ni e: They put a double lock on t he door so he can' t go into his
business you know.
146 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Do n a : Is t ha t r i ght ?
Er ni e : It ' s bol t ed on each si de and t he n t hey, he had a t el ephone t ha t
t hey coul d t al k i nsur ance t o and t hey' ve t a ke n t ha t one out j us t l at el y.
Do n a : I hear d t ha t t her e was a door t ha t he used t o go f r om one si de t o
t he ot her.
Er ui e : Not anymor e. Somebody came i n and put doubl e l ocks on each
side.
I ~ n a : Who di d t hat ?
Ru t h : Feder al aut hor i t i es.
Er ni e : Feder al aut hor i t i es.
Ru t h : Feder al Pos t al aut hor i t i es I guess y o u ' d -
Er ni e : Feder al Post al aut hor i t i es. They' ve been up her e and got some-
t hi ng done.
Ru t h : Because t her e' ve been compl ai nt s about it.
Er ni e : And t ha t he was doi ng more, wel l you' d go i n t o buy s t amps and
he wo u l d -
Ru t h : Be on t he t el ephone and ma ke you s t and and wai t .
Er ni e : I me a n peopl e woul d s t and and wai t t hen. The Lor d never bui l t
any pat i ence i nt o me and I don' t s t and and wai t .
Thi s cont r over sy came up i n al l but t wo of t he t wel ve i nt er vi ews.
Whet her t hes e t wo i nf or mant s wer e una wa r e of t he cont r over sy, or
t hought i t i nappr opr i at e t o ment i on is uncer t ai n. A f ew i nt er vi ewees
act ed s omewhat ci r cumspect whi l e ma ki ng r ef er ence t o t hes e inci-
dent s, s ayi ng t hi ngs like: ~I don' t go and s ay anyt hi ng ' cause I don' t
know i f it' s l egal or not. "
Dur i ng i nt e r vi e ws wi t h younger i nf or mant s r angi ng i n age f r om 27
t o 38, anot her nar r at i ve was el i ci t ed, i n addi t i on t o t he one di scussed
above. Looki ng at t he phot ogr aph of t he i nsur ance agency (fi gure 8)
one younger vi ewer , 35 years-ol d, concent r at ed on t he s i dewal k i n
front , l ooki ng t o see i f t i r e t r acks wer e vi si bl e, pr ovi di ng evi dence of
l at e ni ght escapades.
To m: That ' s r ubbe r on t he si dewal k, yet . They us ed t o back up i n f r ont
of t he post office wi t h car s at ni ght , and t hey r ubber ed on t he si dewal k.
It' s j us t wi de enough for a car.
Dona: Is t ha t r i ght ?
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 147
Tom: That was kids' ent er t ai nment in t he evening, after everyt hi ng
closed.
Dona: Can you see t hat on t hi s photo? (figure 8)
Tom: That' s basically rubber there, I t hi nk.
I had never noticed t he black stripe on t he sidewalk, visible in t he
lower ri ght hand corner of t he photograph, nor had I seen it while
wal ki ng on t he sidewalk itself. I was aware of t he importance of cars in
t he communi t y, i n t erms of t he technological and social changes t hey
had wrought, but t he importance of cars as a source of ent er t ai nment
had not become sal i ent to me.
This reference to t he t i re t racks led me to probe for more dat a about
t he recreational use of cars duri ng subsequent interviews. A photo-
graph of t he fire station received t hi s response:
Ji m: In front of t he fire station, t hat ' s Uie territory
Dona: What' s a Uie?
Ji m: Doughnuts. Power t urns, or what ever, on ice or dry pavement .
Paul : Sometimes it st art s out to be a U and it ends up being a couple of
doughnuts.
Ji m: I t hi nk t he most i ever got was t hree t i mes around.
Dona: Someone told me about rubber tracks on t he sidewalk outside
t he post office; t hat ' s t he first t hi ng t hat came to mi nd when he saw
t hat picture. When you do doughnuts, how do you do it? You don' t j ust
come down and do it and leave.
Br ad: You j ust do. Tell t hem in Waucoma you' re there, you got your
car there.
Ji m: Some of t hem would j ust show t hei r car off I t hi nk.
Becky: Yeah. In t he summert i me.
Ed: They do t hem t here and when t hey do t hem down in t he intersec-
t i on in front of t he bridge or in front of what used to be Blong' s
hardware, t hey j ust burn to a blue smoke in t hat intersection.
J i m: Yeah, t hat ' s dry pa ve me nt . . .
Br ad: You have to have a real l y good car to do t hat in t he summer.
Ed: You can do t hat out in t he country, but it's a hell of a lot more fun
to do it in front of t he fire station.
Ji m: It' s so much more graceful to do it on s now. . .
148 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
Dona: Do you st i l l do it?
ALL: Yeah.
Becky: We st i l l do i t on t he ice t her e.
Ji m: I l i ke doi ng t hem, but I don' t do sever al r evol ut i ons anymor e. I
j us t ki nd of broadsl i de, you know, j us t ki nd of slide ar ound and br oad i t
and t r y t o ma ke i t come out of i t cool. So you t r y t o be mor e cont r ol l ed
as you get older. We used t o go down t her e and you' d j us t go down t her e
ki nd of f ast and t hen j us t oooooohhh! and you' d spin, and you' d spin.
You' d be t ot al l y out of control.
Thi s subt l e cue whi ch I had mi ssed, t he dar k st r i pe on t he si dewal k i n
t he cor ner of a phot ogr aph, gener at ed dat a i l l umi nat i ng an aspect of
life i n Waucoma whi ch had been i nvi si bl e t o me. Al t hough I had hear d
peopl e speedi ng t hr ough t own l at e at ni ght , scr eechi ng t hei r t i r es as
t hey went , I had not f ul l y consi der ed t he si gni fi cance of car s as recre-
at i onal devi ces. In addi t i on, i t became cl ear t ha t t her e is a correct wa y
t o do doughnut s or l ay down r ubber t r acks, a not i on of appr opr i at e
st yl e, and a sense of t he aest het i c di mensi ons of t he act i vi t y.
Wi t hout t he phot ogr aphs as pr ompt s, t hes e dat a mi ght not have
sur f aced dur i ng i nt er vi ews. Al most all of t he younger i nf or mant s dis-
cussed cars when vi ewi ng t hes e phot ogr aphs, suggest i ng t hei r sal i ence
for member s of t hi s gener at i on. None of t hei r par ent s or gr andpar ent s
made expl i ci t r ef er ence t o cars as r ecr eat i on. I ns t ead t he y focused on
t he pr agmat i c ends ser ved by t hei r car s or pi ckups: t he shoppi ng t r i ps
to near by ci t i es and t owns wher e pri ces ar e cheaper and t he r ange of
consumer goods is br oader , or t he abi l i t y t o r un er r ands qui ckl y when
machi ner y br eakdowns occur. Ol der r esi dent s offered t hei r recollec-
t i ons of t he aut o showr ooms t ha t once occupi ed space on mai n st r eet , as
t he y r ecal l ed a mor e pr osper ous er a i n t he hi st or y of t he communi t y.
Two br ot her s, l ooki ng at f i gur e 7, spun yet anot her t al e about t he
communi t y. Thei r par ent s wer e awar e of t he ser i es of event s t hey
r ecount ed t o me, yet t he s~ory di d not emer ge dur i ng my i nt er vi ew
wi t h t hem. Per haps i t s det ai l s s eemed too embar r as s i ng t o t he ol der
gener at i on.
Ron: And t he post office (l aught er), when t he y bui l t i t t ha t t i me, oh,
what ' d he do t o Ri char ds? Ri char ds was r unni ng t he bar.
Bob: Oh t he sept i c t ank.
Ron: Oh he cut t he sept i c t a nk off on hi m (l aught er).
Bob: That was a j oi nt sept i c t ank.
Ron: So, uh, (l aught er) wel l t he si gn got br oke off a coupl e of t i mes.
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 149
He' d bl ame peopl e comi ng out of t he bar and he was r eal l y r ai si ng cai n
about t hat . Then he we nt and cut t he sept i c t a nk off. Wel l t he y had a
bigger s t i nk goi ng on ar ound (l aught er), doi ng one anot her and ever y-
body. I t was l i ke t he gr eat f eud goi ng back and fort h, you know. I t
wound up i n c o u ~ somehow f i nal l y, di dn' t it?
Bob: I don' t know. I wasn' t ar ound t hen.
Do n a : Who was i nvol ved i n al l of t hi s?
Ron: Wel l i t was t he guy t ha t was r unni ng t he ba r at t he t i me. He
wor ks for Lynch Li vest ock now. But anyway, one t hi ng l ed t o anot her ,
and t hey got i nt o s omet hi ng about , I t hi nk he dr opped hi s dr a m shop
i nsur ance wi t h hi m is wha t happened. You know, it' s i ns ur ance bar s
have t o have, ' cause he coul d get i t somepl ace a l ot cheaper. So he cut
t he sept i c t a n k off on hi m (l aught er).
Bo b : That ' s a smal l t own ment al i t y, you know.
l ~ n : So anyway, you know, t he y got i n a bi g st i nk. I t f i nal l y di d wi nd
up, I t hi nk t hey set t l ed i t out of cour t or somet hi ng. Al l t he t hi ngs t ha t
went on you know, dur i ng t ha t t i me, you know, t hey' d wa ke up ever y
mor ni ng and somebody woul d have, how woul d you say, ur i nat ed on
t he f r ont door st ones, and i t woul d r un unde r ne a t h t he door all t he
t i me (l aught er). I me a n t he y kept t ha t ki nd of s t uf f up and t her e was a
l ot of l i t t l e t hi ngs. Li ke he had some s hr ubs he pl ant ed out behi nd t he
post office, and i t t ur ned out i t was, i t bel onged t o t hi s lot, so Fr eddy
j us t t ook ' era over i n hi s ya r d (l aught er). And he got somebody t o come
down and s ur vey and all, and he f ound out t ha t t he eaves hung over
i nt o hi s parcel . Techni cal l y t ha t bui l di ng was over t oo far, i f you r eal l y
want t o get down t o t he ni t t y- gr i t t y about it. They f i nal l y ki nd of
set t l ed i t out , i t ' s all qui et now. I t hi nk t he y agr eed t o l et hi m hook up
t o t he s ewer or somet hi ng, I don' t know, unl es s he put a sept i c t a nk of
hi s own i n or what ever f i nal l y came of it. They set t l ed i t event ual l y.
Do n a : Di d t he y set t l e i t i n court ?
Ron: Wel l i t got down t o t he poi nt wher e t her e wer e l awyer s i nvol ved
i n i t all.
Do n a : That seems amazi ng.
I ~ n : Wel t i t was pr et t y hi l ar i ous when i t was goi ng on. Ever ybody was
out , you know, he' s a j er k, we' r e goi ng t o t a ke car e of h i m. . .
Do n a : I i magi ne ever ybody kne w al l about t hi s?
Ra n : Oh, of cour se ever ybody knows ever yt hi ng el se, and s t uf f l i ke
t hat . I me a n t ha t was t he hi ghl i ght of t he ye a r for most peopl e (laugh-
150 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
ter). I mean, it was just, you know, dad would go down and he'd check
up on it and all you know, come home and report daily what was going
on, what was the latest round. Such a power struggle (laughter)!
Ron's discussion of this incident suggests t hat many town residents
were aware of the feuding back and forth. Men who were attempting to
%ake care" of the insurance agent urinated under the door of the
insurance office to express their disregard for him, an act which seems
relatively unsurprising, considering residents' penchant for practical
jokes. According to Ron, his father was aware of this feud, and Ron's
telling of the story suggests t hat they all relished his father' s trips
back and forth from town because he would bring home the latest
information on these daily events.
Ron was the only person who told me this story. He seemed to fully
enjoy recounting its details, laughing devilishly as he reexperienced it
in the telling; he acted almost as though he was sharing a kind of
naughty secret with me. His willingness to talk about these events
may reflect his relative lack of integration into the community' s sense
of solidarity. Ron, 27 years-old, recently returned home to farm with
his father, after three years of non-farm employment in a small city 60
miles away. Ron's experience living in a larger community has given
rise to a more critical view of his home town. He made it clear to me
t hat he feels detached from rural customs and behaviors, as a former
~urban dweller." Through his vivid depiction of this local controversy
Ron expressed his own sense of superiority. Perhaps Waucoma resi-
dents who have committed themselves to living and raising their
families in the community feel less comfortable divulging details of
such pranksterish, destructive behavior.
Concl usi ons
The data I analyzed suggested t hat members of each successive
generation have become increasingly integrated into the values of
urban mass culture. The penetration of mass media into rural areas
and the increased mobility of rural residents has collapsed the spatial
distance t hat once separated urban and rural cultures. The different
views exhibited by Gerald and Tom concerning the importance of
Legion participation exemplifies the gulf separating members of these
generations. For Gerald, active participation in the Legion seems natu-
ral; involvement in local social institutions (more numerous in years
past) is a part of everyday life for rural residents whose activities have
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography in Qualitative Research 151
been centered in the immediate community. Tom's military service
took him away from Waucoma as did his subsequent non-farm employ-
ment in a larger town. Younger people like Tom are able to compare
the life they lead in Waucoma with other life experiences and their
mobile lifestyle places the local community into a larger frame of
reference.
Tom, like Ron, conveys an aura of detachment from the concerns of
local community life. The comparatively low level of social participa-
tion I found among members of their generation suggests t hat the level
of social solidarity has decreased among younger community members.
Rural residents who have embraced the dominant urban culture and
its values do so with some regret; the narratives prompted during
interview sessions often contained wistful reminiscences and stories
about events t hat could only take place in a rural community where
neighbors know one another intimately. Many younger residents ex-
hibited a tension created by the simultaneous pull of conflicting value
systems. The exchange between Mary and Tom with regard to military
funerals exemplifies this tension: this ritual holds significance for Tom
but he is unwilling to make a commitment to the Legion like his father
has done. Tom's lifestyle, influenced by his experiences beyond the
boundaries of the local community, threatens the viability of the rural
values he clings to.
The mobility of the younger generation is underscored by the impor-
tance its members invest in cars and pickup trucks. Not only do these
vehicles expand the borders of the community, but t hey also provide
forms of recreation. Young people who spend much of their time tray-
elting from place to place in search of leisure activities and consumer
goods do "u-ies" and "doughnuts," maki ng the time spent on the road a
source of amusement. Rather t han immersing themselves in the obli-
gations of small town life, younger residents of Waucoma took else-
where for forms of ent ert ai nment validated by the dominant culture.
Photography's Contribution to Ethnography
Because photo-elicitation generates extensive verbal commentary,
use of this interview technique yields several benefits. Informants
responded to photographs of their community, neighbors and family
without hesitation. By providing informants with a task similar to a
nat ural l y occurring family event (i.e. viewing the family photo-album),
sorae of the strangeness of the interview situation was averted. Inter-
viewees often responded directly to the photographs, paying less heed
152 QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGY
to my pr esence and t he per cei ved demands of t he t a s k t ha n i n mor e
t r adi t i onal f or mal i nt er vi ew set t i ngs.
I n maki ng phot ogr aphs for t hi s r esear ch, I have at t empt ed t o con-
st r uct '~a r ecor d about cul t ur e" (Worth, 1980). It is not t he phot ogr aphs
t hems el ves whi ch i nform, but r at her , t he anal ys i s of t hem. The photo-
gr aphs show concret e det ai l s of ever yday event s, act i vi t i es and t he
cont ext s i n whi ch t hey occur, and pr ovi de da t a about communi t y life.
The anal ysi s of t he i mages is i nf or med by i nsi ght s gai ned t hr ough
et hnogr aphi c f i el dwor k and i nf or mant s' r esponses t o t he phot o-set s.
Oper at i ng f r om t he as s umpt i on t ha t t he phot ogr aphs I made ar e not
i nher ent l y ~meani ngful , " I sought t o s t udy t he meani ngs t hey hel d for
di fferent vi ewer s i n a communi t y. Phot o- i nt er vi ewi ng, us ed i n conjunc-
t i on wi t h t r adi t i onal et hnogr aphi c met hods of dat a collection, en-
hances our abi l i t y t o unde r s t a nd t he meani ng of ever yday life for
communi t y member s.
My use of phot ogr aphs i n et hnogr aphy i mpl i es a pr es ent at i onal
s t r at egy whi ch br i ngs t hei r mul t i pl e meani ngs i nt o t he foreground. By
pr es ent i ng phot ogr aphs wi t h a wr i t t en t ext whi ch dr aws at t ent i on to
i nf or mant s' var i ed r esponses and t he rol e of t he phot ogr apher as an
el i ci t or, vi ewer s' pr ocl i vi t y t o t r e a t t hes e pi ct ur es ei t her as mi r r or
i mages of t hei r subj ect s or as aest het i c obj ect s mi ght be redi rect ed. The
yi el d of such an appr oach woul d be twofold, gi vi ng t he r eader / vi ewer a
wa y t o unde r s t a nd t he cul t ur e of t he communi t y under i nvest i gat i on,
as wel l as a wa y t o unde r s t a nd phot ogr aphy as a medi um of communi -
cat i on. Thi s appr oach addr esses t he r ecommendat i on made by Wagner :
. . . t hat the dialectic between the use of photographs to study human
activity and the study of photographic imagery itself be kept alive. This
involves a commitment on the part of those i nvol ved. . , t hat they
will use images as well as entertain questions about what t hey mean
(1979, p. 294).
Re f e r e nc e s
Barthes, R.
1964 "Rhetorique de l'image." Communications 4.
Bateson, G. & Mead, M.
1942 Balinese Character. Special Publications of the New York Academy of Sci-
ences, Vol. II. New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
Becker, H. S.
1974 ~Thotography and Sociology." Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Commu-
nication 1 (1):3-26.
Visual Ethnography: Using Photography i n Qualitative Research 153
Byers, P.
1964 ~'Still Photography in the Systematic Recording and Analysis of Behavioral
Data." Human Organization 23:78-84.
1966 ~Cameras Don't Take Pictures." Columbia University Forum 9:27-31.
Catdarola, V.
1985 ~'Visuat Contexts: A Photographic Research Method in Anthropology." Studies
in Visual Communication 11(3):33-53.
Collier, J., Jr.
1967 Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method. New York: Holt,
Rineha1% Winston.
Custen, G. F.
1982 "Talking About Film." In Sari Thomas (Ed.), Film/Culture: Explorations of
Cinema in its Social Context. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press.
Matron, M. F.
1976 **Eden Township." In Helen Moeller, (Ed.), Out of the Midwest: A Portrait.
Marceline: Walsworth Publishing Company.
Messaris, P. & Gross, L.
1977 ~Interpretations of a Photographic Narrative by Viewers in Four Age
Groups." Studies in the Anthropology of Visual Communication 4(2):99-111.
Musello, C.
1980 'Studying the Home Mode: An Exploration of Family Photography and Visual
Communication." Studies in Visual Communication 6(1):23-42.
Pallenik, M. J.
1976 "A Gunman in Town! Children Interpret a Comic Book." Studies in the
Anthropology of Visual Communication 3(1):38-51.
Ruby, J.
1973 "Up the Zambesi with Notebook and Camera or Being an Anthropologist
Without Doing Anthropology... With Pictures." Savicom Newsletter 4(3):12-15.
1976 "In a Pic's Eye: Interpretive Strategies for Deriving Significance and Meaning
from Photographs." Afterimage 3(9):5-7.
Sekula, A.
1975 ~'On the Invention of Photographic Meaning." Artforum 13(5):36-45.
Wagner, J. (Ed.).
1979 Images of Information: Still Photography in the Social Sciences. Beverly
Hills, California: Sage.
Worth, S.
1980 ~'Margaret Mead and the Shift from ~Visual Anthropology' to the ~Anthropol-
ogy of Visual Communication.' " Studies in Visual Communication 6(1):15-22.
Worth, S. & Gross, L.
1974 ~'Symbolic Strategies?' Journal of Communication 24(4):27-39.
Re f e r e nc e Not e s
1.
Unfortunately, less attention has been devoted to issues surrounding the presenta-
tion of photographs produced as a part of ethnographic research. Exploring Society
Photographically, an exhibition and catalogue organized by Becker (1981), Wagner's
Images of Information (1979), and Ruby's critique of still photography in anthropol-
ogy (1976) raise important questions about how viewers approach and interpret
photographs not primarily intended for formal aesthetic appreciation.
154 QUAL I T AT I VE S OC I OL OGY
2. Thi s r es pons e t o f ami l y phot ogr a phs di ffers f r om r es pons es t o phot ogr aphi c na r r a -
t i ve s el i ci t ed by Mes s ar i s a nd Gr oss (1977) a nd Pa l l e ni k (1976). Musel l o a r gue s t h a t
t he f ami l y cont ext or i ent s vi ewer r es pons e t owar ds ~a pr ocess of per s onal si gni fi ca-
t i on a nd a t t r i but i on" (1980:39), over s hadowi ng t he i nf l uence of a ny pr evi ous l y
l e a r ne d i nt e r pr e t i ve ski l l s ( Wor t h & Gross, 1974). As a r esul t , t he s e vi ewer s i gnor ed
t he f act t h a t f ami l y phot ogr a phs ar e cons t r uct ed c ul t ur a l ar t i f act s , a nd l ooked
t h r o u g h t h e m t o t he f ami l y si gui f i cances t he y gener at ed.
3. Gr oups of Ame r i c a n vi ewer s h a v e be e n f ound t o move t owar ds a n ~i nf er ent i al "
s t r a t e gy of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n wi t h t he acqui s i t i on of i nc r e a s i ng s ophi s t i cat i on a nd com-
pet ence i n a symbol i c medi um. Thes e vi ewer s t r e a t t he i ma ge as a c ommuni c a t i ve
e ve nt r e qui r i ng t he i nt e r pr e t a t i on of a s t r uc t ur a l l y embedded message, i nt e nt i ona l l y
encoded by t he cr eat or of t he i mage.
4. I n e i t he r case, al l s eemed s ome wha t a mus e d t o f i nd a young woma n f r om t he ci t y
dedi cat ed t o s t udyi ng t h e i r s ma l l communi t y. Over t i me, a nd wi t h de mons t r a t e d
per s i s t ence t he y vi ewed my endeavor s mor e ser i ousl y.
5. The f ol l owi ng i nci dent exempl i f i es c ommuni t y me mbe r s ' hel pf ul ness. One mo r n i n g I
st opped i n at t he office of t he f eed mi l l ( what one i n f o r ma n t cal l ed t he t own' s ~%afi ng
shack"). Wh e n I me nt i one d my i nt e r e s t i n t a k i n g pi ct ur es of ha r ve s t i ng, t he mi l l
owner s ugges t ed a f a r m t o vi si t . I coul dn' t get t he r e , I t ol d hi m, becaus e I h a d no car.
He r es ponded by t a k i n g me t h e r e hi msel f , a nd he wai t ed u n t i l he coul d i nt r oduce me
t o t he f a r me r who was bus y combi ni ng hi s corn. Af t er a br i e f t i me phot ogr aphi ng, t h e
f a r me r i nvi t e d me t o di nne r (noon) wi t h hi s f ami l y, a nd l a t e r t h a t af t er noon hi s wi fe
dr ove me home.
6. Ea c h of t he s ma l l t owns i n t h e s u r r o u n d i n g count i es hol ds a c ommuni t y cel ebr at i on
of some k i n d on a n a n n u a l basi s. Thes e cel ebr at i ons hel p t o e s t a bl i s h t he t own' s l ocal
i de nt i t y a nd al so l ur e s cat t er ed c ommuni t y me mbe r s back, r e u n i t i n g t h e m wi t h t he
f r i ends t he y ha ve l ef t behi nd. Wa uc oma r e s i de nt s consi der Memor i al Day a n i mpor-
t a n t hol i day, bot h for i t s pat r i ot i c me a ni ngs a nd i t s i nt e gr a t i ona l soci al f unct i ons.