(Re)imagining visual research beyond photovoice: Methodological explorations with a young photographer

Urja and I walked out of the cafe. We had spent over an hour looking at her images, talking about them, and occasionally laughing. During that hour, I had been wrestling with questions: What is the purpose of a photovoice project? Are we expecting to be shown/see something? I asked Urja, so how do you feel about not having any prompts? She got into the car and put on her seat belt. “I don’t know, sometimes it is hard because I can take pictures of anything and I don’t know what I should be taking pictures of,” she replied. After a pause, she added, “but I think the pictures we take tell us something about who we are and what we like. I have a lot of pictures of trees and people. Others might be more intrigued by signs or buildings.” She was noticing patterns in her own photographs and reflecting on what she was drawn to (Figure 1).