This past week I have been putting a lot of thought into the importance of research in contemporary photography and how I apply this to my work.
I have noticed most of my research is done online where I find articles, videos, podcasts, and historical information on the areas that I’m interested in using as a location for my project. Books and magazines are also very important in my research, mostly photographic, but I also search for historical books and current lifestyle magazines that are relevant to my areas of interest in the high desert, such as Arizona, Colorado, and parts of California.
Toward the end of the last module, I stumbled upon the work of Ingrid Pollard in a book called, "Photographers and Research". Her works explore the romanticism of the English landscape, and the hidden history of Africa and Caribbean heritage. Her methods of research include a variety of sources ranging from literature, images, archives, and anthropology, giving her work a depth and richness that shows her passion and desire to, not only share the history but bring it to life.
As I move forward with my project, I would like to take a page from Ingrid Pollard's book and find myself digging deeper into the archives and history relevant to my chosen areas. I plan to dive into more historical books and to allow my fascination with human behavior from the past and present grow. Hopefully, undertaking research in these areas I will also be able to find engaging and relevant ways to connect people to my work.