Field notes and Polaroids: Engaging with Black lives in West London

Abstract

AbstractThis short paper explores the practice of putting Polaroid photographs into field notebooks. It draws on the ethnographic research and collaborative photography associated with my PhD on the everyday lives of young Black people in West London. I begin by describing how and why I put Polaroids into my A6 sized field notebooks in an attempt to think harder about how these lives might be represented. Then, looking to encourage other geographers to consider using Polaroids in this way, I discuss how traditional approaches to field notetaking can be replaced by something more collaborative. Doing so, I contend, can help you to engage productively with those involved in your studies as you take and talk about photos together.