tschuetz Annotations

Tim Schütz's picture
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Can you suggest ways to elaborate the caption of this visualization to extend its ethnographic message?

Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 6:53pm

The caption succeeds to guide the reader from the moment the image was taken beyond the fishermen's activities we can see. What we see and don't see is also what the caption hones in on -- suggesting that the viewers imagine what is left of a place after it has 'become toxic'. The caption could maybe give more context about the powerplant -- who operates it, what is the significance for local economies, etc.

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Can you suggest ways to enrich this image to extend its ethnographic import?

Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 6:46pm

The image does a great job hinting at the fraught relation between fishermen and powerplant. The image could be contrasted with other shots at daylight, or with activities at the plant, to start including more perspectives.

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How does this visualization (including caption) advance ethnographic insight? What message | argument | sentiment | etc. does this visualization communicate or represent?

Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 6:43pm

The caption builds nicely on the thoughts of the fisherman -- imagining how the place changed with the presence of a toxic facility. His statement gets at the heart of what we are trying to do in our own project, asking how a place becomes toxic, through which kind of dynamics. The image of the men at work contrasts slightly with the longer caption that describes how fishermen sit and reflect on their surroundings, providing the ethnographer with commentary. The daydreaming of a toxic-free place creates a nostalgic sentiment. 

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What kind of image is this? Is it a found image or created by the ethnographer (or a combination)? What is notable about its composition | scale of attention | aesthetic?

Sunday, March 1, 2020 - 6:33pm

The photograph was taken by the ethnographer during a field visit. What struck me was the play with light, creating a contrast between powerplant, fishermen and their catch. I wondered whether it was a phone snapshot or more intentionally composed photograph, or both, but it certainly seemed very artistic to me (in all the good ways!). Attention is focused on the fishermen, going about their work in an almost clandestine way. Might be the headlamps and their hunched posture, my initial thought that the fishing is illegal/informal, or at least not encouraged by whoever runs the power plant.

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