Project Endpoint

The instructions for this project were very open: 'Find something you are interested in and go away and take lots of photographs of it'.  I thought about photographing feet in different poses as they partook in various activities - then one photograph I took on a beach lead me to the idea of footsteps  - which in turn lead me to the thought of journeys. Many journeys on the West Coast where we live are by sea - so I thought that I would photograph boats. Ergo this blog contains lots of photographs of boats, most of which could tell their own stories. However, it soon became apparent to me that moving boats were far more interesting to photograph than static boats: moving boats embody a vitality, a purpose, a destination. Hence the title of this blog - 'Boats as a metaphor for journeys'. In this case, there have actually been two separate journeys - firstly a nomothetic analysis of the messages implicit in a photograph of a moving boat such as 'change', 'separation' 'excitement'; and secondly, my personal, idiographic, journey from the start of the project where I wondering what would be interesting to photograph, to ultimately focussing in on moving boats and the conotations and denotations which accompany them.

This analysis has its basis in 'Grounded Theory' - the 'bottom up' approach first proposed by Glaser and Strauss in 1967. The ideas emerge from considering an image and asking what messages, thoughts and ideas can be 'read' from the image. What is behind its face value? Where is the moving boat going?  Who is on board?  What is the sea state? These questions lead to more detailed questions:  Are the passengers excited or fearful? Will fishing be good tonight? How does dependency on the sea impact on life in remote locations? These are rhetorical questions - we will never know all of the answers, but the analysis starts to build up a kind of three-dimensional 'backstage' image of the photograph.

I have attempted to summarise these thoughts in two diagrams, the first a more general depiction of ideas generated by photographs of moving boats, the second a more graduated and detailed 'spider diagram'.  Grounded theory has worked very successfully as a methodology in this instance and lead to cascading insights. I considered a semiotic analysis, but discarded this as I thought that in this particular case, it would give a somewhat meaningless two-dimensional result with no real insight. If this project were to continue, the next stage would be to use one or more discourse analyses to gain further insight into the outcomes of the Grounded Theory analysis.  These outcomes could be explored from a number of perspectives.  For example, a historic discourse could trace the importance of boat journeys over time; a remoteness discourse could analyse the criticality of boats to remote and inaccessible locations, which abound in the Highlands and Islands; an economic discourse could investigate the financial implications of dependency on the sea for transport and a 'trade discourse' could look at the importance of boats in commerce.

Taking analysis further

This diagram is a further attempt to link and interpret some of the ideas which are emerging from pictures of moving boats. These insights are now starting to act as loci for further thoughts. The sea is the vital backdrop, providing buoyancy and access - both for trade and for invasion.  Journeys carry positive conotations of hope and anticipation, but can also lead to separation and change.  Journeys also imply remoteness - a distancing from the starting point, both physical and metaphorical.

An attempt at analysis...

This diagram is an attempt to analyse different ideas which flow from photographs of moving boats. A travelling boat can have positive or negative aspects, depending entirely on one's standpoint.  A CalMac ferry plying the coast is generally a harbinger of positive feelings: holidays, visits, going home (unless, of course, the sea is rough and stormy...).  The small ferries plying the channels between Oban and Kerrera or Ellenbeich and Easdale island seem to emphasise the distance and separation between points which are geographically close, but separated by a stretch of water.  Any journey brings change, albeit it temporary.  A lifeboat is a reminder of the power of the sea and the heroism of those who venture forth in conditions where the sea is displaying its might. Historically, the sea has been the maritime motorway for Western Scotland, and scene of most of the pre-1745 battles and power struggles. Indeed, the sea was really the only route for trade, invasion, foraging, nomadic migration, or even finding an unrelated marriage partner, until General Wade arrived in Scotland in 1726 and started to build inland roads.  Even then, the West of Scotland was largely unaffected and the sea remains pre-eminent for many rural and island communities.