Passive photography from a creative perspective: "If I would just shoot the same thing for seven days, it's like... What's the point?"

  • Authors:
  • Sara Ljungblad

  • Affiliations:
  • SICS, Kista, Sweden

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

This paper aims to contribute with an understanding of meaningful experiences of photography, to support reflection upon the design of future camera devices. We have conducted a study of a passive camera device called Sensecam, which previously has been investigated as a memory aid, a combination of life-logging and memory tool and as a resource for digital narratives. We take a creative perspective and show that even if a camera is designed to be forgotten in use (i.e. is worn as a necklace and takes pictures automatically) it can still be part of an engaging or active photographic experience. Because Sensecam is different from film cameras, camera phones and other digital cameras, it involves a different type of photographic experience, for example when moving through different social contexts and how the resulting pictures are appreciated. The findings stem from people who used the camera for a week. This is complemented with reflections from the researcher, who has been using the camera for a month.