Question?
Find answers to frequently asked questions on the following subjects,
photo search • website • photography • travel • finance
ideas & research • contact
Photo search
How can I find photos on a certain subject?
You can use the keyword, place and subject category search on the search page. There are links on the search page to help you, and further information on the navigation link in the help page.
How did you decide on the keywords and classification?
First, I looked at how other image archives had been classified both in websites and in museums. I also studied Thesaurus classifications. Then, partly through trial and error, I gave myself some rules. For example, keywords should only refer to what can be seen in the image, and not metaphors or subjects associated with the image. Keywords should not describe aesthetics, as this is not the subject of the project. Similarly, the subject categories were chosen to enhance the focus of the initial focus of the photographs. The archive could be classified very differently and still remain a viable reference to the images.
Are there more photographs in Wanderings which are not in this website?
Yes there are, and they will be regularly uploaded. Please select 'join mailing' and send an email to be notified of new additions. Some photographs will never be available online. If you can't find the image that you need, please send an email...as it may exist!
Did anyone else, apart from Elizabeth Williams, make photographs in the archive?
Yes, sometimes the guides took photographs that are held in the Xtra archive, and where possible, credit has been given.
top
Website
Where can I find a site map?
Select it from the left side menu on 'Search' & 'Help' pages, or link here to site map.
Who designed the website?
Elizabeth Williams and Alun Ward, Eye Division worked together on the design and database functions. Chris Woodward and James Fooks Bale, students from the Dept. Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading, designed the logo.
What were the main design issues?
The design of the database had to integrate with the design of the interface, or webpages. Both designs had to allow visual and textual data to communicate the idea, and not dominate viewing the images. At the same time, we wanted the design to be simple with graphic suggestion of a journey and a travel notebook.
Have you considered a range of user access in the design?
Three areas have been considered; language, IT and physical problems or impairment. We have tried to keep words non-specialist and consistent, and to keep in mind the use of english as a foreign language. We have tried to make the site accessible for those who do not have the latest IT equipment or knowledge, for example, we decided not to use JavaScript. We have considered issues involving physical impairment, especially visual difficulties. Our research influenced colour choices, for example, but we decided that as this is primarily a site with a visual subject, we should not compromise ideas. There is information about how to change the way you view your browser page in navigation. We are investigating the possibility of
a text only version.
How does the database work?
Information is installed into the database and linked to photographic digital files which are stored outside the database file. Keywords and search categories are attached to each database file entry. When a keyword or search category is selected, all the digital files with matching data appear. Other information such as title, ID, text quotes and weblinks is also stored in the database and included on the webpage when the photograph is selected. Data can also be stored for offline viewing, or password protected viewing. Extensis Portfolio database was used for photographic data which was then imported to MySQL database for web publication.
top
Photography
Did you use a digital camera?
No. I used Olympus OM1, OM1n and OM2 cameras with 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, 135mm and Zoom() lenses. Mostly I used the OM2 and 80mm lens and carried the others in reserve. On each trip, unavoidably, cameras broke due to rough travel. Afterwards I scanned negatives to digital files using a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000.
Did the extreme temperatures cause photographic problems?
Yes. Both batteries and film were affected. In Lapland, when not photographing, I kept my camera and film inside my thick, down jacket and tried to limit photography to a few minutes at a time.This meant I spent more time looking, which was a good discipline! In the desert, I tried to keep equipment in the shade, or wrapped up in spare clothing when not in use. I didn't use a cool bag, but it might have been a good idea. Dust was a greater problem. Before each photographic session I cleaned lenses and checked the battery and light meter.
Was the quality of light a problem?
Well, in Lapland there are only a few hours of daylight each day in the winter! I did use flash occassionally, and sometimes a tripod. Mostly I used to give total prioritory and concentration to photography during short daylight hours. Again, this was a good discipline! In one place it meant missing the daily bus to the small supermarket and instead, after photographing, making an eight mile walk across a dark, frozen lake, to buy food. In the desert, I tried to avoid photographing in the midday sun, but it wasn't always possible. In both places, it was difficult to judge how much to alter the exposure in order to compensate for the light glare on snow or sand. I often made a bracket exposure between three to five f stops, hoping that one would be useful.
top
Travel
How to you find out about places to stay and how to get there?
I spent time carefully planning each journey. I made contact with people who could give me help and advice before I left home. Sometimes this happened unexpectedly, sometimes I was introduced by a friend, and sometimes
I contacted people by email. In each country I had a pre-planned city base and base in a remote region. I would then plan further journeys once I had arrived. How to travel was planned in the same way.
Did you always travel with a guide?
The main journeys I did make with guides, but I made smaller journeys on my own. My guides not only showed me the way, but taught me much about the culture and protected me from dangers such as dehydration, frostbite, snake bites and scorpion stings.
Did you think you were in danger as a woman travelling alone?
There could have been dangers, but not if acting sensibly and taking advice.
It was important to learn as much as possible both before and during the journey. In the Middle East, for example, however hot the temperature,
I never wore shorts or a shirt without sleeves and tried to respect Islamic customs. We always stopped when my guides wanted to pray. In South Africa, I was advised not to use rail travel, and in towns, I tried to move briskly from one place to another. In the desert region of Namaqualand, after encountering some problems, I didn't travel very far from the village without
a guide. I was given a room in the community centre that not only had a door with a lock, but also an extra door and window with iron bars which I was advised to use, especially at night. In Lapland, if I was going out alone into the wilderness, I always told someone, or left a message giving details of my destination. Here the danger was more one of physical accident. However, the only time I injured myself was slipping on wet flooring after a shower! I was alone, and had to give myself first aid for shock and badly cut mouth, which was painful out in the cold, but gave no long term problem.
top
Finance
How much did it cost to make the website?
In terms of patience, perseverance and passion? Just joking! Financially, I have paid for design by EyeDivision, webhosting, domain name, database software, image scanning and storage hardware, print publicity, administration, Internet ISP charges and other 'overheads'. This has been funded by a (4 figure) academic grant from the
Arts & Humanities Research Board and my own private funds. My long term aim is that the site should become self funding through image sales.
Any donations gratefully accepted!
How did you get the grants and how did you use them?
Application for the grants was by post. The application usually involved information about the project and why funding was necessary, two references, curriculum vitae, costing, details about proposed publication and a subsequent report. In each country, I visited the Arts Officer of the British Council several times during my visit. Money was needed for photographic film and processing, travel, visas, insurance, guides, accommodation, research material, specialist clothing, administration, and sundries such as first aid kit, maps, good sunglasses, and gifts.
top
Ideas & research
How do you get your ideas?
I already have an area of interest, and then a number of things come together to spark off an idea. This might involve previous work, a book I read, something I see or hear, a conversation etc. I then am suspicious, and research and test it out before I commit myself to what often involves several years work. If the idea and my interest grows, then there comes a point when I know I will not be unable to let it go. After starting work, the idea will continue to grow...and often in ways I could not have anticipated.
What do you mean by photographic research?
In my case, I use similar methods to other disciples in Humanities, but I do not think of my work as academic. In addition, I also collect scrapbook material, quotes and make what I call sketchbook photos. Prior to my travels, I spent time on a barren Greek island making photos that not only sketched subject matter, but also aesthetics such as area of view, and relation of image and text. I also investigated some technical problems such as exposure. This proved to be invaluable preparatory research.
Do your ideas change during the journey?
Although I establish an area of interest and details about what, and how I want to photograph, I also try to be open to new ideas during the making process. Certainly an encounter with a new culture changes my pre-conceptions and I adjust my ideas. This process continues through editing and all pre-publication work.
In the 'idea' webpage you say you were interested in 'Nomadology', can you say a bit more about this philosophy?
I read writings of Deleuze & Guattari (1986) and Rosi Braidotti (1994) which discussed how meaning and identity shifts according to the perspective from which we approach a subject. Meaning, they suggest, is relative not absolute. They use the metaphor of nomadic travel where 'points' such as water points, or dwelling points define the nomadic path but are 'reached only in order to be left behind, every point is a relay and exists only as a relay'. This seemed useful in relation to my previous work involving photographic sequences where each image contributes to defining both the next and previous image. The search facility in this website takes this idea one step further, and allows the viewer to become a participator in how they arrive and leave the 'points'. It makes an archive accessible, but also has the potential to build meaning that is constantly shifting and 'nomadic'.
top
Contact
If you have a question you would like to ask, please send an email.
Please state if you do not wish your question to be published on this page. Your name and email address will not be published.
