Paper short abstract:

Through archival image research, photography is examined as a collecting science in its own right, akin to natural history collecting. This investigation explores the broader environment as collectible by means of a process of abstraction, afforded by the technology of the digital camera.

Paper long abstract:

Following the tradition of the collecting sciences, photography is examined as an environmental collecting science in its own right, akin to natural history collecting. The democratization of photography has allowed a new form of citizen science to emerge where images, rather than physical specimens, are taken home. This process ensures a continuity to the dissemination of environmental information across space and time, and we currently see an acceleration in image production coinciding with an acceleration of environmental crises. The impacts of the history of photography on environmental perception are examined in this project through archival image research on historically significant examples of environmental photography, as well as analysis of social media images. Whereas collecting is typically considered a physical process with material results, the broader environment itself is considered collectible through a process of abstraction, afforded by the technology of the digital camera. As with the curation of any collection, the presentation and framing are treated as influential to storytelling about the environment. A key focus of this project, combining artistic research with environmental history is: What kind of environmental information has been saved, curated, and transmitted through the processes of photography and how does it contribute to environmental storytelling?