Ethnography and Photography: What Kind of Collaborations for What Kind of Communications?

Abstract

This paper discusses the collaboration between a photographer and an ethnologist during fieldwork on neo-Maya transnational movements. We will discuss some ethical and methodological issues linked to the collaboration, such as processing the photographic images, ethnography and photography as complementary tools, locating the photographic medium in the field of visual anthropology, the issue of the right to one’s image, and the objectives of such collaboration. Finally, we will discuss the dimension of ethnographic commentary of the images and conclude with some propositions.