Close up and From Afar: Clues for Reflecting on Image and Geography

Abstract

This article discusses the use of the image in Geography and in particular photography with regard to the role given to visual experience in the constitution of the discipline. In addition to the literature on the importance of image in the production, dissemination and teaching of geographical knowledge, a dialogue is established with authors who question the use of photography in the context of fieldwork and research in Social Sciences. The discussion from the perspective of the use of images suggests a tension that permeates Geography, whose research procedures vary from completely controlling sensory experience at one extreme to 
giving priority to distinct experiences related to space at the other extreme.