Relating to the Environment Through Photography: The Smartphone Camera as a Tool in Urban Farming

Abstract

Research on environmental sustainability in HCI is investigating the opportunities and hindrances technologies pose on living sustainably, beyond direct material impact of production, use and disposal. With this background, we focus on the smartphone camera as a tool that allows users to quickly and relatively effortlessly depict, save, share, access, augment or amplify information about the environment. Based on two years of participant observation studies, we present examples of how urban farmers use the smartphone camera as a tool in their practice. We discuss how the smartphone camera mediates human experiences of the environment and how certain uses of the camera may contribute to environmental sustainability. We highlight how the smartphone camera used as a tool in gardening was experienced to support (a) feelings of closeness or bonds towards the local environment and (b) the creation and sharing of knowledge.