ABSTRACT
Richard Shiff, in his essay on the painter Joan Mitchell, states, “Words are signs that refer by generalizing, and imprecision accompanies their use.” This frame or approach Shiff articulates is informed by general concepts from semiotics, which acknowledges how the meanings of words shift based on context. This chapter discusses utilizing photographs for design decision making and provides some definitions. Site refers to any and all aspects, characteristics, conditions, histories and phenomena of the place. These may be surface, visual and tangible. They may also be subsurface, invisible, or function at a larger or smaller scale than normal human preception. Photography is used to communicate in so many different ways- location, interest, event, emotion, note-taking. The word “design” is used to describe how humans alter the landscape. This can be obvious, such as a design for a public park, to more subtle, such as the design of a watershed implemented through planning and management strategies.
