Participant Outing: 2

Different participant, different country. This time, Charlotte, a 27 year-old British girl on holiday in New York. We took Charlotte to Harlem one Sunday, an area of New York she had never been to. She had some preconceived ideas, having heard that Harlem had a reputation for being dangerous, and was a little apprehensive. She'd spent most of her time in downtown New York, which has a much smaller, tighter street pattern, and in her words, a very different feel.

She took photos as she walked of things that made her feel positive or negative, but found that in itself disconcerting. 'I don't feel comfortable taking my camera out here' she said. I questioned her as we went, trying to establish what made her feel that way, recording her thoughts on a dictaphone. She suggested talking might be a more successful way of finding out what people thought, for ins

Overall, she felt wary, and said wouldn't want to come back.

There were far fewer people around than in downtown New York, maybe because it was -2, maybe because it was Sunday. The shops were shut, and generally had nothing of interest to her; a laundromat, a liquor store; few details for her to read the city with. The wider pavements made it harder for her to grasp a sense of the area. She couldn't place what kind of neighbourhood it was either, with a renovated house next to one falling apart. She found the fact that there were so many churches positive – Charlotte has been brought up a Catholic – and could hear snippets of music coming from within them.

She made some suggestions:

• GO IT ALONE Make a first outing by yourself, but with the reassurance that Marcus or I are somewhere along the route, or following from behind. That way you get a true first impression, without putting the participant in any real danger.
• Or...ON THE PHONE Call the participant whilst they're walking and get them to describe how they feel. People feel more comfortable talking on the phone than talking photos. Its an everyday activity that doesn't make you stand out.
• BREADCRUMB TRAIL Let them take photos by themselves and once they reach the end of the trail, retrace their steps back, Hansel and Gretel style to analyse them with Marcus and I.