An etnography study for etnographers and photographers: Photo-etnography of Hacı bektaş Veli festival

In this research, it has been revealed that how a photographer and an ethnographer, within the relation of ethnography and photography, uses photography as a data in social science researches and which method is used in taking ethnographic photography. In literature chapter, theorists providing a basis for the research have been reviewed in order to compose a theoretical background. Ethnography and photography relation is clarified in various examples and visual ethnography, photo-ethnography and ethnographic photography is defined. Examples of utilizing ethnographic photography in researches has been given and methods such as photographic elicitation, reflexive photography, re-photography, photovoice, visual narratives and vernacular photography has been defined in the relevant literature.In the fieldwork, participants consisting of ethnographers and photographers are provided to make a photo-ethnography research in Hacı Bektaş Veli Festival organized annually by Alevis. Researcher has done an ethnographic research as well on ethnographers and photographers by observing them in the field. Thus, ethnography of ethnography is done by participants, similarities and differences between an ethnographer and a photographer is determined coming from two different social sciences discipline. In this research, data gathering techniques such as ethnography and photo-ethnograpy, participant diary, in-depth interview, photo elicitation has been utilized. In the analysis, commonalities and differences have been found in ethnographers? and photographers? occupational practices. Occupational, gender, ideological and religious identities have affected their point of view and this has been reflected in the field. The value of photographic data in social sciences has been revealed and methods have been discussed developed by the participants in the field as well. Fundamental findings have been searched out such as occupational practices, difficulties encountered in the field, situations affecting motivation in the field, taking photography and experience of using other data collection tools, communication with informants, definition of photography and ethnography. Inclination of ethnographers to take photography, photographers to make ethnography has been determined. Thus, at the end of the research fundamental information has been listed both for photographers and ethnographers in order to guide them.Photographs taken by the participants have been also analyzed. The importance of trivet consisting of process of taking photography, photography itself and interpretation of the viewer has been emphasized once again. Participants? different academic backgrounds, identities, their understanding of ethnography and photography, their thoughts about the field reflected all in the photographs that they took. In the light of the data gathered by the participants, photographs as visual texts are ethnographic data and they should be used in all social sciences disciplines. The point is how photography will be defined in a research design, either as a visual diary or a visual record. In this research, photography is defined as a visual diary and reflexivity has come into prominence.