Where Is The Wild?
"Salmon and sea trout." Photo by Jordan Schyberg. CC/BY/NC/SA
The URL for the Search Page: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wild+salmon&l=cc&ct=0&mt=all&adv=1
What Images I Wanted to Find When I Searched: I wanted to find photographs of salmon in the wild.
Why I wanted to Find Those Images: When I think of salmon, I think of the outdoors. I think of oceans and streams. I want to find photographs of salmon as they live outside.
My Search Term: wild salmon
Description of Results Page: The search returned a variety of photographs, but only one of a wild salmon. Some of the photographs were of raw filleted salmon and cooked salmon on plates ready to eat. These photographs were focused on a single plate, much like the photos you see in recipe books. The results page also included photographs of people carrying signs. One of the signs said: "Remove Salmon Farms Now." Scrolling down the results page, I was able to find a photo of one live salmon. However, the caption for the photograph indicated the salmon was photographed in an outdoor aquarium.
What I Learned from the Search: I wanted to see pictures of salmon in the wild because that's how I imagine them. How is it that a search for "wild salmon" would not produce a single photo of a salmon in its natural habitat? Seeing all the photos of salmon prepared for human consumption, and the photographs of people protesting, makes me realize that humans play an important role in the life cycle of the salmon.