More Trees in the Tropics

Jerry O. Joby Bass Jr., University of Southern Mississippi

Abstract

Repeat photography is the process of rephotographing the same scene that appears in an earlier photograph. As a methodology, repeat photography is a valuable tool for investigating and assessing landscape change. Beyond the disadvantages of scale, composition, areal coverage and temporal punctuation, the method is useful. Photographs are comprehensive views that offer a 'contextualized' landscape to examine. As well, the unexpected may be revealed through the process. My research in Honduras using this method led me to find a vegetation increase, rather than the decrease that was expected of a tropical area. A few example photographs illustrate the variety of manifestations this increase takes.