Submission 2025
| Submitted by: | Amber Hussain |
| Department: | Nursing |
| Faculty: | Nursing |
In the winter of 2024, I traveled to Pakistan, my country of origin, to conduct ethnographic research with adolescent mothers in rural communities. I came prepared to document their stories of early marriage, motherhood, and mental health. But one afternoon, during an interview, a young girl shared something so painful that I quietly stepped outside, tears welling in my eyes.
Qualitative fieldwork often positions the researcher as a neutral observer, tasked with documenting the “other.” But I wasn’t a stranger to this world. I am a Pakistani woman. I am a mother. And as her story unfolded, I felt the line between participant and researcher blur. I was not outside the story; I was part of it.
That night, sitting with my fieldnotes, I began to write—not just what she said, but how it made me feel. I had come to ask questions, but found myself asking one too: “Can I cry too?” This image gives form to what is often hidden in fieldwork: the emotional labor. Emotion isn’t an obstacle to research. Sometimes, it’s the method itself.
Was your image created using AI?
Yes.
Did you upload any materials into an AI tool to help generate your image?
No.
Which model of generative AI did you use?
Microsoft Designer.
How was your image created?
This image was created using Microsoft Designer Image Creator, an AI-powered digital design tool. I used iterative prompt engineering to guide the platform in generating a high-resolution conceptual image. My initial prompts focused on capturing a macro-level eye with realistic lighting, moisture, and fine skin texture. I refined the reflected scene by integrating rural imagery and maternal figures to visually echo themes from my ethnographic fieldwork. Throughout the process, I adjusted lighting, facial angle, and emotional tone to achieve the right balance between realism and symbolic clarity. No post-processing was done outside of the platform; all refinements were made within the tool itself. The final image was exported in .JPG format at over 300 DPI to meet submission requirements for clarity and print resolution.
Did you upload any materials into an AI tool to help generate your image?
No.
How did you craft your prompt to guide the generative AI in creating your image? Please describe the technique or approach you used to convey your vision to the AI.
I wanted to convey the emotional labor of fieldwork through a visual metaphor: a researcher’s tear-filled eye reflecting the lives of her participants. Inspired by my time in rural Pakistan, I described a woman in a dupatta holding a child, an image I had personally witnessed. I chose AI as a medium to visually translate what words alone couldn’t fully express. My prompt included: “realistic human eye with visible tear,” “reflected image of rural woman and child,” “sunset lighting,” “photorealistic,” “soft focus,” and “natural lighting.” I aimed to evoke empathy and blurred boundaries between observer and observed. I ran over a dozen generations, adjusting clarity in the tear, lighting, and emotional tone. I refined the facial structure and reflection details to ensure cultural accuracy and realism. I also used aspect ratio controls to balance metaphor and context. Each iteration brought me closer to the emotional depth I sought.
Where is the image located?
This image is a digital conceptual creation that emerged from my ethnographic fieldwork with adolescent mothers in rural Pakistan.