Area has a long-standing tradition of publishing observations and articles on the dynamics of doing fieldwork (e.g. Cupples 2002; Bennett 2004; Bracken and Mawdsley 2004; Desmond 2004; Watson 2004). This Observation discusses some dynamics of using technologies in the field.i I draw on recent theorizations of ‘code’ (Dodge and Kitchin 2004, 2005) to call attention to the ‘coded spatialities’ of fieldwork. I discuss some implications of code for the researcher’s positionality and how coded spatialities can affect research outcomes. I mostly draw upon my ten-month fieldwork experience in rural South Africa; however, the issues I raise are less to do with doing fieldwork in South Africa as they are about doing fieldwork in the contemporary period.