If you have been following my page of late, no doubt you have seen me posting about The 24 Hour Project.
I am exceptionally proud to be the Brisbane ambassador for the 24 Hour Project 2017, which on the 1st of April will bring together photographers – both amateur and professional – across the world in photographing the human condition across a 24 hour period. The photographers involved share one photo each hour across twenty-four hours.
Why? To document humanity to make a difference in partnership with NGOs to raise awareness and empower their initiatives.
In 2017, the NGO with who this project has partnered is Lesvos Solidarity. This group believes that no human is illegal and that borders should be open. It provides refugees with shelter and hospitality but not registration – the refugees who stay at their camp are some of the most vulnerable: disabled, sick, pregnant and the families of victims of shipwrecks. This important group offers food, clothes, hygiene kits, medical assistance and also organizes activities for children, language classes, and social support. You can find out more about Lesvos Solidarity at http://www.lesvossolidarity.org
Joining me in my Brisbane-based efforts for this project so far are six other great SEQ photographers, who you can find on Instagram at hannahorrsnaps, shotsbygav, sunshineleanne12, photo_wheeler, masumnima and mel_ly_bean.
If you are keen to take part, it isn’t too late to register either – just head on other to http://www.24hourproject.org/?q=user/register and sign up. You don’t even need fancy camera gear to take part – your smart phone is more than enough to capture the world as you see it.
If you do take part, be sure to upload one photo at the end of each hour in the 24 hours using the following format, so the Project can gather them and share them worldwide in pursuit of their cause.
Hour #City “Title” by @username as part of the #24hourproject #24hr17 #24hour17_City #Country to support @non_profit_name. For more information, please visit @24hourproject.
For example, if I were to fill this out, it would look like this:
3.00am #Brisbane “Over the Bridge” by @rsit_richard as part of the #24hourproject #24hr17 #24hour17_Brisbane #Australia to support @lesvossolidarity. For more information, please visit @24hourproject.
Keen to get involved? Here are some tips to help you get through the 24 hours!
- Subject Matter – what are you looking for? Anything and everything that showcases the human condition – the emotion, the action and the simple things that make up a day in the life of our city. Hit the streets and keep your eyes peeled, and don’t worry about so much about aesthetics – the emotion is what is most important here. Remember – legally generally most things that are easily seen are legal to photograph, but don’t bother people – if someone clearly doesn’t want their photo taken, just leave it and move on, you will have plenty of opportunities over the 24 hours! If you like, you may wish to get an official project t-shirt from http://www.24hourproject.org to help advertise what it is you are doing to set people’s minds at ease.
- Sharing your images – Instagram is the place to go, but you can also share via other social channels if you prefer. The time to share is at the end of each hour, and make sure you tag them according to the above format. Don’t also forget that after the 1st, you can upload the original high-resolution versions of your images to the 24 Hour Project website for consideration for the project’s exhibition and book.
- Your tools – when it comes to street photography, many use their smartphones or compact cameras. You can use whatever you want, just be ready to react fast so you don’t miss out on great image possibilities. Remember, you are shooting to share, so make sure you select the JPEG format if you are shooting on a camera, and if your camera doesn’t have integrated WiFi to transfer images to your smartphone you might want to look into a cheap card reader, WiFi hub and power bank, or if you have an Android, a OTG cable will give you a cheap way of connecting your SD card direct to your smartphone. When it comes to batteries – 24 hours is a long time – make sure you take up any chance to charge your batteries, and use the airplane mode feature on your phone to save battery when you aren’t sharing.
- Prepare to make it through – make sure you get lots of sleep in the days leading up, and prepare to take 20 minute naps during your project. Make sure you are safe though – especially at night. It is a good idea to shoot in groups so you can keep an eye out for each other, and this makes it safer to be carrying around expensive camera gear too! Be careful not to overdo it with the energy drinks or coffee either – this can lead to a bigger crash than you would have had otherwise which will make it hard for you to keep going.
- Carry-on – anything that you take with you, you will need to carry all day so pack lightly. Along with your tools listed above, you may want to create a personal kit including toilet paper and baby wipes, a light sweater or windbreaker, water bottle, hat, cash, and make sure you are wearing comfy shoes!
- Do what you can – while the goal of this project is to share a photo every hour for 24 hours from locations all across the world, don’t stop yourself from taking part if you can’t take part for the entire 24 hours. If you can only shoot after work, then we would still love to see what you’ve got!
Happy snapping!
