Eric’s Note: I was cruising Flickr and I came upon these wonderful images by Alison McCauley that she submitted to the Street Photography Now project. I was particularly interested in her fresh and diverse group of images, and I hope you will as well! Make sure to read more to see her thoughts about the project as well as her inspirational photos!
These images are a selection from my submissions to the Street Photography Now Project. Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren, the authors of the Street Photography Now book (published by Thames and Hudson in 2010) created this project to inspire fresh ways of looking at and documenting the world we all live in. The images contributed to the yearlong project were made in response to a weekly instruction. Each week a different photographer featured in the book would issue the instruction. The participants had one week to take and post their image.
Participating in the SPNP has been an amazing experience. There are professional photographers and experienced togs as well as complete novices participating. We have participants from locations as far flung as Japan, Venezuela and Norway. The project has created a real global community with a supportive and nurturing environment.
If I had to pick a weakness in this concept, I would say that street photography and tight deadlines don’t mix – add an instruction and the mixture becomes seriously challenging and the results can be variable! The pressure is invigorating and forcing myself out, no matter what, is a great discipline. It is impossible to submit a great shot every week yet I really want to see this project through the year; so even during my most uninspired weeks, I post my shot. Personally I find this the most difficult aspect of the project – I really never wanted to post something I consider subpar!
Shooting for the project differs from my usual relaxed and open way of shooting, in that I have to be aware of the instruction. In the early part of the project, I would concentrate on the brief and ignore everything else. Later on, I kept the instruction in my mind, but I stayed open to everything around me. Sometimes there was the choice between posting an average image that fit the brief and a good one with tenuous links to the brief. My inclination was often to go with the latter, but this frequently annoyed some of the more diligent participants!
All in all, I think I’ve benefitted from the project. I’ve made some great contacts and normal street photography now seems easier! After the end of the SPNP, I’m ready to move on to other projects. I’m preparing a new series for an exhibition in Lyon, France next year and in October I will be doing my first serious documentary project and will be travelling to the drought-ridden Horn of Africa to document the situation in a refugee camp.
Images by Alison McCauley from the Street Photography Now Project
Links
Website: http://www.amccauley.ch/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amccauley/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1816153711
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/mccools
Street Photography Now Project: http://streetphotographynowproject.wordpress.com/about/
What do you think about Alison’s images? Let us know which ones really stand out to you by leaving a comment below!