the disposable memory project

One of the big problems we face with getting cameras home, is that they need to be sent via the postal service (we like to handle developing the films ourselves, as we take them to a good lab to make sure we get the most out of the images – disposable cameras have a habit of being a bit dodgy quality!) back home to London. This is quite a big ask for people, and whilst we are happy to cover all the costs of getting that camera home, sometimes organising an international package can be a pain.

So, we’re asking for volunteers to act as local representatives of the project. We’d like to find people in the following areas who would be willing to act as a local address where people can send their cameras:

West Coast USA
East Coast USA
Europe
Africa
Asia
Russia
India
Australia

What would be involved?
Nothing immediately, but when a camera is finished in the same country as you, we’ll provide the person who currently holds the camera with your address. They’d drop the camera in the post to you, and then you’d send it on to us. We’ll cover all of your costs of getting the parcel to us, and you’d have our eternal gratitude!

How often do I need to go to the post office?
Very rarely. We currently have only 9 cameras out of 120 or so – its unlikely you’d need to do it any more than two or three times a year. If this changes, you can always opt-out of the project, and we’d still be friends! :)

Okay, I’m up for that
Cool – email us at hello@disposablememoryproject.org and we’ll sort out the details!

Also, if you have any ideas on how to make the project easier for people to return cameras, do let us know – we’re happy to consider all suggestions!

Camera 29:018_2, originally uploaded by Disposable Memory Project.

Whoo! The images from our very first camera to be returned are now online in the flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/photos/disposablememoryproject/sets/72157612468305465/

Thanks to Melanie for creating the camera, and BlazeNFoote for sending it back, as well as everyone who featured in the images. We’ll be making more of the images on the Camera 29 page in due course.

If you took any of the photos, or appear in them, or can even help us identify location, email us, or comment on the images in flickr or below, and we’ll update the images to help tell their story.

We proudly gave a couple of camera bags to Nick H today, who was visiting London for a few days, before returning to work in Hong Kong. He’ll be letting us know when and where he drops the camera bags.

Remember, if you want to create your own bag, you can email us here, and we’ll give you the instructions. It is really very simple, and takes nothing more than purchasing a disposable camera, finding a freezer or small transparent plastic bag, and a bit of willing.

The first international camera has been dropped today, in a Starbucks opposite the site of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany. Thanks to Kirsty for making the first global camera drop, but it is by no means the last. We have a couple of people in the US, Singapore, Africa and Scotland already eager to make camera bags. You can keep track of their locations on the camera tracker

Three more cameras have gone into the wild today – one on the southbank, one in central london’s oxford street, and one handed to Peter from the Fifty Quid Danger Fund so he can put it somewhere of his choosing. You can find their location on the camera tracker.

I was walking along the southbank as my wife and I wanted to go and check out O2’s The Memory Project – nothing to do with our little site, but a really nice idea nonetheless. Basically, they have created a 360 view timelapse of the southbank, which is taking images right now. Inside the installation, you can view old images from the panorama’s last few days of capturing. Walking closer to the screens shows you newer images, further away, older (or vice versa). I’m not sure when its there until, but check it out – its a nice concept.

And finally, we’ve had our first request to make a DIY camera bag – all the way from Boston MA, in the US of A. Woo! Thanks Tom. Hopefully we’ll be seeing his camera location pretty soon.

I’ve had a few emails asking if people could create their own bags and release them into the wild. Absolutely, and this morning, we’ve created a little form to send us your details if you’re interested. The process is pretty simple – get in touch, we’ll give you a unique camera ID, and some support in creating the camera bag. Then, once you’ve left it in the wild, let us know where, and we’ll help you track it.

If you’re interested, go create a bag.

I’ve put up our very own Google Maps camera tracker. Apologies for the hideous gradient filled camera icons, i haven’t had a chance to draw my own yet, so generic had to do. There’s not much going on at the moment, as you can see, and I haven’t heard back from the two cameras out there yet – then again, i kinda don’t expect to really. I think more saturation is key to getting a result. I’ve also had quite a few people ask if they can create camera bags – i’m going to be working on that this weekend. stay tuned.

OK – I’m sorry for focussing on London! I’ve already had a bunch of people asking me if they can do something similar outside of London – of course! I was literally thinking that I’d have to do all the camera seeding initially, but if you’d like to start your own camera bags – I’ll be adding the ability to create/register your own camera bags on the site as soon as possible. Thanks for the interest though.

Anyway – the reason for my post is that Nicky has suggested similarities between this project and 1000journals.com. Take a look, its a really beautiful project, and I hope we get something half as lovely and interesting going here.