Serendipity

So, I've finally decided to get my arse in gear and start a personal project that's been on the back burner for years. It's a big collaborative photography project, and I'm inviting pretty much anyone to get involved.

The idea behind the project is to create a situation where serendipity, or happy accidents, can happen and create great work. I'm going to buy lots of 35mm films, send them to various friends around the world, asking them to shoot the film, send it back to me, then I will send it on to someone else. The idea is that the second person has no idea what is on the film, so they can shoot away and let chance take over. Hopefully out of all the double exposures, there will be some interesting results. I'm also looking to pick people to share the roll of film who don't know each other so everyone who gets involved would end up with collaborative artwork made with a stranger. I intend to print all the film, send digital copies to the contributors and post the results here as an ongoing project and then see where it goes from there. Perhaps a small exhibition or just some promotion and fun for all those involved will be good enough for me!

I have only just started inviting people to take part, so the project is in the early stages, but I would like to get the project off the ground soon. I don't want to set any rules, all you need is a camera that will take 35mm film and a little bit of spare time and enough money to post the film back to me. You can take photos of whatever you like, just so long as it's not too repetitive (whole films on one subject might prove a little dull. I'm hoping it's not too much trouble to ask people to carry the film around for a few days, photograph whatever catches their eye and then send it back. The only rule that I can think of would be to keep the exposure a little on the low side, seeing as the film is being exposed twice, and not to take any photos of things that I wont be able to print (most commercial printers reserve the right to censor images and also to inform the police of anything suspect...). I hope this will just be a bit of fun for everyone, and for all the hard working students involved, a little distraction from upcoming deadlines. 

SO if you're interested, email me at bronwyn_opland@hotmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can. 

(all the above images found via the Double Exposure Pool on Flickr)