Another camera returned! Woohoo!! Well, not really…

Back in April, I left Camera #94 at the Grandview Lanes in Vancouver. A few days ago, this comment was left on that blog post:

Lame. I thought this was supposed to be anonymous. I had so many great ideas too… oh well, I’ll send it back blank and hopefully the next person won’t come here to read that they are being watched.

As it happened, I was bowling in the Lanes, and happened to see the person who found it. I wasn’t spying or anything – it’s just one of those things that happens when you’re in the same room.

Then, the person who found the camera came to the website and read on the above blog post, “A few minutes later, I saw an excited bowler showing the package to his friends,” was offended by this, and decided to make a statement by sending the camera back unused.

It’s interesting the reactions that people have to the project, and what can make them decide to not participate. It’s too bad that this one felt so strongly about it that he no longer wanted to partake.

This marks the second blank camera I’ve received, on top of the empty envelope, and the smashed camera.

On May 3, TheGirl released a couple of cameras out into the wild in Colorado. And a few days after that, Gail left a comment on Camera #148 saying that her son found it outside his work, and had already finished it and stuck it in the mail. Well, it’s made it here!

Judging by the pictures, he likes Jagermeister. And… is that Call of Duty 4? Can’t quite tell…

Unfortunately, a lot of the pics were underexposed… I did my best colour-correcting to get them to look as good as possible.

West-Side Reprezentin.

On Wednesday, I went to Granville Island to film an interview on the project for BCIT Magazine. My first press!

We were down there for a few hours doing multiple takes and getting the right shots. Part of the story involved me placing a camera. Not only was this camera filmed while being placed, it was also the hundredth camera of the project – both in position, and ID number. Happy Hundredth Camera!

The crew wanted to film the camera from a distance to capture someone finding it and taking it away. We hid in a dark corner, hoping that no one would see the group of people around the TV camera on the big tripod.

I’ve never actually stuck around and watched what happens after I place a camera – although, when I placed Camera #71, I was still packing groceries into the rental when a couple of guys found it and exclaimed. I had to pretend as hard as I could that it wasn’t me!

It was definitely an interesting opportunity to watch and see what unfolds around a placed camera. It helped me to understand what happens to the cameras that never come back – no one notices them! We were in the corner for about 15-20 minutes, and then we moved to another area for another half hour to finish getting some other shots, and, for the most part, no one even saw it. Everyone walked by in oblivion. A few people saw it and glanced at it before carrying on, and fewer still picked it up to look at it before putting it back where they found it.

Then, finally, salvation… A group of about 50 school children on a field trip walked by. They chose to swarm the area where the camera was to sit and eat their sandwiches. Certainly, someone would pick it up, right? Wrong. Barely anyone even noticed it! One of the accompanying parents sat down beside it, finally noticed it, picked it up, examined it closely, then set it back down.

Around this time, we finished filming, and parted ways. I went back home, and, as far as I know, the camera is still there, being pelted with rain…

The BCIT magazine story has been posted on YouTube for everyone to check out. You can watch it below, or on YouTube.

These two lovely packages were released into the wild yesterday in Colorado by The Girl. She definitely pulled out all the stops to make them as attractive and enticing as possible – they’re way nicer than anything I’ve ever put out there. Kudos!

#148 was dropped at the outdoor seating area of Poor Richards (indy pizzeria and book store) on the corner of Tejon and Boulder in downtown Colorado Springs.

#149 was dropped on a bench in the fountain area in front of The Loop Mexican Restaurant on the corner of Ruxton and Manitou in downtown Manitou Springs.

The Girl had this to say:

I had an entourage with me so that I wasn’t so obvious when walking down the street and leaving something behind. The second one was more of a drive by situation. I was let out of a van, dropped it and then walked away to be picked up down the street.

Sounds exciting!

Thanks go to The Girl!