A little while ago, I went over to Gabriola Island to visit family. I got to the ferry terminal in downtown Nanaimo with plenty of time to spare until the next ferry. Enough time for no one to be in the foot passenger lounge. This time, I decided to be a lot more obvious in my placement of the package. In the foot passenger lounge, there’s a bulletin board where people post local events, services, and things for sale, like firewood. I posted Camera #129 right on the board so that no one would miss it. The same thing was done with Camera #96, but to no effect. Hopefully, it works this time.
This weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada, and Valerie Thai and Roger Allen went to Surrey to eat a big ole meal. While there, they decided to place Camera #119:
“…so we parked the car around the corner, placed the camera (no one saw us at all!), and then when we drove past the bus stop ….it was gone!!!… wow…”
On September 24, Valerie Thai and Roger Allen were in Beverly Hill, and their intention was to leave a camera on Rodeo Drive, but all of the high-end stores have security guards outside their entrances. So, instead, they placed Camera #118 on a newspaper dispensing box at Beverly Drive & Dayton Way, which is right around the corner.
Maybe we’ll get a peak into the lives of the rich and famous…
It’s been busy here at the project lately – and I’ve been neglecting my updating duties! It’s been over a month since my last post, but that doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been anything going on. There’s been a bunch, and this post is about the new cameras that have gone out into the wild.
My friends, Lori and Pax, went on a European trip and dropped a couple of cameras in Switzerland on July 12:
#122: Under a palm tree in the courtyard of MAMCO (Musee d’art moderne et contemporain + Centre de la Photographie). Rue de Vieux-Grenadiers, Genève, Switzerland.
#126: On the bleachers at the skateboard park. Plaine De Plainpalais. Genève, Switzerland.
And, I went on a bike camping trip to the San Juan Islands in Washington with some other friends – one of the reasons for taking this long to provide updates as to what’s going on. I was able to fit 3 cameras in my paniers, and, after finding a post office to get some postage, I dropped them off:
Camera #114 was placed on the beach at Odlin County Park on Lopez Island on August 13. It was near a whole bunch of camp sites.
Also on August 13, I left Camera #116 was left at the entrance to the San Juan County Fair in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Unfortunately, due to my neglect, it was labeled #113, which was already placed! Whoops!
And, on the last day of the journey, on August 14, Camera #115 found itself on the Boardwalk at Spring St + Front St in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
And last, but definitely not least, the prolific placer, The Girl, found herself on the other side of the International Date Line in New Zealand and Australia, and left 2 cameras in each.
Camera #152 was left on a bench in Albert Park on August 7 in Auckland.
The same day, Camera #153 was left on a bench outside the Auckland Art Gallery.
Camera #154 was left at Starbucks in Hawthorn, Glen Ferrie Road in Melbourne, Australia on Friday morning, August 15.
And, on August 19, Camera #155 was dropped in Melbourne on a table just outside of Subway and the Shoe Repair Shop in Hawthorn.
So, a very prolific period! 2 new countries and 9 cameras in just over a month – it’s been a while since The Project was this busy.
And, a bit of a teaser: 2 of these have already been returned!
It’s been a busy weekend for the project. Four cameras were released out into the wild! I released two here in Vancouver, and The Girl placed two others in Illinois. And, we must have been on the same wavelength, ’cause every camera has something to do with Riding and/or Racing.
On Friday, I went on my first Critical Mass, and it was a big one, seeing as it was the one at the end of Bike Month. There was a gazillion bikes, so, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to leave a camera. Unfortunately, I was near the end of the crowd, and it was so packed that I couldn’t pass people easily, and whenever I took a detour to try to catch up, I always ended up near the end – behind the guy in the bear suit and the guy with the balloon machine. I eventually placed Camera #101 on the sidewalk. Hopefully one of the riders picked it up!
And, yesterday, on Canada Day, I went with some friends to the Hastings Park Racecourse to watch the ponies. Money-making wise, the day started poorly, but after a couple of good bets near the end, I ended up breaking even. We watched the races from the bleaches so that we could get a good view of our horses all the way around the track. During one of the races, I went down to the benches by the finish line and left Camera #113. Actually, due to my carelessness, I labeled it #110, but that camera had already been placed in Sydney, Australia on New Year’s Eve…. Whoops!
The Girl sent me an email letting me know that she also placed a couple of cameras over the weekend – one at a motor speedway, and the other at a horse racetrack. Two horse racetracks in just a few days!
The first one was Camera #150 on Saturday. She left it on a car in the parking lot at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. That will definitely ensure that someone will take a good look at the camera. Lets hope it will work!
And, the second, was Camera #151 on the lunch counter at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois on Sunday.
Here’s to hoping that some of these make their way back!
On Sunday, I went with some friends to go to the annual Car Free Festival on Commercial Drive, in Vancouver. Knowing that there would likely be a good opportunity to place a camera somewhere, I brought a camera along for the ride – by bike of course… it is Car Free Days.
It was a beautiful day, and the Drive was packed with people – although, really, the only thing car-free about it was that there weren’t any cars on the road. There weren’t very many booths or events that were about car-free-ness. It was pretty much just an opportunity to buy clothes and food.
But, there were tons of people! So many people that it was difficult to find a place to put the camera without everyone seeing. On the way out, after having a couple of drinks, the festival was still going on. We had parked our bikes in a nearby park – Victoria Park – which was close enough to be busy, but far enough that it wasn’t completely packed. I took the opportunity to place Camera #45, and rode off.
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.
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.
I’m in a bowling league, and I’ve been thinking for a while that it would be a good place to put a camera – I just never had the right opportunity. Until now. On Monday, we stayed for to roll some extra balls after the league bowling finished at the Grandview Lanes. Shortly thereafter, the place was packed with hipsters, rolling their way to strikes. I thought that it would be now or never. It seemed like there would be a good chance that whoever found it would partake – hipsters are always into taking part in freaky-deaky projects.
I just needed a spot that would allow me to place a camera without anyone seeing it, plus be somewhere that people would go, and it would be obvious. The bathroom! I went and put Camera #94 near the urinal in the men’s room – dudes severely outnumbered the ladies, and many of the ladies that were there were just getting ready to leave.
A few minutes later, I saw an excited bowler showing the package to his friends. Mission Accomplished.
I went out for lunch today to The Foundation, and I thought to myself that the young hipsters who are into vegan/vegetarianism would probably also be into taking part in the project – it worked in Bellingham. So, I left Camera #93 under the table before leaving.
