Tuesday, July 5, 2011

100,000 Words - Intro

The Task: 1 picture of someone new every day for 100 days.

The Requirements: Take at least 1 picture per day. The person has to have something interesting about them. They must be a complete stranger.

The Problem: I am one of the most introverted individuals you will ever have the opportunity to meet. Being rejected is one of my biggest fears. A substantial chunk of my OCD is based on my own self-doubts and my concern for other people's thoughts toward me. Because of this I keep mostly to myself. I never let myself go and am almost physically incapable of relaxing. Basically people FREAK ME OUT.

The Goal: Overcome the discomfort, embarassment, and fear. Learn to accept rejection and continue on with my goal. Get myself out of bed every day, force myself to move and join the rest of the world. Keep fighting my OCD and hopefully overcome a decent portion of that. Take pretty pictures.

A picture is worth 1,000 words. I will take a picture of someone interesting every day for 100 days. You do the math.

Day 1:


My first picture was taken while I was hanging out with my friends Phoebe and Phian. We were walking to the local Kangaroo to fill her K-Cup with some delicious beverage when I saw a fruit stand across the road, manned by this kind gentleman. He was sitting there smoking a cigarette, smiling as we passed by. Though his mustache was the real seller, his kind eyes and obvious character made me realize I had to photograph him. When I first approached him and asked to take his picture he gave me this knowing look and said, "I knew when I saw the camera you guys were up to something..." then he laughed and told me to take whatever pictures I like. He was extraordinarily friendly and it was a really successful way of starting out my project, I think. :)

I think I'll give updates every 2-3 weeks about how I'm doing; maybe I'll post a few of my favorite pictures from the past little while. I'll pretty much play it by ear.

Inspiration came from this: http://observersroom.designobserver.com/oblog/entry.html?entry=24678
I didn't know this existed when I started the project, but this is similar to what I'm doing, and I don't want to look like I'm ripping him off, so I'm totally giving credit to this guy for being a killer street photographer: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2c6Nea/www.dannyst.com/gallery/portraits-of-strangers

3 comments:

  1. I love this, Rae! You are radical badical. I look forward to seeing more pictures and the stories of the people behind them.

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  2. Wow--this is an amazing photo! What a great project. Good luck!

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  3. Wow Radar, that first photo turned out fantastic. Can't wait to see the rest!

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