Who else has tried collecting photographs from strangers?

Peoples Photographer · 07-02-2009, 06:43 PM

I have been doing a type of street photography where I leave disposable cameras around for random people to take pictures with. The cameras have a note asking the stranger who finds it to take a picture of whatever they want, then return the camera. I can't be the first guy to try this out. Have any of you done this? How did it work out for you?
You can see how mine have turned out at apeoplespicture.blogspot.com I'm not trying to spam here, just curious.

AtlPikMan · 07-02-2009, 06:59 PM

You Just may be the first to have tried this....Ive never heard of it and probalby wouldnt try it. How often do people follow directions? How many times have your cameras been taken?

Peoples Photographer · 07-02-2009, 07:03 PM

"How many times have your cameras been taken?" That is always the first thing people ask followed by "Have you gotten any naked pictures?" So far, none of my cameras have been stolen. They are 3 dollar disposable jobs from Wal-Mart with a giant note taped on them, so there is not much motivation to steal them. As for the naked pictures, I haven't gotten any of those yet either.

**manaheim** · 07-02-2009, 07:08 PM

Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why)

Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results.

c.cloudwalker · 07-02-2009, 07:17 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by manaheim

Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why)

Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results.

WOW! I like this idea. Kind of similar to the idea of leaving books in public places with a website address where you should go and say where you picked up the book that you found.

Another one I liked (although I don't quite remember the details) was the idea of leaving envelopes around asking the finder to enclose something on his person at the time of the find.

I love those things and, Peoples Photographer, I love your own idea very much. I may copy it in my town. If you don't mind that is.

But I know what you mean about the naked question. I drove limousines once and everybody wanted to know how often I'd seen naked people in the back. What they really were asking is how often people were doing the nasty back there...

Peoples Photographer · 07-02-2009, 07:24 PM

Please do try it. I have instructions on the best way to attach the note and camera dropping tips on the blog; these might save you some trial and error. If you are successful let us know what you get!

musicaleCA · 07-02-2009, 08:24 PM

Yep, neat. I've seen it done (as in I saw the camera with the note) before. Cool beans.

Sjixxxy · 07-03-2009, 07:10 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples Photographer

I can't be the first guy to try this out.

Unless you are the person who posted this several years ago, or have been doing this for a long time, you're probably not the first.

Fun concept though, I personally would be too lazy to set it up.

Peoples Photographer · 07-03-2009, 08:41 AM

Thanks! I hadn't heard of that. I wonder why they felt the need to tie the thing down. I just can't get enough of these photos taken by strangers.

Sjixxxy · 07-04-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples Photographer

I wonder why they felt the need to tie the thing down.

It's those damn kids! Rude enough to take the camera, but lazy enough to be deterred by a thin rope.

**KmH** · 07-08-2009, 11:37 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by c.cloudwalker

Quote: Originally Posted by manaheim

Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why)

Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results.

WOW! I like this idea. Kind of similar to the idea of leaving books in public places with a website address where you should go and say where you picked up the book that you found.

Another one I liked (although I don't quite remember the details) was the idea of leaving envelopes around asking the finder to enclose something on his person at the time of the find.

I love those things and, Peoples Photographer, I love your own idea very much. I may copy it in my town. If you don't mind that is.

But I know what you mean about the naked question. I drove limousines once and everybody wanted to know how often I'd seen naked people in the back. What they really were asking is how often people were doing the nasty back there...

So.....how often?

illstudio · 07-09-2009, 08:17 AM

Interesting, I would think u would get alot of pics of people with their heads cut off or pictures of their thumb...

randerson07 · 07-09-2009, 12:54 PM

Ive seen a few folks doing this, one of them was very elaborate, including postage so that you could mail the camera back to the person to get developed. One was even built into the piece of mail so that the postal workers while sorting the mail could take pictures with the mail/camera on its journey.

I at one point had about 20 expired disposable cameras and was going to do something similar but was far too lazy to set it up. I think some of the ideas I had I took from here Flickr: disposable

Barros VeeDub · 07-09-2009, 01:25 PM

like "track this dollar bill"

has a stamp on the bill and you type in the bill's serial number and it says where the bill has been/used

07-02-2009, 06:43 PM	#1
Peoples Photographer TPF Noob! Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Who else has tried collecting photographs from strangers? I have been doing a type of street photography where I leave disposable cameras around for random people to take pictures with. The cameras have a note asking the stranger who finds it to take a picture of whatever they want, then return the camera. I can't be the first guy to try this out. Have any of you done this? How did it work out for you? You can see how mine have turned out at apeoplespicture.blogspot.com I'm not trying to spam here, just curious.

07-02-2009, 06:59 PM	#2
AtlPikMan I spend too much of my life on TPF! Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 378 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts My Gallery: (0)	You Just may be the first to have tried this....Ive never heard of it and probalby wouldnt try it. How often do people follow directions? How many times have your cameras been taken? __________________ D @ Glass** http://www.flickr.com/photos/33672111@N03/

07-02-2009, 07:03 PM	#3
Peoples Photographer TPF Noob! Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	"How many times have your cameras been taken?" That is always the first thing people ask followed by "Have you gotten any naked pictures?" So far, none of my cameras have been stolen. They are 3 dollar disposable jobs from Wal-Mart with a giant note taped on them, so there is not much motivation to steal them. As for the naked pictures, I haven't gotten any of those yet either. Last edited by Peoples Photographer; 07-02-2009 at 09:55 PM.

07-02-2009, 07:08 PM	#4
manaheim XYZZY! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Massachusetts, USA, Earth, Milky Way, Universe Posts: 5,166 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 64 Times in 55 Posts My Gallery: (22)	Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why) Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results. __________________ http://www.impressionengineering.com

07-02-2009, 08:24 PM	#7
musicaleCA TPF Junkie! Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 2,201 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 85 Times in 81 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Yep, neat. I've seen it done (as in I saw the camera with the note) before. Cool beans. __________________ Canon 7D, 450D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USM L, EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6, EF 50mm f/1.4, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6, Speedlite 550EX, 2x 580EX II, ST-E2 - _S U P P O R T___ T H E___ P A C T_ - Flickr Model Mayhem ImageKind

07-02-2009, 07:17 PM	#5
c.cloudwalker TPF Junkie! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Europe Posts: 1,879 My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit Thanked 64 Times in 61 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Quote: Originally Posted by manaheim Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why) Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results. WOW! I like this idea. Kind of similar to the idea of leaving books in public places with a website address where you should go and say where you picked up the book that you found. Another one I liked (although I don't quite remember the details) was the idea of leaving envelopes around asking the finder to enclose something on his person at the time of the find. I love those things and, Peoples Photographer, I love your own idea very much. I may copy it in my town. If you don't mind that is. But I know what you mean about the naked question. I drove limousines once and everybody wanted to know how often I'd seen naked people in the back. What they really were asking is how often people were doing the nasty back there...

07-02-2009, 07:24 PM	#6
Peoples Photographer TPF Noob! Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Please do try it. I have instructions on the best way to attach the note and camera dropping tips on the blog; these might save you some trial and error. If you are successful let us know what you get!

07-03-2009, 07:10 AM	#8
Sjixxxy No longer a newbie, moving up! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: MN Posts: 99 My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts My Gallery: (2)	Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples Photographer I can't be the first guy to try this out. Unless you are the person who posted this several years ago, or have been doing this for a long time, you're probably not the first. Fun concept though, I personally would be too lazy to set it up. __________________ K. Praslowicz - blog - gallery - twitter

07-03-2009, 08:41 AM	#9
Peoples Photographer TPF Noob! Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Thanks! I hadn't heard of that. I wonder why they felt the need to tie the thing down. I just can't get enough of these photos taken by strangers.

07-04-2009, 09:38 AM	#10
Sjixxxy No longer a newbie, moving up! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: MN Posts: 99 My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts My Gallery: (2)	Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples Photographer I wonder why they felt the need to tie the thing down. It's those damn kids! Rude enough to take the camera, but lazy enough to be deterred by a thin rope. __________________ K. Praslowicz - blog - gallery - twitter

07-08-2009, 11:37 AM	#11
KmH Image Maker Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 4,943 My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit Thanked 219 Times in 210 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Quote: Originally Posted by c.cloudwalker Quote: Originally Posted by manaheim Very neat. I've heard of things kind of akin to this, but not quite the same. Like the buddy of mine who has a policy that if you compliment something he is wearing, that he will give it to you, with the stipulation that you must wear it and do the same. (I associate these two items in my brain, don't ask why) Anyway... neat! I'm enjoying the concept and results. WOW! I like this idea. Kind of similar to the idea of leaving books in public places with a website address where you should go and say where you picked up the book that you found. Another one I liked (although I don't quite remember the details) was the idea of leaving envelopes around asking the finder to enclose something on his person at the time of the find. I love those things and, Peoples Photographer, I love your own idea very much. I may copy it in my town. If you don't mind that is. But I know what you mean about the naked question. I drove limousines once and everybody wanted to know how often I'd seen naked people in the back. What they really were asking is how often people were doing the nasty back there... So.....how often? __________________ » » » » » » » » » » Price Update 3/14/10: Nikon D60 w/grip « « « « « « « « « « « « « Sale ends 3/21/10 - price updated 3/14/10: Nikon AF-S 70-300 mm VR G » » » Keith. . . .NAPP member - referral link: https://www.photoshopuser.com/signup/?aid=luhgxq&code=friend

07-09-2009, 08:17 AM	#12
illstudio No longer a newbie, moving up! Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Vernon CT Posts: 41 My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (3)	Interesting, I would think u would get alot of pics of people with their heads cut off or pictures of their thumb... __________________ illustrationstudio.com flickr.com/steveworon/

07-09-2009, 12:54 PM	#13
randerson07 I spend too much of my life on TPF! Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Pingree Grove, Illinois Posts: 280 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	Ive seen a few folks doing this, one of them was very elaborate, including postage so that you could mail the camera back to the person to get developed. One was even built into the piece of mail so that the postal workers while sorting the mail could take pictures with the mail/camera on its journey. I at one point had about 20 expired disposable cameras and was going to do something similar but was far too lazy to set it up. I think some of the ideas I had I took from here Flickr: disposable __________________ I like film and cameras and taking pictures. My Flickr

07-09-2009, 01:25 PM	#14
Barros VeeDub TPF Noob! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 21 My Photos Are OK to Edit Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts My Gallery: (0)	like "track this dollar bill" has a stamp on the bill and you type in the bill's serial number and it says where the bill has been/used

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