“I sent out dozens of disposable cameras to street newspapers throughout the US and Canada. The newspapers took the cameras and gave them to their carriers. The carriers took pictures and dropped the cameras in the mail. I developed and scanned the pictures and created an on-line repository of photographs relating to homelessness that anyone can use free of charge.” MORE âž²

“July 7, 2005, was one of the darkest days for London, as terrorists blew up three underground trains and a double-decker bus, killing scores and injuring hundreds. But out of that darkness came an unusual light, the flickering light from survivors such as Adam Stacey and Ellis Leeper as they shot the scene underground using cameraphones and videophones.” MORE ➲

“The idea is not completely original, I’m sorry to admit. While working on a mail-art project for school, I saw Daniel Farrell and Richard Kegler of the website P22 document an impressive number of odd forms of correspondence between their two addresses in upstate New York. One of the last experiments displayed on their site was a camera attached to a postcard and plastered with stamps. Taking a good idea and running with it, I began to mail cameras to various locations. This project is still ongoing.” VIEW ➲

“…Kodak, with its ‘you take the picture, we do the rest.’ mail order marketing strategy made it possible for the uncommon event of incarceration of the Japanese American family to be recorded… Most internees documentated their lives just as most people want some documentation of their existence, whether it be day to day life or special family rituals… With the camp regulations on contraband this idea of the family photograph had became illegal at most camps.” MORE ➲

“Phototag is a community photography project where we retrofit cheap disposable cameras with shiny new packaging, artwork, instructions and return postage. Each camera is then passed along to friends and strangers with the request that they take one picture and pass it along to someone else.” VIEW âž²

Seems there has been no activity for almost two years, though.

“We are fascinated by the people, places and things that surround us. In this new gallery feature we are showcasing the inspired vision of different amateur photographers from all over the world.” VIEW âž²

“The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can.” VIEW âž²

Editor’s note: AWESOME.

“…no list of 80s-retro culture is complete without the coffee-table book that now sits right next to this Catholic gal’s great-cathedrals tour guide and Reagan retrospectives: Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over’ by Roger Bennett, Jules Shell, and Nick Kroll. Even if you don’t know the words to ‘Hava Nagilah,’ if ’99 red balloons floating in the summer sky’ means something to you, Bar Mitzvah Disco is for you.” MORE âž²

“This research explores the sociology and social history of dominant pictorial forms in amateur photography. An attempt is made to illuminate the organizational structure and institutional interconnections prevalent in the amateur photography world, and to explore relationships between cultural activities and the social and economic forms of organization which shape and support them.” MORE ➲

“Aalya Berzougui, a 15-year-old at the School for Informal Education, knows her life in this settlement on the northern periphery of the Sahara Desert is humble compared with lives elsewhere in the world. But Berzougui — who hopes to be a doctor — was thrilled to be chosen last week for a world photo project in which 500 children in 43 countries around the world are now in the process of taking snapshots to capture their everyday lives. She has never traveled anywhere, she said, but expects that children elsewhere would like to see how she and her family live. MORE ➲

Hundreds of photos by a toddler, who is actually my son! (Soon to be phtgrphy.org.) VIEW âž²

“As the title suggests, this project is based mainly around two simple ideas; photography and trust. Every month (or so), I’m going to send a disposable camera out to a different person that I’ve met through the web or been inspired by. The photo part of the title is easy to understand, but the ‘trust’ element actually comes into play even more often. I have to trust that I’ll actually get my camera back, and everyone taking a picture on the roll has to trust that the people ahead of them will continue through completion.’ (Note: Only oone of the cameras seems to have been returned! So much for trust!) MORE âž²

“Do you ever walk through the streets of New York and marvel at the seemingly endless rows of restaurants, wondering how many years you’d have to live here to eat at all of them? Well, Tucker Shaw has probably come close, and has chronicled one year of his eating life in Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth (Chronicle Books, 2005), a grandiose, obsessive and utterly addictive photo collection of food, glorious, nonstop food. Shaw photographed every bite, from candy to cereal, steaks to sandwiches, throughout New York and during his travels.” MORE âž²

“Through the Eyes of Children began as a photographic workshop in 2000, conceived by photographer, David Jiranek, and inspired by the founder of the Imbabazi Orphanage, Rosamond Carr — an American woman living in Rwanda since 1955. Using disposable cameras, the children originally took pictures for themselves and to share with others, exploring their community, and finding beauty as the country struggles to rebuild.” MORE âž²

“The September 11 Photo Project began as a community response to the tragic events of last fall. The Project grew out of a desire to preserve the culture of the outdoor, makeshift shrines that sprang up in public squares and in front of firehouses throughout the city. Anyone wishing to participate was invited to give up to three photographs with accompanying text, which were hung in a donated gallery space. The Project’s philosophy is simple: To display without exception every set of photos and written statements that are submitted, and to welcome all those who wish to view them.” MORE âž²

“The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that seeks to empower citizens to capture, post and share photographs of democracy in action.” MORE ➲

“In 1999, on a visit to Boas’s home in Lancaster, the editors of Dilettante Press discovered rows of meticulously assembled scrapbooks lining the sagging bookshelves of Boas’s bedroom. The albums revealed a vast personal archive of over 50,000 images of famous people. This discovery resulted in an internationally acclaimed photo exhibition and the book, Starstruck: Photographs from a Fan.”

I have this book and it really is impressive. And slightly disturbing. MORE âž²

“The photographs measure 15×11 cm and are pasted onto the card. No photographer is mentioned, but I understand from the seller that these images are in Dorset, England and perhaps the Lyme Regis area. A name perhaps of a house — Woodruffe (possibly). As far as I can make out the photos date from 1885 to 1888. These photos are very different from any others on my site for this date as they are not taken in a studio but outdoors.” VIEW ➲

“Born into Brothels, by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski, is the winner of the 77th annual Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, Born into Brothels is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York-based photographer, gives each of the children a camera and teaches them to look at the world with new eyes.” MORE ➲

“By far the most significant event in the history of amateur photography was the introduction of the Kodak #1 camera in 1888. Invented and marketed by George Eastman (1854–1932), a former bank clerk from Rochester, New York, the Kodak was a simple box camera that came loaded with a 100-exposure roll of film. When the roll was finished, the entire machine was sent back to the factory in Rochester, where it was reloaded and returned to the customer while the first roll was being processed.” MORE âž²

I can’t imagine how awesome that would have been to suddenly be able to make your own photographs. What a huge change that was! And here’s a thought about how those Kodaks probably should be considered the first consumer electronic device.

“The New Orleans Kid Camera Project was created to address the psychological and emotional impacts of Hurricane Katrina on children returning home to New Orleans. Through the use of photography, creative writing and mixed media, children from flooded neighborhoods explore their environment and express themselves, their stories and feelings with their friends.” VIEW ➲

Immigration Captured On Camera: “Part of the reason so many migrants — and U.S. citizens — have a hard time imagining what it’s like to cross the border is that no one’s every really visually documented the experience from both sides of the border, until now. The Border Film Project documents the journey… The project gave out about 1,000 disposable cameras, with pre-paid return envelopes, to both the migrants attempting to cross and the volunteer Minutemen attempting to stop them. MORE ➲

“These are truly delightful photos of ordinary day-in-the life experiences taken by the men and women who deliver the mail throughout Great Britain.” VIEW âž²

I get the feeling these mail carriers didn’t really make many interesting shots (the lead image is undoubtedly the best shown), but I love the idea — and the barking dogs section.