Getting Unstuck in a Hurry

I've struggled to "see" photos I'm interested in taking in Vancouver for years - which is why most of my street photography has been done in Europe. The problem was that I use photography to fill up my happiness bucket, so it was important that I find a way to get inspired at home. When I learned about the 24 Hour Project, which raises money for a worthy cause each year, I signed up as a way to commit to figuring this out.

So, from midnight at the end of September 8 until midnight on September 9th, I was out with my camera, trying to take, edit, and post a photo every hour. I napped for a couple of hours before heading out into the Downtown West Side, a buzzing area with lots of nightlife. If you want to photograph people, go where the people are! Plus, I had a little hub there at my parents' place to rest when I needed it and charge my gadgets.

And there it was, the start of a little spark - funky lighting, people doing interesting things, moments I was excited to capture. I wandered for a while, and then sat in a cafe to connect my camera to my phone and do some editing using the mobile version of Adobe Lightroom. By the time I got my first post up, I'd been seeing images from photographers in other parts of the world as they made their way through their day in time zones ahead of us - it felt satisfying to join them, like finally joining the community. We were all working to raise money for Cameras for Girls, doing photography to support girls in Uganda who also want to be photographers, so that was added incentive.

Things started to feel a bit unsafe around 4am, so I had a quick rest back at base and then headed out again for the day. I had a general idea of areas that might work, and my parents joined me for a few hours for company and to keep me fed and watered. Wander, snap, snap, snap, find a place to sit, download, edit, post, tag, add to story, add to highlights. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

By the end of the day, I'd walked almost 25,000 steps, and shot 591 photos. I missed two hours for quick naps. Posting to Instagram felt good, I was proud of most of the shots and didn't end up posting anything that I disliked. So, it turns out I can find inspiration at home! I slept a very satisfied sleep for about 13 hours when it was all done, and look forward to more photo treasure hunting soon.

If any of these photos catch your eye, you can purchase them in lots of different formats through my shop: https://awoolesphotography.pixieset.com/printsforsale/24hourproject2023/