This week I asked the members of my current community photography project to take their mobile phones with them on their daily walks and simply listen. They will be recording what they hear on their mobile devices and combining the audio file with a suitable image from the last six months of the photography project. The project is coming to an end soon and they are busily editing their images ready for the final collaboration. You can click on the audio file below to hear birdsong from a local walk.
Some early morning birdsong from Millfield Woods in Easingwold A woodland
Does this interest you?
Ask me about our online community group for participants who feel they would benefit from some friendly peer support. This closed Facebook group is suitable for beginner photographers and you are assured a very warm welcome.
Reducing social isolation between Christmas and New Year
Between Christmas and New Year 20 participants in Easingwold were invited to take place in a participatory photography project to explore the connection between wellbeing and nature. The project allowed participants the opportunity to remain anonymous if they so wished and only communicate via sharing images. Each day, participants of varying photographic experience, opened a new brightly coloured envelope containing a daily photography prompt. The task was to be undertaken within the house, on a daily walk or using an existing photo. At the end of the project, the participants reported an improvement in their wellbeing and exercise levels which was well timed to take them through the Five Days in Between.
A quote from a participant:
“Also to my surprise Rebecca, I am thoroughly enjoying doing this – it does make you look and think”
December 2020
The brightly coloured envelopes containing photographic tasks ready for despatch
I have loved working in collaboration with Helmsley Art Centre in January whilst we invited seven participants to literally come and ‘Shed Some Light On It’ throughout the dark month of January. We discovered that if you look close enough, January is actually full of beauty and if you just try to strip it all back, there is so much to see right there on the doorstep.
One of the participants wrote about her experience in her blog which you can read here https://www.sarahbanks.me/journal/micro-adventures. She talks about her favourite task in the first week where we literally stopped and observed. We found our view, the place where we decided there and then we would return to each week throughout the project. This might be a view that we feel grounds us or provides some comfort. I encouraged the group to explore all of their senses and Sarah even managed to enjoy a drink whilst she was there.
As facilitator I always take part in the projects myself. This view above has provided a lot of support to me during Covid 19 lockdown and I have visited it on a daily basis, nearly every day now for a year. Going back and revisiting a scene can feel very secure and reassuring. Noticing how its beauty can change with the light and prevailing weather conditions is a subtle reminder about our daily lives and how we react to situations.
Shed some light on it was a fantastic project and the participants spoke about the impact afterwards;
“it gave me confidence in my creativity, helped me with everyday motivation and even spilled over positively into other areas of my life…”
“It made me less impatient”
“I let things go of things that didn’t matter that much, I felt more resilient”
Mindful Photography UK 