Photo Project Launch

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have just launched a little photo project collaboration. It's really neat, actually; let me explain it a bit. A complete stranger in Vancouver who's name is Leah had been following my photos of Africa for a little while, and approached me via email to propose a photo collaboration. After a few weeks of correspondence, we've decided upon most of the details. Each of us will submit a current photo to the project every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for the next 12 months (corresponding to the remaining time I will be in Burundi) which will then be paired together, aka a diptych, and posted to our photoblog, accompanied by a few sentences of reflection. The guidelines are written on the website, but the idea is that the pairings will be entirely spontaneous, each of us following only a general theme for the month. Although it will most certainly not always be esthetically perfect, the expectation is that some days we will be surprised by something profound, be it a moving juxtaposition, for example something showing the differences of life in Vancouver vs Bujumbura; or something surprisingly similar; or two photos that for whatever reason work really well together.

Although it might be difficult for me to keep current with photos due to the safety limitations I would face carrying around a massive camera on a daily basis in Bujumbura, I really am going to try my best because I find the project very intriguing. I am also looking for a way not just to show people more of what Burundi is like, but also to be forcing myself to be creative on a regular basis and to be looking for beauty in the sometimes mundane details of normal life.

So, I, along with my new friend Leah, invite you to come along for the ride. For now our project can be found at leahmeetsbrandon.blogspot.com. Bookmark it and check in whenever you get the chance, or add it to your RSS newsfeed. And please feel free to forward the link along to anyone else who might be interested.