I have an amazing update. Way back in 2011, I sent out a camera into the wild (if you missed it, click here), asking strangers who found it to take a picture and hide it somewhere for someone else to find. I finally got the camera back on Saturday, 1677 days later. I can't believe that was almost 5 years ago. I didn't know if I would ever see it again or if it would be in any kind of condition to develop, but I've got it, and it's in great shape. It's still undeveloped, but I'll be posting an update once I get that done. I'm very excited!
Showing posts with label Project - Trackable camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project - Trackable camera. Show all posts
You may recall the disposable camera I sent out into the world as a little experiment almost two years ago? I have an update!
People have been asking me, "hey, whatever happened to that camera?" and I've been sadly reporting that I thought it was lost. I was getting steady emails about its whereabouts until December 2011, well over a year ago. It travelled around Ottawa before heading to Kingston and then apparently catching a flight west to Edmonton, where it was last reported (at one point someone had hidden it in a toilet in the woods...).
In the meantime, I've done a few other experiments, including placing a "cache cam" in one of my own geocaches and asking people to take pictures, but not to move it to other caches. That one was a success.
Then last night I got an email out of the blue. Somebody found the travelling camera in a cache where it wasn't supposed to be. We are back in the game! To be honest, I'm both excited and a little terrified to see what's on it, but I can't imagine what condition the film is in at this point.
Stay tuned, and help me cheer on this little camera until its frames are full and it gets home safe!
People have been asking me, "hey, whatever happened to that camera?" and I've been sadly reporting that I thought it was lost. I was getting steady emails about its whereabouts until December 2011, well over a year ago. It travelled around Ottawa before heading to Kingston and then apparently catching a flight west to Edmonton, where it was last reported (at one point someone had hidden it in a toilet in the woods...).
In the meantime, I've done a few other experiments, including placing a "cache cam" in one of my own geocaches and asking people to take pictures, but not to move it to other caches. That one was a success.
Then last night I got an email out of the blue. Somebody found the travelling camera in a cache where it wasn't supposed to be. We are back in the game! To be honest, I'm both excited and a little terrified to see what's on it, but I can't imagine what condition the film is in at this point.
Stay tuned, and help me cheer on this little camera until its frames are full and it gets home safe!
You may or may not know that I have been geocaching for a while now. It's a hobby that combines a lot of things I like--puzzles, gadgets, nerding out, being outside, finding hidden treasure, being in on something that other people aren't in on.
I guess I should explain a bit so those who aren't in the know can follow.
Geocaching involves using GPS receivers to find hidden containers, or "caches" all over the world. People like you and me hide them, and people like you and me find them. Really, they are almost everywhere. You most likely pass by them everyday without knowing it.
This is where my project comes in. Some people own "trackables"; that is, something that they release by putting in a cache for someone to find and move to another cache. Its movement is trackable on the geocaching website. People often attach items to the trackable tags, like figurines, which they call "travellers." I guess it's a way to "travel" without leaving your house.
So I decided as an experiment to make a disposable camera as my traveller. The instructions are for the finder to take one picture and to move the camera to a new cache for someone else to find it and do the same. Once all the frames have been exposed, I'll arrange to have it returned to me so be developed and for the images to be posted online.
There is a lot that can go wrong here. Here are just a few:
1. It could go missing. Trackables often go missing if someone decides not to move it, or hangs onto it, or just plain loses it.
2. It could get wet/too hot/too cold. Which may result in interesting exposures, or might ruin the film. I decided not to get the waterproof camera because I thought the quality would be worse and it didn't have a flash....we'll find out if that was a mistake!
I'm going to release it very soon in a cache nearby. I'm really excited to see where it goes and what the results will be. Remember the anticipation of waiting for your film to be processed? This is like that but 100x better because I have no idea what the pics will be of. I can't wait to see how the film turns out!
If you are interested in tracking the progress of the camera, you can do so on its geocaching page:
I'll post the pics on here, when/if I do get it back, so stay tuned! It might take a while though...
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