I grew up in a small town in South-ish, Central-ish Willamette Valley. Then I moved to another small town and lived there for a long time. While Chase and I lived in Forest Grove I documented the places we went and the drives we took. Part of me always wanted for the WPA to happen again, or to figure out a grant for us to just drive and document.
Now, we get to (or, more properly, Chase gets to and I get to assist and document) be part of Project Dayshoot. July 15th will be the 30th anniversary of “over 90 photographers spen[ding] 24 hours capturing daily life throughout the state of Oregon.” There’s even a book, One Average Day, full of photos taken by photojounalists on a day when I was a couple of months old.
Nobody shot in the town I grew up in (or, more properly, that I grew up just outside), because it was just a little place with a mill. Not that it super matters, those photojournalists did a fabulous job documenting the “people, places and pastimes” of Oregon in the early 80s. It’s a costumer’s dream, because the smaller towns still dress late 1970s on the edges. But here is Project Dayshoot’s statement:
On July 15, 1983, over 90 photographers spent 24 hours capturing daily life throughout the state of Oregon. Project Dayshoot was the name of this venture, and it produced a book entitled One Average Day.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Project Dayshoot, the original photographers—plus new contributors—are being organized to capture images throughout Oregon on July 15, 2013. This page, in conjunction with the e-mail address below, is the location for all information related to the project.
Any proceeds from the sale of materials relating to this project will benefit the Oregon Historical Society.
Chase, being a professional photojournalist for the past eight (nearly nine) years, was asked to participate. And, because we already do stuff like this for fun, we have a plan. Other than two scheduled-ish places we’re going to hit, the only goals are the little nowhere towns on the way to and along the coast.
A lot of people, after Chase told Dayshoot where he was going, decided to hit the coast, interestingly enough. It doesn’t matter because we’re not going to stay and make love to the popular places, the biologists, or the noble logger. We’ll be on the move all day (starting at midnight tonight), finding and shooting the things we like to shoot.
And then, when the day is done at midnight on July 15th, we’re on a mini vacation. Not that we’ll stop taking pictures. You can’t break a combined thirty year habit of photographing everything you can.
Fair warning for those following me on social media, I’m cross-linking everything all day tomorrow. So you’ll be able to see what I can upload whenever I get a signal at:
Flickr
Tumblr
Twitter
Instagram
And, if you feel so inclined, document your part of Oregon and hashtag it #dayshoot30. Be part of history and support the Oregon Historical Society! Just remember to note when, what and where you’re shooting.