Touchpuppet Project #1 ‘Original Strangers’

While I was in art school studying photography, my favorite photo assignments were always the ones that forced me to go out and shoot an idea or concept that I probably would have otherwise never considered. Sometimes the concept was exceedingly brilliant, and sometimes just flat out stupid, but the only thing that mattered was how I interpreted that concept and how I ultimately realized the idea using my own vision. This allowed me to really assess my own creative vision while at the same time helping to expand my photographic interests into areas I normally would’ve ignored.

So basically I love having an excuse to shoot something new, even more so when someone else puts me up to it. So that is where the Touchpuppet Project Series comes in, your opportunity to return to art school and challenge yourself in ways you might not otherwise be doing. Each project I will issue a new challenge to you all (and they wont always be photography related challenges), and give you a specific time frame to submit your works. All submissions will end up here on the site, so not only is it a great way to get out and shoot, it’s also a good opportunity for some exposure.

With all of that said, I am happy to announce our first project Original Strangers. The concept is very simply summed up as “photograph someone familiar to you as if they were a stranger.” The only requirements are that you (hopefully) submit new works completed specifically for this project, and that you send in images with at least a 600px width. It’s that simple! The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2009. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

Please submit all works to [email protected] with the subject line “Original Strangers”. Project summary after the jump.

Project Summary:

Concept:
Photograph someone familiar to you as if they were a complete stranger (friend, family, loved one, etc).

Just a heads up that photographing a straight on portrait of your girlfriend/boyfriend probably won’t work very well. There needs to be some indication to the viewer that this person we’re looking at is somehow unfamiliar to you (inspite of their familiarity), whether it be because of their action, their look, their setting, etc. Use your imagination!

Requirements:
Please only submit newly created works.
All images must have a width of 600px.

Deadline: November 1st, 2009.
Submit to [email protected]