The beginning
We all met at photo communities and started doing photo theme days together. First we did a kissing day, we posted photos on the 27th of september
where photos had to do something with a kiss. We were about 70 people and at the second event we became a bigger group and at the third event we were
over 170 photographers.
But then the idea arose to do something not online together and we started to think about making a photobook together. For at blurb.com people can make
photobooks and sell them online this was the ideal start for us, eventhough it cost a bit too much. We planed to make a little bit of profit and donate this
profit to an aid organistation... but which
Voting theme and organisation
We needed to think about a theme and an aidorganisation we could suppoert. After 4 different votes it became clear we wanted to do a book about
water and support an aid organisation which would build waterwells in a country where water is rare. We thought we found an organisation which we
could support but forgot to ask them and took off with our project.
There were also a lot of language problems so all voting texts were translated in 9 different languages so at the end we all understood eachother :-)
Making the photos
The next 3 weeks after were all about making the water photos while kujaja started to make this website so we could properly vote which photo would
be good enough. For all people could enter 3 photos the other participants could vote for the best of 3 and of course make a vote to see which photo all
liked and which not. We decided from the early beginning that all who joined would get into the book. A few times there were thoughts not to do this
for the book would be too thick.( but we managed later to get all in)
The voting
Just right in time the website was done and all could upload their photos and started photo. We took 2 weeks to get the final results and all
voted at least for 20 best of 3 photos, some of us even voted all 127 people who joined.
The bookmaking
After the voting was done kujaja started making the book and told the aid organisation we choised about our plan and photobook project...
They were not really happy and we got a problem... The book took 3 weeks to complete but the test within the book could not be made ready for we
had no aid organisation. So we discussed this over and over asked many different organisations till some one told for the second time Oliviero who
is already participating in the book makes waterwells the next 3 months in Bangladesh... perhaps it was a language problem or our focus were on other
organisations which we found so good but all didnt want to join. So Olivieros Project "water and Rice" in Bangladesh was our rescue and we finally
could finish our book and start selling it at blurb.com
Selling and Bangladesh
While we started selling the book, Oliviero already left for Bangladesh and started building waterpumps. We collected not a lot of money but then this
started as a "just for fun left us do something together world wide offline" project.
With the profit we became from the book, Oliviero was able to build 18 Waterpumps in 6 different villages in northern Bangladesh, in the Dinajpur and Rangpur area.
Also 68 families got 6 tons of potatoes and it is possible to give them another 7 tons of rise..
It was just for fun, but we managed make a book within 7 weeks and to do somethin very good.
We helped 6 villages, and 68 families with the most important thing in the world... water and food.
Thanks to all 127 photographers from 36 different countries.
(photos above are the photos from Olvieros and his team visiting Bangladesh while working on this project).
You can buy the book at blurb.com
in the following formats:
Big |
Medium |
mini |
e-book
each book makes a profit of 20 euro which are 100% donated to "Operazione Acqua e Riso"
(a small organisation by a group of photographers, lead by Oliviero Masseroli, supporting communities in Bangladesh in getting access to water)
Here you can see the photos which are in the book.
