I enjoy photography a lot, and I love it when I can do something that helps people. Combining the two together would be ideal, and this is where the 24HourProject gives me the vehicle to achieve this. The 24HourProject is an event which has now been in play for about 5 years, to document different cities across the world, for every hour, on the same day. This year it was on 1st April 2017, and according to the website covered 112 countries, about 840 cities with just under 4000 photographers. I came across the 24HourProject on social media last year after it had run, so I registered for this year’s event, to be one of the representatives for Sydney, Australia. As the date approached it got exciting planning out in broad strokes the whole day. What is the 24HourProject? Quoting the 24HourProject website, “The 24HourProject gathers street and documentary photographers from around the globe to share in real time as they document the human condition of their city. Photographers share one photo per hour during twenty four hours.”. So how does this help people? The 24HourProject partners with selected Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) which helps raise awareness and empower their initiatives. This is done through global exhibitions, published photobooks and conferences. The way it works is that each participating photographer shares a photo every hour from midnight until midnight on the scheduled day, primarily on Instagram and other platforms. After the event, each photographer selects their best pictures from each hour and uploads them onto the website. The best ones are then selected for the exhibitions, photobooks etc. The founders who started this fantastic idea are Renzo Grande (@renzogrande) and Whittier Sam (@whittiersam). Please check out their work, it is worth the effort. The website for the 24HourProject can be found here. This year the NGO they are partnering with is Lesvos Solidarity, which provides refugees with shelter and hospitality without registration. They help the most vulnerable: disabled, sick, pregnant and the families of victims of shipwrecks. They offer food, clothes, hygiene kits, medical assistance. They also organize activities for children, language classes and social support. Their website is here. On Instagram they are: @lesvossolidarity By coincidence my mother is from the Island of Lesvos, Greece. It was meant to be! The second organisation they are partnering with is She Has Hope. She Has Hope rescues and rehabilitates human trafficking survivors with the goal of restoring them to a life full of hope. You can find them here. The Preparation Leading up to the 1st April, several helpful items were made available on the 24HourProject website. I ordered the official T-shirt, as you must look the part. I also downloaded some templates which I used as an id and as pamphlets to hand out just in case someone asked why I was taking their pictures. I must admit I was torn on what camera to use. Lately I have mainly been using film cameras and for street photography mainly rangefinders. This is generally lighter and minimalist equipment. I knew in this case I would be shooting in very dark conditions with very challenging light temperatures and then in very bright conditions which will require quite a bit of dynamic range. So, I was down to choosing either my Panasonic GX7 kit, nice and light but challenged in low light, or my Nikon D800 which is reasonable at low light but heavy, especially with the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 attached. The Nikon outputs a big raw file which I figured would also help in the range of conditions. Finally, there is the consideration of the battery, and with the GX7, being a mirrorless camera, chews through these like there is no tomorrow. In the end, I chose the Nikon D800, with only the one lens, the all-purpose 24-70mm. In hindsight, while it probably gave me a better result, I had forgotten how heavy this can be for such a long period. As this is a big camera, and obvious, I was concerned that is would be too visible. So, I went into “stealth” mode. I used some electrical tape over the logos and made sure I turned the AF assist light off. I dropped by the Apple Store and got myself a USB reader for my iPad, which allowed me to upload the photos from the secondary card on my D800, which was putting out the Jpegs. Two spare batteries, a Lens Pen and some cleaning tissues and I was all set for equipment. For the planning of the day, I mapped out a few key locations I thought would work for various times, but purposely avoided planning to detail. I wanted to be flexible and ensure I was not rushing from one place to another. The other factor was that I did not want to rely on ordering transport, so it needed to be central and within walking distance for each location, or a very short train ride. This provided some challenges as Sydney is currently going through a period of reducing some late-night violence and pretty much all venues have a 1:30am lock-out. This presents some very quiet hours in the morning. Combined with a lot of infrastructure building work this empties out the central area very quickly. I did inquire on an 24HourProject Ambassador for Sydney, early on, but there was not one assigned at the time. Basically, the Ambassadors help organise the group, set up some meeting points, and after the day, from what I can gather, be involved in the setting up an exhibition in their city. There was one assigned late, but due to this, I did not get a chance to get in contact with her so I was travelling on my own. With all this preparation and planning how did it go? Let’s get to it. 12:00am to 1:00am Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. Just before midnight I caught an Uber out to Darlinghurst, which is an inner-city suburb and is well known for nightlife and second only to the seedier side of Sydney to Kings Cross. I got there a little early, so I walked and scoped out Oxford Street, which is where most of the action happens. Some rain was starting to come down, but luckily this was the extent of it for the day, otherwise as I was worried, it would be a very long 24 hours. What I noticed is that at this time a lot of people were out getting late night food, to try and beat the lock-outs. The usual options are available, kebabs, souvlaki, pizza etc. It was fitting to catch a scene where you can see the busy food shop and when a man in double denim walked past with a very serious expression on his face, it fell into place for the mood of the time. Other contenders: 1:00am to 2:00am Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. The noise and bustle was quite good at this time of night, as the late-night revellers were mixing it in with the abundant security in the area, the homeless and the generally lost souls of the night. At this time of night, you need to be a little careful as many people have had too much to drink and can get aggressive here. Walking back towards my base point of Taylor Square, still on Oxford Street, I came across Kevin. Well I think it is Kevin, as he had been obviously drinking and I struggled to make out the name. Kevin was in a corset, denim skirt, and runners (trainers). He also had a black fan. As I was walking, he pointed at me, and struck a pose, for a split second. I grabbed a shot, asked his name, he responded as he walked off to join some cabaret drag queens. I could not get a shot of the group which was a bit of a shame. 2:00am to 3:00am Taylor Square, Darlinghurst. I was watching from my spot in Taylor Square that the energy of the area was starting to slow down. The lock-outs where in effect and as people came out of the clubs and pubs they would start to disperse out. As I was about to get up and head into another direction myself, my attention got captured by snippets of a band playing in the pub right in front of me. I checked the time, and it was just before 2:00am and I had already got my shot for the previous hour, so I took some pictures for myself and waited the 2-3 minutes hoping I would get a chance when the clock turned the hour. Luckily, I did, because after a couple of minutes the band finished for the night, but I got my shot right on 2:00am. I uploaded my picture soon after that, as I wanted to start moving into a new location. 3:00am to 4:00am Liverpool Street, Sydney Off I was, heading into a central location. I wasn’t the only one on the move. People walking is not very interesting, so I started to look for any action and I came across a group of four young people who had been partying all night. The young lady of the group had obviously been partying too hard, and was busily showing the group what she had eaten for the night. She was lucky her friends were taking quite good care of her. 4:00am to 5:00am Martin Place, Sydney As I walked through the city, I realised that it had changed from when I would frequent late night clubs and bars. It is now very quiet, which considering how busy Sydney can get, it is quite eerie. I walked for a while without really encountering anyone until I decided I needed a quick stop in Martin Place where there are some seats, to give me a chance to see what all other 24Hours-ers were up to and posting. While I sat there, a group of friends came into the area, and for some reason were comparing the clock on top of the GPO to Big Ben. I can guarantee you that this is nowhere near a comparison! In any case, the men, being boys, started to ask for their photo taken while showing off their muscles, which the young ladies kindly obliged. Other contenders: 5:00am to 6:00am World Square, Sydney The city was now as still as I have ever seen it. Nowhere was there any action. I walked for a while longer and was resigned to not having an entry into this hour, when I came across a cleaner going about his business with some backlighting. 6:00am to 7:00am Circular Quay, Sydney Dawn was starting to break, and the beautiful Sydney light was starting to come up. I knew the popular tourist areas would start to be set up for the day, so I followed there to see if I can capture some action. Action is what I got, there are so many joggers I thought I was in a stampede of running shoes! As I walked towards the Sydney Opera House, I noticed the light was an interesting mix between the lamps, the weak natural light and the ship’s light on the other side of the quay. I waited there knowing there would be some joggers coming though, and as expected I managed to get a few attempts at this one. I wanted to have some blur (at that light, not much of a choice), and this lady unknowingly gave me a shot which shows the spirit of a new day in Sydney. 7:00am to 8:00am Circular Quay, Sydney All around me, lots of cooking was starting to happen, people were out for breakfast, early morning jogs and walks, sightseeing, sunrise captures and generally awaking to a new glorious day. I stopped to get some caffeine, as I tend to need this to get me moving on a regular day yet alone on this day. As I was waiting,...