Project Dayshoot, 30 years later

Published 5:00 am Sunday, July 14, 2013

On Monday, more than 140 photographers and videographers will be capturing daily life across Oregon.

Project Dayshoot+30 will commemorate the original 1983 event, in which a group of photojournalists documented an average day in Oregon under broad themes of The Land, The People, The Work and The Pastimes.

Bend photographer Diane Kulpinski was a part of the 1983 group of photographers, taking pictures along a large rural loop. One place that stood out to her was a little ghost town called Richmond.

“I remember coming through and seeing this cool old church and a few houses in the area,” she said. This year, she will retrace her route. “I want to go out and find some stuff that nobody wants to hear about or hasn’t heard about,” Kulpinski said.

Anyone in the state can participate in the project.

Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a proclamation declaring Monday as “Oregon Journalism Day.”

Brian Burk, University of Oregon graduate student and amateur photographer, is helping to organize the project. “We’re making a time capsule. Things that seem ordinary or mundane today will gain significance over time,” Burk said. “There’s so much going on all over Oregon on any given day, and this project will give us a little glimpse of it.”

What’s unique about this project, Kulpinski says, is that “we’re revisiting a state that has seen quite a bit of growth in the last 30 years. Particularly if you look at Bend, this place is totally unrecognizable from 30 years ago.”

This year, all 92 original photographers were invited to participate, and the public is encouraged to share its images on social media, using the hashtag #dayshoot30. According to the event website, people are encouraged to capture images that represent reality in Oregon life and are of personal or community importance. Photos from the project will be displayed online and in a public exhibit, and will become part of the permanent collection of the Oregon Historical Society.

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