A global picture of the world at 4am

    WEST MIDLANDS, UK, March 05, 2009 MaiMai News -- The 4am Project, a worldwide community experience, takes place on Saturday 4 April and aims to capture a time of day alien to many of us. Brainchild of UK photographer Karen Strunks, and building on the ever growing phenomenon of social media, the 4am Project is an exercise in global solidarity to encourage the sharing of visual imagery that reflects the world we live in.

Utilising Flickr, the web space for sharing images, photographers around the world will be leaving the cosy confines of their beds, and homes to take photographs - of self portraits, the room they are in, the view from a window and beyond, illustrating the strange and wonderful life that goes on while we sleep at 4am.

Co-ordinator for the 4am Project Karen Strunks is adamant 4am can often be a beautiful time of day.

"I live in Birmingham - the UK's second largest city - and after a night out a while back, I was driving from one side of the city to the other. It was around 4am and I was really struck by the cityscape. Streets and roads normally teeming with people and traffic were deserted. The city was asleep and it felt like I had it all to myself. I liked it.

So late last year, I went out to take my first pictures at 4am in Birmingham. I've made some of them available on my blog. I've been asking readers of my blog for their suggestions of places they'd like to see at 4am. They decide where to go, and I take the photos, so it's become a collaboration.

When I started to think about how the idea could be extended, the 4amproject was born."

The aim of the 4amproject is to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am. Everyone can take part and join in! All they need is a camera. We want to see what your see at that moment in time on that one day. What's your view at 4am?

People can get involved with the 4am Project by uploading your photos to the photo sharing Website Flickr.

Speaking about the 4am Project which launched on Sunday 15th February 2009, Karen Strunks said:

"It's exciting that so many people are embracing the idea of the 4am Project, and are looking forward to the 4th April at 4am."

"In the build up to the 4th April at 4am, people have begun submitting their 4am pictures to be featured on the blog. So far there are images of 4am from the UK, Russia, Canada, USA, Austrail, Sweden and Brazil."

Quotes from the internet:

"It has a different twist to it." - Dynamic Range from Twitter

"What a great idea. It will be interesting to see what everyone else sees." -
Andy4Hou from Twitter

"Wow, the 4 am project is honestly one of the coolest things I've heard of."
- Ricky M on Twitter

"4am Project. Pictures. Humor. Participation" - Random Acts Of Art on Twitter

"I went to check out 4amproject. Was I ever in for a WOW moment!" from Renee Pearson http://reneepearson.typepad.com/fertilepress/

"While looking through all sorts of interesting things on the Net like I often do,
I came across something that I think is a really neat idea. It's also an idea that we can ALL partake in." from Karen http://karenschronicles.com



Editors notes:

Karen Strunks is available for interviews.

Karen Strunks is a freelance photographer based in Birmingham, UK. She loves the freedom of the lens: being able to capture unseen pictures of life that would otherwise be forgotten.

She has experience in photojournalism and has work published in the Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail, Sunday Mercury and City Living Magazine. Karen's work has also been exhibited at the International Convention Centre, and the Birmingham Museum Collection Centre. She enjoys shoots out on location including gig photos, street photography, portraits and cityscapes. She continue to study photography on a part-time basis and is always interested in new commissions, collaborations, support and other opportunities.

Karen is passionate about social media and uses these tools to tell the world about her work. Her favourite online tool is Twitter and she has recently organised a Twitter Flash Mob in her home town of Birmingham. You may read about the Twitter Flash Mob here:

http://karenstrunksphotographer.blogspot.com/2009/02/birmingham-twitter-flash-mob.html

Contact:
Karen Strunks
07835 754 310
karenstrunks@hotmail.co.uk
http://www.4amproject.org
Twitter: @4amproject
http://www.karenstrunks.com
http://www.karenstrunksphotographer.blogspot.com
Twitter: @karenstrunks