The FOUND Project

I got my first camera at age 9. It was a Kodak 126 camera, and foreshadowingly, I mostly took pictures of nice cars with it. That film was never developed, and the camera never got another roll of film.

This project "Found," was born from my innate desire to collect and my years of selling people cameras. I started finding expensive cameras discarded, sometimes lucky enough to end up in op-shops, but often at dumpshops or, worse, crushed in landfills. These were film cameras, unwanted in the digital age. So, I bought a lot of them—sometimes for a dollar or two, sometimes for nothing. One in every 10 or 20 cameras would still have film in it, usually unfinished.

This got me thinking about the memories, moments, and events captured on these films, lost and discarded, never to be realized. It was kind of sad, right? Luckily, due to my 'collecting' nature, I kept all of those films. Many of the cameras have been rehomed, but the film stayed with me.
About 10 years ago, I had the idea for a book based on these films, but film processing was expensive, and I wasn't sure the images would be publication-worthy. I asked one lab if they would be interested in the project—they weren't. It wasn't a gamble I was willing to take, so the idea went back on the shelf.
With a renewed desire to see this through and encouragement from a good friend, I asked my current lab, Camera House in Lower Hutt (to whom I often sell cameras), if they would be involved. They jumped at it. We developed over 30 films, resulting in several hundred images. This book/album is a collection of the images I liked aesthetically or felt needed to see the light of day; some even felt important to put out into the world. If anyone recognizes whanau, friends, or even things they know or knew, I hope they reach out to me. I’d love to share these lost and FOUND images with those who originally took the time to capture them.

I decided to showcase this first offering in the project as they would have been seen. Printed as 6x4s and in an album. I decided to keep this first album to a low number of only 20. They are all numbered out of 20 and will not be published again in this format.
On the 10th of Aug 2024 I tentativly launched the project to the public at the Photobook NZ Fair/Expo at Te Papa. I was honestly expecting to not sell a single copy of my "book". However within the first 10-20 minutes of the expo being open to the public I had sold the first copy, not only that but I think I may have been the first exhibitor to sell anything!!?!!

For the next 6 hours straight I talked to person after person who was genuinely interested at least in the concept!! MIND BLOWN.
My mate Ian Jorgensen and I had always thought it was at least a cool idea but I, secretly, thought most wouldn't actually care.
During the day I steadily sold them copy by copy till I realised that I had actually fully sold out with over an hour still to go!! Then THE most mind blowing thing happened: a man, who I had taked two twice during the day about the project, came back and asked to buy one for the Te Papa archive!!!!! WHAF! so of course I said yes and quickly made the decision to sell him/Te Papa my personal copy.
I also gave out over 50 6x4 prints with my contact details, info on the FOUND Project and my other project On The Door to people who were interested but not able or wanting to buy for whatever reason and to other photographers/exhibitors who I chatted with.