StreetVIEW – 24HourProject Interview with Maddy McCoy by Laura Peischl

Image – ©Maddy McCoy

What is your name, both real and Instagram ?

Maddy McCoy

@The_Real_McCoy

Was this the first time you participated in this exciting 24 hour project, or have you taken part in previous years as well?

This was my first experience.

What city where you able to document?

Washington, DC.

What inspired you, or drove you to take part in this project, i mean walking around 24 hours is not for the faint hearted!

I really enjoyed following Tammy George aka @punkrawkpurl as she documented her part of California last year. I LOVE street photography; I LOVE documenting all aspects of life. It just seemed like the thing to do.

Did you plan where to go or did you have an idea what you wanted to document, or did you just let fate decide as you wandered through the streets?

A little bit of both. I knew there were places I wanted to hit, and places that I wanted to check out for the first time. Washington, DC is a fantastic city and I knew that there would be no lack of images.

What was the biggest challenge you  faced during the 24 hours?

A migraine.

Image – ©Maddy McCoy

Do you feel like the time pressure was beneficial to your creativity, or did it just make you nervous and diminish the quality of your images slightly?

The time pressure was only beneficial for me.

Did you develop a work flow for every hour in order to manage uploading your next image in time?

I developed a few different workflows, which depended on the time of the day. Daylight hours were more proficient and it was difficult to choose which image to go with in those hours.

Evening and night shots were more challenging and that took more effort to decide which image to show and how to show it. It was during the dark hours that I started experimenting with the Decim8 app. It was perhaps“different” but I was very pleased with the results.

Be honest, did you by any chance cheat a little by processing a few pictures in advance in order to rest a bit?

Yes, two….. (sigh).

Did you follow the IG feed of other excellent photographers taking part in the competition? You know, to check on your “competition”!

You and I met last year in NYC and it was great to “do” this alongside you! I would describe the day as a global, rolling fellowship. No competition, a very bonding experience.

Image – ©Maddy McCoy

What was your secret to staying up so long? Energy drinks? Coffees? Pure determination? Fruit smoothies perhaps?

Coffee was my friend.

I also had my husband with me the first night and my son and my brother walked with me for a while on Saturday afternoon, which was helpful.

Would you take part in this again next year?

Absolutely.

Was it a point when you considered giving up and going home? Did you walk the whole 24 hours?

I got a migraine around 3am and had to sleep for a few hours. I was worried that I was going to have to quit, but thankfully the meds worked and I was back being vertical as the sun came out.

The objective was to document The Human Condition and I tried to capture that as diversely as I could. Yes, that meant a lot of walking…

I spent a lot of time in coffee shops (Wi-Fi! Wall plugs to charge my portable chargers!).

If you had to choose, what would be your 3 favorite imaged from that long day?

All of the above.

What were some thoughts that ran through your mind when you were finally able to crash into bed?

Accomplishment and connection.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and a well deserved CONGRATULATIONS for managing this long yet rewarding challenge.