StreetVIEW – 24HourProject Interview with Jennifer Bracewell by Laura Peischl

Image – ©Jennifer Bracewell

What is your name, both real and Instagram?

Jennifer Bracewell, @_jenbeezy_ on Instagram

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 year. I decided to do it at the last minute. Unfortunately, I only did about 1/4 of the day because my youngest child was sick and I came down with the flu the night before.

What city where you able to document?

Lovely Sacramento, California, our state capitol.

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

Really what inspired me was a message from my friend Monica who was doing it across the country in Pennsylvania.  I got very excited and ran out and bought pepper spray, sunscreen, snacks and stuff. I was ready!

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?

I had loose plans. I made a list of several locations that I wanted to hit and also booked a hotel room for two days so I’d have a home base, since the city is a 45 minute drive from my home.

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

The biggest challenge was my 102 degree fever! I just couldn’t stay out for more than a couple of hours at a time.

Image – ©Jennifer Bracewell

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?

I am not a street photographer, so I really didn’t know how to do this with stealth and confidence.  I wanted to challenge myself. I wasn’t nervous, but more unsure of how I’d take interesting shots without getting beat up. I like to edit quickly so the time didn’t affect that at all.  I think if I’d been out on the streets longer I’d have had better images to share.

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

I’d shoot for about 30 minutes then go through my camera roll and edit one for posting.

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

No, but I did take quite a bit of time off. Next year I’ll be on it for the whole day.

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

Absolutely! I was cheering them on all the way!

Image – ©Jennifer Bracewell

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

Monster Energy Drinks.

Would you take part in this again next year?

Most definitely.

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

No, as I said above I had to sleep for parts of the day and night. I couldn’t keep it up due to my fever. I’d go back, pop some DayQuil and take a nap.

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

All of the images included within this interview.

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

I can’t answer since I didn’t do the whole thing, but I’d imagine it’d be exhaustion and elation.