Challenges Faced

• Anxiety. I also tended to push myself and approach people who would be out of my comfort zone. This was a good thing as I got a diverse range of photos, and met a diverse range of people, but became a bad thing when I pushed myself too hard. I often felt at the mercy of my impulse. 
• Motivating myself to go out to shoot. When I first started this project, I didn't understand how much work and time would have to go into it until its completion. The bulk of the effort was spread over daily trials. The hardest part was easily taking the pictures. Approaching unfamiliar people on the street is a lot harder than stamping 52 postcards. Even if you have to lick a ton of stamps. 
  
  The idea of having to post once a day on Instagram gave me some sense of accountability. I also felt pressure to go out and "expand my stockpile." If I went out and shot eight people's photos on one day, hypothetically, I wouldn't have to shoot again for eight days. But what if the eight people I got looked alike, or were all students? If I posted them all consecutively, the stream wouldn't be very engaging. It made more sense to keep shooting until I had such a massive stockpile of photos I needed to stop shooting less I risk going over the number of photos I need. I know. Obsessive self-negotiating is wack. 
• It was easier to shoot every day when I lived downtown but as I moved back to the North Shore in February, I had to find places to get access to a wide range of people. 
• Forgetting quotes, recording consent. As I transitioned into preparing for postcards I realized I need to clarify to people that their photo may end up being reproduced 43. I also needed away to record that consent so I didn't forget. Occasionally, especially near the beginning I would forget if I asked for consent or not, or I would forget the quote. Or I would write down the quote but I couldn't remember who said it. 
  
  I developed the following system. On my notes in my iphone  I would write whatever the person put on their sign, then I would write their quote under it. Next to their identifier I would put one of three things based on whatever they told me. 
  ​
  CI=Consent to instagram 
  CP=Consent to postcard
  CIP=Consent to instagram and postcard. 

Most people consented to both.

If I forgot to record the quote I wouldn't get to include it, and if I forgot to record consent I wouldn't get to post it at all! 

Funny story= The man on my first postcard (start of the slideshow on the home page) was one of the first people I took photos of. It wasn't til later I realized I wanted to include him in my postcard set. I thought that was that, I'd never see him again. Until one day, I did, not far from the original location we met. His response when I asked if it was okay was just like "Yeah. Whatever do what you want. I don't care. 

• GoFundMe fees meant I needed to increase my donation goal. 
• Moving MP's (From Federal to Provincial) That was the part about figuring out what office to send the postcard to. I had to analyze a schedule. It was like tracking migrating geese. Instead of shooting them down, I was just trying to hit them with stationary. 
• What to do about leftover money? There was a bit of money I had raised leftover that I didn't spend. I opted to donate to Force of Nature. They're an organization I've worked with before and I know will put any money I give them to good use. 
• About halfway through the project, I realized that I'd been missing a member of parliament on my mailing list. It was Jagmeet Singh. Originally I had asked for 43 copies, but I didn't account for the copies I wanted to keep. I hit up Matt from WestEnd Print and had an extra copy of the rest of all postcard left printed out. 
• The Stamps! The postcards I sent straight to Ottawa didn't need stamps. But about half of my postcards did. Ahh! So much time involved. Looking back, I would've liked to employ more discipline when it came to getting the stamping done. 
• The returned postage, which I explained in the summary. 
• Procrastination! 
• Moral Quandaries: Am I treating human beings like mere data points for campaigning purposes? That's a good question. It's something I thought about a lot. Especially when I noticed I felt like I had "collect" more photos of people with different skin colour, age, ability. Or am I genuinely trying to reach out and listen? Is demonstrating diversity for a good cause? Or is it good ol' Canadian tokenism? 
  
  One thing I can say for sure is that my implicit bias towards people was challenged constantly. I learnt I could never guess based on someone's appearance if they would agree to take a photo or not. 
  
  Asking for a photo from a stranger is always scary.  I'm a white woman who grew up in a largely white, wealthy, neighbourhood.  At first, I felt especially frightened approaching black people, people wearing religious clothes like a turban or a hijab, anyone who seemed foreign to me or people I have internalized bias towards, that I've learned to see as "dangerous."
  
  It was so incredibly refreshing to have my fear be proven wrong all the time. I learnt that humanity is a lot deeper and richer than the surface level I often dwell in. It's jarring to listen to people who don't come from the same level of privilege to glimpse into a world I've never seen. But it's so, so important. How are we supposed to build a better world if we cannot build it for everyone? 
  
  Someone start a petition to tear down every high-end minimalist theme coffee shop and put a community gathering space where people can meet and challenge their world views. 
  
  And for the record- black men were on average, some of the nicest people to stop and talk to. White guys in suits, however... Have you ever tried to stop a white guy in a suit while he's going somewhere? It's nearly impossible except for the very rare, old, kindly one with a twinkle in his eye. 

Bonus slideshow of dudes in suits: 

Next up: lessons learned, thanks given, what's next?