Snapshot Day is a fun way of bringing the community together with a common purpose.

Over the years, photography has become one of our most accessible art forms and a very popular way to communicate. Although the basic process is over a century old, people find new and exciting applications every day, and one of these is something called Community Snapshot Day. Just what is this unique photography event all about?

Lori Pond is a graphic designer living and working in Southern California and has been a photography enthusiast since she was very young. She is one of the organizers of Community Snapshot Day for the Los Angeles County community of Eagle Rock, and here she explains what it is, and why it's so much fun:

• Get acquainted. Pond sees Snapshot Day as a way for the community's residents to get to know each other and get acquainted with the area's businesses and schools. Basically, people go around with cameras taking photos of residents, businesspeople, buildings, or whatever catches their eye. It's a way of uniting people under the umbrella of a fun activity and of breaking down the social barriers and walls we sometimes let form over time.

• Registration and contests. Pond helped set up an online registration where people wishing to participate could sign up. The organizers solicited local businesses to participate and provide prizes for a photo contest portion of the event. Participants are encouraged to submit photos for judging in the contests, but it's not required. The important thing is to start snapping image and just have fun.

• Community. Many businesses and other locations have agreed to post the photos up on their walls, so that the whole community becomes one large photography gallery. The organizers also sponsored a big breakfast to kick off the day, as a way of letting people get connected and start having a good time. For Pond, it's all a way of helping people reach their full potential as both artists and good neighbors, and it makes her feel good to know that she's helping to create a more close-knit community.

The Amateur Photographers Association
www.photoassociation.com/index.html

Photolinks
www.photolinks.com/cgibin/webc.cgi/cgihome.html

Photo.net

Fodors.com—Focus on Photography
www.fodors.com/focus

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