Photo Finding

Resources you will need:

Participants own camera phone

Aim

To enable young people to notice their surroundings and take pleasure from the smaller, everyday things in life.

Overview

This exercise is a treasure hunt activity that the young people can do during the session or can be set as a task for the group members to complete between sessions. It’s a creative way that allow them to look and reflect on the world they live in.

Instructions

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  1. Ask the group if they remember seeing any of the items from this list that day.

  2. Here is an example of a list, but the list can be anything that you feel would be interesting or relevant to your group.

    Example Treasure Hunt List
    An animal that lives on the ground
    An animal that lives in the sky
    A flower
    A leaf
    5 different colours

    5 different smells

  3. Tell the group they have 10 minutes to try and find any of the items from the list in and around the space and local environment.

  4. If they find an item from the list they should take a photo of it to share with the rest of the group.

  5. Once the group is back together ask them to share and discuss what they found. Allow space for the young people to put their items into the context of their own lives. For example, where did they find the flower? Do they visit that place often? If so why? What do they like about being in that space? And so on.

  6. Now set the group a new treasure hunt for the following session.

  7. This time ask the young people to notice 5 things in their daily lives that they don’t usually notice. These could be things you hear, smell, feel or see. Again, ask them to document these with their cameras or mobiles. Ask them to think how they could show a smell in a photo?

  8. Again here is an example of a list, but the list can be anything that you feel will be interesting or relevant to your group.

    Example list

    The birds in the tree outside in the morning

    The feel of your clothes on your skin as you walk

    The smell of the flowers in the park.

    The sound of a friendly voice

    A sign of a shop they use everyday

  9. In the following session ask the group to share and discuss what they’ve found. Allow space for the young people to put their items into the context of their own lives.

  10. Finally if your group members have social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter ask the young people to pick one of their photos and to write a short sentence about its importance in their daily lives. Without naming the participant share on social media and ask for others to share their thoughts on it too.

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