Random acts of photography in New York City -- and the world

Viewing the random portraits taken on the streets of New York, you would think Katie O’Beirne is the photographer. In a way, she is.

“Leaving a Disposable Camera in the Park--A Public Art Project in Brooklyn” is her ongoing and expanding work of art, funded by crowd sourcing and her own determination to keep the project going. The formula is pretty simple:

Step 1: Leave a disposable camera tied to a bench somewhere in a park and ask folks to photograph themselves.

Step 2: Retrieve camera, develop film (yes, film!) and post photos online.

The images posted on her Web page New York Shots -- the bearded fellow in high tops on a park bench, the poncho-clad dude with the cool dog, a couple smiling in front of the Brooklyn Bridge -- create a bigger portrait of New York City.

For O’Beirne, each retrieved camera holds a mystery about who’s inside, she says in this video (above) about the project made by Kickstarter Blog.

Now, she’s gone global -- leaving cameras as far afield as Stockholm and Tokyo (with a little help from her friends).