Professional photographer looking for volunteers.. (Neuchatel Lake)

Good morning all.

I'm not sure that I have posted this in the correct forum (maybe a mod could move it if needs be) but here goes:

I am a professional photographer who has recently permanently relocated from Twickenham, England to Neuchâtel. I am currently searching for commercial clients to work with, but in the meantime I am considering starting a personal project. The reasons for doing this are as follows:

1. I would like to be proactive about meeting people and integrate into life in Switzerland

2. Personal projects allow creatives to push themselves outside of the constraints of a commercial brief and often realise some exceptional work

3. I love what I do, and if I have downtime, as I do at the moment, I can't think of anything better than shooting, meeting people and hopefully creating a body of work that will be published

The working title of the project is ExPats, although more specifically I am looking to work with any immigrants that have relocated to Switzerland. The concept behind the project is to create a series of environmental portraits that attempt to tell a 'day in the life' story of the typical (and atypical) foreigner living in Switzerland. These could be single shots or a series showing the subject at work or at play, but I want to try and convey what it means to be a stranger in a strange land. Why did you move here, what are the upsides, what are the challenges, what do you miss, what are your discoveries.

At this preliminary stage, all I am looking for is people that are interested in being photographed (free of charge obviously) at a location and time to suit them. You will receive a copy of the final image/s and a copy of any subsequently published materials (if it gets that far) free of charge.

What kind of people am I looking for and why should you volunteer?

Well, I am looking for anyone and everyone who fits the above criteria. You may think you don't have a story to share, or nothing compelling about your daily life that would make for a good photograph, but I believe all of you by your very nature have made one of the most challenging and exciting decisions in your lives by choosing to live abroad. Also, this is an opportunity to have a professional portrait taken by a professional photographer, free of charge, in a manner and style that will be a million miles away from the typical studio shot (think marbled background, cheesy grin and catalogue pose).

I do hope this appeals to some of you, and please feel free to ask questions and to share this request around.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing from you.

Simon