Photowalk and Parkinson’s fundraiser aims to set world record at Liberty State Park
Grab your cameras and set out to make history on June 11 as Unique Photo celebrates its 70th anniversary with a photowalk at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
To celebrate in grand style, the family-owned and operated retail camera store invites photographers of all skill levels to help set a world record for the largest single photowalk event as they explore this location that USA Today named among “the 20 stunning state parks across the USA.”
Set on 1,212 acres and bordered by water on three sides, Liberty State Park provides waterfront views of the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty as well as “Empty Sky,” New Jersey’s official 9/11 Memorial; “Liberation,” a 15-foot bronze Holocaust memorial; and the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey. The walk is set during the golden hour when the sun reflects off Manhattan. Maps will be provided, and a Unique Photo instructor will lead a tour at 6 p.m. Participants are encouraged to share their photographs on social media, using the hashtag #njphotowalk.
A wide variety of entertainers will be on hand to photograph and create a party atmosphere, while top manufacturers — such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony and Sigma — will be present to answer questions and loan lenses. Guests can enjoy also a celebratory cake commemorating the company’s landmark anniversary.
Unique Photo will provide bus transportation from its Fairfield location to the park on a first-come, first-serve basis.As photographers explore, make friends and share pictures, they will also be supporting a good cause: Unique Photo will donate half of the registration proceeds to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to aid in the foundation’s efforts toward clinical testing and improving the research of symptoms and their treatment.
The mission is a personal one for the Sweetwood family. “Parkinson’s is a terrible, degenerative disease that my grandmother, who founded our company, suffered from in her later years. Growing up, I saw first-hand just how debilitating it can be. It left one of the hardest-working people I have ever known incapacitated,” says Alexander Sweetwood, president. “It is important for us to raise awareness and funds to help researchers find a cure for this disease that afflicts so many people.”
Unique Photo was founded when Bernard and Harriet Sweetwood opened a small photographic supply outlet in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947. They went on to open more than 20 retail outlets in department stores across New Jersey before launching their first independent retail location in New Jersey — Hoboken Camera Center — in 1954. Since then, Unique Photo has grown to become New Jersey’s largest retail camera store and center for photography education, with two locations: Its flagship store in Fairfield and its recently opened location in Hoboken, across from the PATH station.
To learn more or to register for the photowalk, visit: https://www.uniquephoto.com/
