Photo: Rolf Hammerstad

The first ever Jump-A-Thon kicked off in Hackney on 5 February, organised to help raise money to construct the world’s longest photograph.

To achieve this, photographer Clare Newton is visiting each of the East London boroughs to take pictures of anybody willing to jump for the camera. The idea, Newton said, is to have everyone appear as if they are jumping simultaneously, “a surreal image of them all floating in the air”.

She says she will need around 10,000 people to participate in breaking the world record for the longest photo, which is currently 3,993 metres.

Newton hopes to raise at least £70,000 and is greatly in need of a sponsor to cover fees and costs for constructing the photograph, which will consist of over one tonne of raw materials, with each frame measuring 12 metres.

Having previously been named British Female Inventor of the Year in 2001, Clare Newton is dedicated to community projects, saying “its not just about the jumping, but volunteers and people wanting to help.”

She said: “When you see the effect it has on the down syndrome children, poor communities, and [children with] cerebral palsy, what it gives them is unspeakable, the volumes it does is way beyond what I can do.

“Their involvement and their sense of success, to actually say in their life they’ve been apart of a world record really means a huge amount, so I can’t let them down.”

Newton will continue to hold Jump-A-Thons until May and hopes to have the photograph completed and up for display in time for the 2012 Olympic games.

For more information on how to become involved or make a donation, visit www.jump4london.co.uk