ONLINE social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are the inspiration behind Pete Carr’s Rezz project, for Liverpool’s Look 11 festival.

The Liverpool-based photographer has taken portraits of random strangers on the city’s streets.

Viewers can use their smartphones to find out more information about the featured people’s lives. The term, “rezz”, is taken from the 1982 science fiction film, Tron, and means the process of digitising someone into the virtual world from the real world.

“These portraits have been taken in a similar way to how we interact online,” explains Carr.

“We see someone interesting on Twitter or Facebook and then start talking to them, but you probably would not do this in the real world.

“As a photographer, I have a reason to go up to strangers and say hello. I would like to take their portrait because I find them interesting. In a way it is no different to following someone on Twitter.”

Carr has taken the portraits with the Hipstamatic app on his iPhone and uploaded them to the location-based social media app Gowalla.

“Gowalla then sends out a link to all my friends on Twitter and Facebook,” says Carr. “This lets the virtual world say hello to someone I’ve just met in the real world.”

There is an accompanying exhibition at The Bluecoat.