365Project

My 365 project was all about picking up my camera every day. It was about discipline. It was about creativity, thinking outside the box, which for me can be a challenge in and of itself. I did not think I would have the discipline to pick up my camera every day, go out and take shots, or stay inside and manufacture shots, but I have surprised myself.

Discipline – This might seem obvious, but did I ever get to work on my discipline skills. Shortly after I took on the 365Project, I was moved to swing shift, working from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This made taking a picture a day challenging to say the least. I did not let excuses stop me though. 365 days of anything is a marathon of epic proportions, and this was a huge commitment. I made it, and it has given me a certain confidence.

Creativity – Again this one is obvious, but making something for 365 days will force you to get creative. Particularly on days, or in locations, when your materials are limited.

Respect for my family and friends – Oceans of love to my family and friends for their intense support and patience with this project over the last year. None of them complained when I would stop in the middle of some hike or outing and say “wait, give me 10 minutes I need to shoot that!”

Giving myself credit – Wow I am hard on myself. It is in my DNA. This project was good for learning to get okay with a pass/fail grade. I set out in my opening post that the goal of this project was not perfection. If it was a person, place, or thing, it passed, which was good, because some of the objects were pretty lame, but they were objects. Out of 365 days, I posted 362 pictures. Before this project, I would have considered anything less than 365 pictures a failure. That was a tough lesson for me.

Being present, and noticing line and color – Spending every day keeping my eyes open for material to shoot really improved my ability to be present in the moment, and notice my surroundings. I am now so much more open to noticing line, shape and color, and picking up on how those things influence the viewer.

Meeting new people – Here is a great way to meet new people. This story played out many times over the year, from chatting with complete strangers to striking up conversations with others who share my passion.

Why did I do it - Taking a photo a day was a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why I did it:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned…Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!
  
• My year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document my travels and accomplishments. Time moves surprisingly fast.
  
• Taking a photo a day did make me a better photographer. Using my camera every day did help me learn its limits. I got better at composing my shots, I did start to care about lighting, and I became more creative with my photography when I was forced to come up with something new every single day.
  
• It become a place to learn for me. I am not documenting my daily life there anymore, but the discussions, challenges and photos have taught me more about the art and techniques of photography than I could have imagined. I tried many things and learned much in the past year. I never would have thought I would love it so much. I started this project to improve my skills in photography - not with the view to becoming a pro/selling shots, just to take better shots and take some time for myself. I have started wanting to take better shots and only uploading shots I think are 'good'. I did this more for myself, just to see if I could do this photo a day thing. The amazing shots I saw on 365project.com were an added bonus! The site really gave me the needed outlet to learn about the art of photography. Sure, I started out with just taking a daily picture but as I learned more about editing and photography I felt this project change me and is still changing me. I have since joined a couple photography clubs and entered pictures into a competition. I do not know where I am headed but I am excited about photography and am more than willing to see where it takes me. I do not expect to ever stop learning and there is so much to learn. That is what keeps things fresh for me. Every day I wonder if today will be the day I do not see something that I can photograph, but I always find something, always. So, I keep taking pictures because I truly enjoy the whole process.
  

I started the project to create a discipline of having my camera in my hand more regularly and to document a photo journal of a year in my life. I have since found this community to be a place of strengths, resolve, friendship, global connections, triumphing over adversity, sharing blessings and sorrows, and ART beyond anything I would have imagined. My eyes have been opened wide in a way I would never have dreamed possible - find myself deeply LOVING this place as I might never have without the "eyes" 365 has opened for me. If my photographs improved in the meantime, I will always feel doubly blessed. This project gave me the ability to create and capture my own version of art, amateurish though it may be.