Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Learning to live with 365

I've been doing this blog gig for two years and three months now. And since the beginning I have seen my share of 365 posts. All the while I've thought, "Wow. A photo a day? She's really cool and totally awesome and completely organized to take a photo a day and keep track of 365 of them!" ~sigh~ Turns out, I was right.

All of these photos were taken on January 16th {except for the last one in this post, which I will explain later...}. Some days {like 1/16/11} I have all sorts of things to take photos of. And other days, I'm dry.
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I suppose that's the whole point of 365 - to challenge yourself to look around and take a photo of the ordinary. Because, really, isn't that what good photography is all about?
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This photo of our Arizona sunset ended up being the one I chose for 1/16. It's the view from our front door, looking across the street and over the top of our neighbor's house.
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The next photo is of the tree that is shared by our neighbors to the north of us. I think it's technically their tree, but we enjoy its beauty in the spring and summer, and endure the mess of leaves it drops in the fall, and its stark beauty in the winter. I decided this morning that I will take a photo of this tree every month on the 18th {read: easy solution to what to photograph on the 18th of each month!!!}.
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If you look closely you can see a bird in the upper left, and an abandoned nest in the low middle of the photo.
And I'll add that the unthinkable happened. The photo I took for 1/13/11 was accidentally deleted from my camera before it was uploaded to my computer, leaving me without a photo for that day. I've thought about borrowing Carrie's for that day as we each took a photo of our lunch shared at the same restaurant, but I would always know it wasn't my photo. My 365 is now 364 but I'm not giving up, no. I suppose everyone on this planet is entitled to one {or more...} days off out of 365.
Right?
Right.

20 comments:

Mom said...

I go for months without even looking at my camera. I take trips and leave my camera at home. I take pictures and never get them developed after I load them in the computer. I depend on my daughters to give me pictures of important events.

So, now ask me if I could do a 365 project........I think you know the answer to that!

Great photography, DD! Lovin' the sunset! xo

Renae said...

I started my 365 in the chaos of December and didn't get very far so on New Years I started over. I have always been a photo nut(between good old film and digital I have well over 10,000) so having photos to share is easy. The hard part has been to make it a daily part of my life. I love the project and literally take my camera everywhere I go. I'm not aiming to get the best shots or to become a professional. I am just excited that at the end of the year I will have something to look back on and share with my family what we did.

I love the pictures. Remember it's supposed to be a fun project not work. Keep it up!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I know I could never do 365. I've done a photo a day for a month a couple of times and feel really done at the end of the month. So, bravo to you! And I do think the idea is for it to be fun.
Rinda

Amy said...

I know exactly what you mean - I am always the same ... days with 100 or more and then none for the rest of the week! A Week In The Life is the closest I can get to a 365 - I was pooped after that!

Anonymous said...

What a stunning sunset Deb. I have started New52 which is only a photo a week and have had to cheat already!

scrappyjacky said...

I know I could never do it either.....loads of photos one day....then none for days!!
I think it's a great idea to photograph the tree each month...will be really interesting to see the changes it goes through over a year.

helena said...

there were lots of days last year when the only photo that I took was for my 365 project.

Love the idea of the same tree on the 18th of each month - it will really show the seasonal changes

Sian said...

I'm loving the look of those hearts..

I could never manage this either, but I certainly do admire anyone who can. I love Ruth's photos at Suburban Sahm - she has a real talent for observation.

I'll be cheering you on all the way :)

debs14 said...

Anyone looking at your sunset and my sunrise photo today would think we lived in the same street!
I love the way your conscience will not let you use one of Carrie's photos for your 365, even though you were in the same place at the same time!
I could never do a photo a day, I'm already wondering why I agreed to a black and white photo a week!

Anonymous said...

I've tried Project 365 twice, and never made it beyond June. I've finally realized it's just not for me. I'm working on Project 52 this year, and even finding a good photo from the week has been challenging. I find photography really difficult in the winter---too cold, not enough light. Yesterday it was in the 40s so I walked through the park and got a few shots to work on in a photoshop class I'm taking online.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and I love the shot of the lemons!

Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita said...

I have been slacking on my 365! I think I've missed 4 days already. It has simply been so cold and snowy that I haven't had any desire to do it. Today is finally over the 30's and it's pouring out, to be followed by more cold weather and snow. Sigh. And inside the house I am organizing and decluttering, so it's too much of a mess. I COULD take a photo of the kids everyday, but they are getting a wee bit sick of it all. But I'm not totally abandoning the idea yet. I will make myself look for that photo today. Thanks for the little kick I needed!

Anonymous said...

Definitely right!!! Lovely photographs!!

Unknown said...

Cute shots! I am feeling the same way - sometimes I have TOO many shots, other days not enough. You need to upload them to Flickr so that I can see them!!! And you should totally copy my picture - you will forget that I took it in a year or two when you're looking back on it!

Unknown said...

PS: I'm really nervous that I'm not going to be able to finish it. :( So far, so good though!

Ruth said...

It's a learning curve, no doubt, but after a while it becomes second nature to look for things to photograph. It helps if your camera fits in your bag.

MarleneMAZ said...

Deb, you should not stress so much about this. I am in my third year of doing this and sometimes I forget to take a picture and other days I take lots. On the day I did not take a picture I will use one I took the day before or the day after. After all I don't think the "365" police will come for you :) It is hard to keep up but just do the best you can,
you do take lots of fabulous photos and you can do it!

Margaret said...

Good for you! Your photos are always beautiful. This time, I particularly like the lemons.

Cheri said...

I admire anyone who can keep up with a 365 project - or even come close! The one time I tried, I made it about three weeks. Honestly I have days where I just don't feel like taking a photo of anything! And days like today, where unless you want a photo from my sick bed...

humel said...

Really cool? Totally awesome? Completely organised? Hmm. Those phrases SO don't describe me, who does 365; and they SO describe you, whether you 365 or not!

PS I did occasionally cheat - more on the food pics than the 'main' 365 ones, by taking a shot the day before or after - but I figured that my priority was to have a photo for each day. If your priority is to take all your own pics, and take them on the day in question then that's what you should do :-)

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