Project 365

or maybe we should call ours project 359...since we're starting a little late. ;)  I ran across this idea  a while back and thought it was SO cool.  I get so many people asking me photography questions and it seems like the most common is -- "how did you learn??? "

Well folks...the answer is always the same...practice makes perfect (or at least closer to perfect! ;)  lol!!  Seriously.  In my limited and humble experience the secret to taking good pictures is to take a LOT of them.  The biggest hurdle to learning is our fear of PLAYING. :)  It took me SO long to take my camera off the AUTO mode when I first got it.  Now I CRINGE when I put it back on auto. :)  You have to get rid of your fear of making a mistake and try new things.  Who cares if it doesn't turn out the way you thought...it's digital right??? ;)  And you never know, maybe you'll learn something new. 

So if the secret to becoming a better photog is taking LOTS of pictures, how often do you pull your camera out and take a few shots??  This is where project 365 comes into play.  I **TRY** to take a few pics everyday, but sometimes it's hard to get motivated.  Well, I'm hoping I can do that part for you. :)

Here is a little snippet from a fun site photojojo about projects 365

**Taking a photo a day is a big undertaking with big payoffs. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider doing 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!)

• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.

• Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.

Vary Your Themes
Try to capture the day’s events in a single photo. Perform photographic experiments. Take a photo of someone new you meet, something you ate for the first time, or something you just learned how to do. Take a photo of something that made you smile. And don’t forget to take a photo of yourself at least once a month so you can remember how you’ve changed, too.

Tell a Story
Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.

Don’t Stop, No Matter What
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

1. There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.
2. Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.
3. N.b. It helps if you’ve told your friends about the project and asked them to follow along. Their encouragement will keep you going!

SO.... committing to something every single day for a year might seem a little overwhelming. What if I don't have an awesome photo every day? WHAT IF I MISS A DAY??????   

Get over your fear of failure and join me!!!  Who cares if you miss a day??  Who cares if some photos are less inspiring than others??  The point is to capture your life for a year and have some fun doing it.  Experiment with your camera, have fun and be creative!

I will post a word of the day to help inspire you if you need a prompt.  I'm not promising to be perfect..I might even miss a day!! ;)  But I'm not going to stress :)  You don't HAVE to photograph anything that has to do with the word, it's just for fun.  Once you take a picture post it on your blog with little explanation as to why you took that picture and what it represents.  Leave a comment here with a link to your blog so we can all check it out.  Try and leave supportive words on other's blogs too.  :) 

SOUND GOOD??? 

Let's start tomorrow so you have some time to think about it. I'll even give you the word of the day ahead of time.  Since you all are probably thinking this is going to be WAY too difficult...that will be our word.

DIFFICULT

:)

Who's in with me???

See you tomorrow. :)

-t

what happened today to make your day great???

I have fresh clean sheets on my bed. I LOVE that! :)

Comments

[Kami]

I am going to try my darndest to do this:) Might not get everyday...but I am totally on board!

[Tammy]

yea Kami!!! I can even teach you some photoshop tricks and then you can have some fun!! :)

WHO ELSE IS IN??? :)

[Sheri King]

This is what I really wanted to do this year anyway. Maybe you can kick me when I need some kicking! Sounds like fun. Will I be as good as you when I'm done? HA! Too bad you can't come Sat...

[Coleen]

Love the idea and I'm in....Can I post this on Just Spotted?

[Karen]

Count me in! Sounds like fun and I really need to work on my photography skills.