Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from me! I've spent the past few weeks working, finishing up all the sessions from 2018 and gearing up for 2019! I'm so glad that 2018 was a success....I photographed more seniors this year than I ever have (or even thought I could!) as well as babies, kids, and families. I shot awkward pictures (upon request) and some truly beautiful shots. I went to new locations as well as tried-and-true places. But most importantly, I found desire in my photography- desire to learn, grow, and teach others!
One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to set some photographic goals and work toward learning new things and growing. This past year, I started a photo-a-day project in January, and kept up with it until May, but once school was out, it was like trying to roll a snowball up a hill- just getting harder and harder to do. I had a lot of self-imposed rules about the pictures I wanted to take- rules like "I have to use my DSLR camera- no phones allowed" and "photos had to be editted and formatted for instagram so I could share them", that it became difficult to even take the pictures at all.
While I still intend to do a 365-day project sometime in the future, I realistically know that that is just not feasible right now with how busy my life is. While not completely impossible, I want my yearlong project to be fun, fervid, and fulfilling. I want to soak up new knowledge, I want to try new things, I want to experiment. It might take a few tries over a few days to grasp a concept. It might take different lighting, different locations, and different approaches to make something work. But if I give myself a week, I'm pretty sure I can find some applicable situation to photography whatever the prompt is.
So this year's project, for me, is a photo-a-week project. I've found a great site called "Capture Your 365" that has daily prompts, but also weekly themes, so it's easy to choose a prompt, and even switch to a daily project if I find a plethora of time on my hands!
I would love for some of my readers to join me in completing your own photography project this year. You don't need a fancy camera, exotic locations, or wild adventures. Just pick up your phone and shoot parts of your life! As a matter of fact, there are many everyday things from years past that I wish I had pictures of....my Grandma's salt-and-pepper shaker collection, the beautiful lace doilies my Grandma Kimble made, my Grandpa Kimble's Winnie-the-Pooh bear he used to tease the grandkids with, my Grandpa Trescott's daily newspaper puzzle and coffee routine. There is so much magic in the minutiae, so much life in the everyday routine! Don't miss the little moments waiting for something big or life-changing to happen!
If you want to join me, the project I'm going to try to follow this year can be found at Capture Your 365. Below is the January 2019 calendar....be sure to click through to the webpage for more details!
This challenge encourages you to share your photos to instagram with the hashtag #cy365 so you can share your project with others who are also doing this project, and give and get ideas and encouragement.
A project is, or course, only as good as you make it, so take this opportunity to photographically explore your world, express yourself, and exceed all your goals!
Here's to making 2019 the best year yet!!
Keep Smilin'!
Jennifer
