Congratulations Ivo Noppen!

Congratulations to Ivo Noppen who completed his 365 Project today! His year of photos contains many striking and creative photos, great macros, lovely portraits and nature shots, and wonderful fantasy "deformed" food creations. He has a great way of using punchy, bright colors in some of his shots that create cool graphic results. Here is Ivo's final shot of his project and his finisher's interview.



What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
Once a year, I cover the freshman's introduction event of the University of Twente. This event basically involves shooting about one and a half week on a fulltime basis with 6-7 other photographers. Life after this event always felt quite 'empty'. After 2009's event, I got hooked to some Flickr streams from people doing 365 projects like Dustin Diaz and Katie Lee. After much debating with myself my primal instinct of taking lots of photos eventually won and on December 31st, 2009 I decided to start a 365 project the very next day.



How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
My photography focuses on the details of everyday life. I can take quite some time taking photos of seemingly boring things like iron railway bridges, stacks of wood etc. Also, I can be intrigued by lines, curves and colours resulting in abstract visions of reality.
My photography also includes more and more styled conceptual still life. At the start of my 365 I had to learn quite a bit about lighting, and by reading and doing I improved during this project.



What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
What surprised me the most in the beginning of this project was the massive amount of people starting a 365 project on the first of January. In my direct environment, within the first 10-20 days I met three or four other people doing the same. However, the others all quit their project in the first 6-7 months.
Another surprise was the relative ease at which I got through this project. Sure there were some tough times when the juice wasn't flowing or when my schedule was chock-full. But overall, by bringing my camera almost everywhere or planning my shoot upfront, I managed quite easily.

What did you learn during the course of your project?
I learnt that you can do things you didn't know before by just hanging on to your goals. Some people didn't think I would actually persevere and probably give up before the 3rd month. To be able to bring such a project to a good end you will sometimes have to prioritize your photography to squeeze out a shot just before 0.00, and more importantly, you have to learn to recognize and break your "photographers-block" when you're in a bad period.

Another thing I learned is to be ever mindful. Take in those little details and the shot of the day comes naturally. For day 364 for example, I saw this brick-pattern under a bridge, which my girlfriend hadn't seen after living nearby for 1,5 years.


What are your future photography plans?
In the future I will continue with my detail photography and try to get even more knowledge of lighting and studio photography. Furthermore I think working with people is something I will expand further (in portraits etc), because I really like the interaction between photographer and model.

Congratulations again to Ivo! Here are a couple admin favorites and a slideshow of his completed project.

Congratulations eahNC!

Congratulations to Beth! She completed her 365 today and it has been a pleasure to follow her 365 Project this year and see the world through her eyes! Here, in her own words, Beth describes her project:

What a ride!! I started my 365, having been familiar with the idea of 365's but not really with flickr. It was a steep learning curve for flickr, photoshop, and new processing techniques. I still have quite a lot to learn about photography and processing, but I do think that my 365 has inspired my confidence. Techniques can be learned. Skills can be honed. I CAN straighten my images before I capture them! I can compose a shot in my head before looking through the viewfinder. I feel like my style tends to bounce around, but that's
also my choice. I like a lot of different styles and choose not to commit! After 365 days, I'm comfortable with that. I've learned not to compare my stream to others. The 365 Community group has amazing talent; many talents far above my abilities. One of my greatest honors this year was have an image chosen as the picture of the week for this group. Thank you! I am so grateful to my contacts for their encouragement, even though I had no idea that
"contacts" would become part of the experience. You all are an integral part of making a 365 fun and interesting. Thank you!

The most difficult challenges for me were finding the time to make a shot, and finding something interesting for a subject. Sometimes I resorted to shots from the car. OK, many times. But as a suburban mom of 3, that's where I spend a lot of my time. Next year I look forward to spending more time investigating photography and
processing techniques that I didn't have time to explore this year. Such as trying to get an image of the stars to work out. But especially, taking more portraits and capturing interactions.

I've chosen some images that I feel represent compositions that I wouldn't have "seen" before starting my 365, and/or that incorporate elements that are now more integral to my photography than before. And a couple that involve getting up early... because, let's face it, so often it's all about the light.


.

.

.

.

.


Congratulations again to eahNC! Here is her 365/365 photo, a couple of my favorites from her project and a slideshow of her project, filled with wonderful subjects and gorgeous light:

POTW for December 18-26th :)!

Hope you all are enjoying the winter holidays! Below are our photos of the week, nominated by the members of our group.

If you see something in the group pool that you just love, be sure to add it to the nominations discussion thread.

And we are also seeking a new icon for January. Be sure to stop by and submit one of your own fav shots!

Cheers!

POTW for December 12-18

December keeps marching right along. With shorter days (at least in the northern hemisphere), it can be challenging to get a photo at times. Congrats to fedora365, marco|g and MarianneLoMonaco for this week's photos of the week!

If you like any of those chosen this week, be sure to visit the photographers stream and leave a comment, they will be happy you did.

POTW for December 6-11

Another great week of photos, it's always a challenge to pick only three.

You know the drill: if you like any of those chosen this week, be sure to visit the photographers stream and leave a comment, they will be happy you did.

Where would a 365 be without the "neon lights through rain on windshield" shot? by justmakeit


The Shy Stranger by helle-belle


341/365 Make a wish upon a star... **Explored! by fedora365

Congratulations Jaime Carter!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday to Jaime Carter! Jamie recently completed her 365 project, taking a photo a day with a 50mm lens. The resulting photos are full of beauty, bokeh and color and her photostream is well worth a visit. Jaime provided answers to our interview questions and some of her favorite photos below:

What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
I was inspired by someone else's 50mm 365 project [Al Ronberg] - who's also a member of the 365 Community - and liked the idea of the challenge.



How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
My photography is about focusing on the details.. with a splash of colour.



What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
I was surprised at how easy it was to get a photo each day that I was pleased with.



What did you learn during the course of your project?
I learnt to not plan each day's shot.. that some of the best photos came about by accident. This doesn't mean you can't think of ideas in advance, but to approach each day as it comes.



Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
This photo represents probably the most important day of the whole project.. my wedding day in Fiji



What are your future photography plans?
Make blurb book of my 365 project, catch up on processing more than a year's worth of older images and will probably dream up a new project to challenge myself.

My final photo, taken on my birthday in Auckland:


And here's our admin fave:



Congratulations to Jaime on a wonderful collection of photos! It has been a pleasure to revisit them today!

Here's a slideshow of her complete project: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaimewalsh/sets/72157622819274229/show/

Congrats to somedesignerguy (M11 Studios)!

Congratulations to Mike! Whoot whoot! :) He finished his project on December 1st!

In his own words, Mike describes his project. He sent me his responses to some questions we asked... and I felt they stood on their own without the actual questions there.. so here you go. And I inserted some of my favs inbetween and some of them seemed fitting to what he was describing about his work.

I'm a graphic designer at a design agency, so I spend lots of time around photography and photographers. Over the years, I have returned to shooting for fun, picking up a DSLR a couple years back. While viewing some design and photography blogs, I came across the work (but not the name or story) of Jamie Livingston. As I read further, I realized that he shot a Polaroid of his life from March 31, 1979 until his death on October 25, 1997 (his 41st birthday). I was inspired by the monumental undertaking, and this was also the first time I had heard of such a long "photo a day" project. A few days after my own birthday, I decided to take on a year-long version myself.

It's all about the details - and the unseen.

What surprised me most was how quickly my camera became a constant accessory; like a wallet or glasses. I was almost never seen without my camera bag in tow, regardless of the time or venue. Being without it feels almost unnatural now.

Proper knowledge of technical skills is important, but sometimes going with instinct can create interesting and exciting results. The project has helped me push my technical skills further, while also gaining a better appreciation for my environment. I don't want to say I'm more aware of things now, but I definitely view my surroundings with new eyes... almost establishing visual opportunities before all else.

The most interesting thing that has happened during the 365 was being followed by multiple bike police, while being monitored by security cameras. I was on Nationwide property downtown (a parking lot) and was seen as being a questionable character. After multiple conversations with some officers, explaining that I was simply taking photos of the city from the top of the parking structure, I was allowed to continue with –minimal– supervision.

I don't think I'll shoot another 365 for a little while. Making my own projects and guidelines has always been a great challenge – I will probably keep up with themed monthly projects. My recent idea is to explore both black and white, while also incorporating objects / people frozen in action or mid-air. We'll see how that pans out...

Below, we have featured three of his favorites. He chose these three because they signify some challenges he posed for himself, as well as the process of learning to constantly be looking for photo opportunities.

Day 313 - The L Splash

Day 232 - Wireless

Day 135 - Return to Shopping Cart Cove

And now for a link to the slideshow to his entire project. Have a peak, you won't be disappointed!

Photos of the Week: November 28- December 4, 2010

As usual, it was hard to chose just three photos from all of the wonderful POTW nominations. Congratulations to Bernard Soriano Photography, "Olga" and beingjoey for having their beautiful photos chosen this week!

Fish Day

I loved watching Fish Day unfold in the 365 Day Community group! I don't think that fortune fish are naturally the easiest subject to photograph, which made me extra impressed to see all of these fantastic and creative photos.

Here they are again, and thank you all so much for participating :)



Please let me know if your fish photo is not here! >)))))))>