Congratulations to shardayyy!

Congratulations to shardayyy! He completed a 365 Project with this self portrait:



shardayyy completed his project using only his 50mm lens! His project set is filled with great color and wonderful portraits. He kindly answered our interview questions, and below are also four of his favorite photos from his project and two of mine.

What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
I was inspired by a fellow called Shawn Duffy (@shawnduffy). He is a freelance photographer based in the Washington, DC Metro area. (his blog link). I have been following him online for a while and I love his work. He decided to start a 365 project just using a 50mm, and I then decided why not.



How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
I would describe my 365 photography as detail-detail-detail. Everyday common things, viewed from another prospective.



What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
What surprised me the most about my 365 project, was how I come up with ideas on what to shoot for the day. In most cases it took me between 3 to 5 mins to come up with something to take a photo of. And also how quickly I applied what I learnt from blogs, forums and other photographers in the community.



What did you learn during the course of your project?
I learnt a lot about exposure, proper lighting, composition, reading the lighting in a room and dialing in the right white balance. How to balance dialing in my ISO, shutter speed and aperture.



Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
Do not have anything in particular, but one that comes to mind was the day I decided to try out lens dragging. This is when I would move the camera in the same direction as a moving subject. If this timed properly the moving object would be sharp while the environment around the subject would seem to be in motion. It must have taken us about 20 tries, with my daughter running up and down the lawn. After a while she said "Daddy am now tired", and I couldn't stop laughing because she went from a 10 of having fun to a 2, where she was not having fun anymore.



What are your future photography plans?
Take it one day at a time. I currently do a lot of freelance work by covering events, shooting portraits etc. I look forward to more of that.



Congratulations again to shardayyy! Here is a slideshow of his completed project:

POTW for September 19th - 25th

There were some amazing photos again this week, it was difficult to choose just three. If you like any of them be sure to visit the photographer's stream and leave a comment.

POTW for September 12th - 18th

Another week of amazing photos in the pool and it doesn't get any easier to pick just 3 photos of the week. Looking at the nominations thread, these photos struck me and so congratulations to Esther, mg and Jaime!

POTW for September 5th - 11th, 2010

Congrats to Allison, Nathan, Dom & Todd! Yay. These four photos have been chosen for our photos of the week. You can also check them out on the front page of the group. As yes.. we normally just pick three, but I couldn't resist!!! Too hard to choose!

As always, lots of fantastic photos in the pool and lots of wonderful photos were nominated. See a photo that really speaks out to you, be sure to nominate it for photo of the week in the discussion thread of the pool!

Congratulations to jfournierphoto!

Congrats to Jacques. He finished up his project on the last day of August. Woo hoo. And to celebrate he had a little party! Fun & fantastic cloning I'd say. And ooo look... I see the first 365 community blurb book in there too. Too cool!

Through his project, we got a peak into his life in Montreal, Canada. They definitely have 4 seasons up there! We also got to meet his family. Lots of beautiful candid portraits. And I noticed that Jacques would often look high up or straight down for his shot for the day. A fun point of view.

Below Jacques describes his project in his own words with a selection from his project in tucked in there. And at the end he shares his own favorites and tells us why.

What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
Since I have busy professional and personal lives, my passion for photography is most often put aside by lack of time. I was looking for a way to get motivated to take pictures and a 365 project seemed like the perfect way to do this. Being forced to carry a camera and think of the daily pictures is a great source of motivation.

How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
It’s a very tough question to answer. As an amateur, I am still learning and experimenting different techniques and subjects, so I have not yet any blinders, I am doing anything and everything.

What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
Even though I primarily do the project for myself, I was surprised to make some new friends along the way and also very pleased with the support I get from my followers! The comments and encouragements from my family, friends and colleagues at the office are so great rewards.

What did you learn during the course of your project?
The real struggles and challenges I got were to come up with something different, original and meaningful each and every day. It would be easy just to snap a photo here and there and walk away (I did sometimes.), but it's a lot more rewarding to create everyday!

What are your future photography plans?
I will certainly continue to do projects, perhaps another 365 as they are great sources of motivation and inspiration, but not now. I would probably not make a career in photography but it is certainly a great hobby and a passion.

It’s hard to pick favorites in a 365, all the pictures have a story. But here are 3 of them...

This one was a hit and run, I wanted to have at least on with fog in my project, it was the perfect day but just had 30 minutes in between meetings. I literally ran to the location, snapped a few pictures and got that one. You need some talent to make photos like this, but luck is helping a lot.

Staying creative was always a challenge, but thanks to the project I got to try and learn new techniques, like this drop or my final photo.

For this project you have to carry a camera all the time, and being always ready allowed some great moments like this one to be captured.

Congrats again to Jacques. Yay! You can check out the rest of his project below.

POTW for August 29 - September 5, 2010

There were many wonderful photos nominated this week for POTW. Congratulations to these three selected images!

If you like any of these that are chosen, be sure to visit the photographer's stream and leave a comment. They'll be happy you did.

Congratulations to lcardin!

Congratulations to lcardin! She finished her 365 project last week with this celebratory image!



lcardin wrote a list of 100 things that she learned during her project, I really enjoyed reading it and was happy when she let me know that I could share it here:

100 Things I’ve Learned from Project 365

1. Get close. Then get closer.
2. Flash is the devil. Natural light rocks.
3. But sometimes, flash is necessary.
4. It’s better to take a crappy picture of a once-in-a-lifetime moment than to let it escape entirely.
5. Some rabbits are more photogenic than others. This applies to people as well.
6. Black & white has its place. Selective coloring seldom does.
7. The Rule of Thirds!
8. Increase ISO, increase noise.
9. Watch the background. Your camera will never miss it. And most people don’t look good with a tree, sign post, or Washington Monument growing out of their heads.
10. Abstract is fun, but can be difficult to achieve since what you’re photographing is always something that actually exists!
11. The Golden Hour – dawn and dusk – is the best time for outdoor photography.
12. I <3 macro.
13. When in doubt, take another picture of the rabbit.
14. Sunrise and sunset look really different.
15. Compose and crop before pressing the shutter release. Never press it thinking “I’ll fix this later in Photoshop.” That’s lazy art.
16. Put the camera down and watch the damn road.
17. There are two types of photos: documentary and artistic. Some document what people and places look like and don’t go beyond the facts. But there’s no reason they can’t look good, too!
18. If you don’t point out what looks to you like a glaring flaw, others probably won’t notice it.
19. Nobody – and I mean nobody – offers square prints anymore. And that makes me sad.
20. Never pass up an opportunity to photograph a loved one. Life is short and you may not get another chance.
21. Get out from behind the camera and get IN a picture once in a while!
22. Exposure triangle: shutter speed, aperture, ISO.
23. Do what you want creatively, but make sure eyes are always in focus.
24. My husband has an unhealthy obsession with ducks.
25. The same can probably be said of me and rabbits. And me and Jon Secada. And me and food. And me and….
26. Flowers are easy. Flowers don’t make faces and run away.
27. A boring subject can be made interesting by looking at it from a new and unpredictable angle.
28. Long-exposure yields striking night shots.
29. The rabbit is sick of seeing the camera and will hop away.
30. I have two rabbits.
31. Turns out the other one’s had it, too.
32. It is impossible to walk into Target and spend less than $50.
33. DSLR stands for digital single-lens reflex.
34. Babies change fast, holy crap.
35. The eye will be drawn to contrast, sharpness, and faces.
36. Always check your white balance, especially in artificial light.
37. Fun with colors: convince the camera’s white balance sensor that a traffic cone is black.
38. It IS possible to over-do bokeh. But it’s tough.
39. Just stand up and take the picture. No one here knows you, stop being self-conscious.
40. Sometimes the camera’s auto settings actually do know best.
41. …but not always. The camera doesn’t always know what you want to focus on. Sometimes you need to tell it manually.
42. As with time and money, the closer you get to the end of a daily project, the more vigilant you get.
43. Timing is everything.
44. I have to wonder how many people hid me from their Facebook news feeds because they were sick of crappy pictures. Eh, who cares?
45. If you don’t have a camera, you can’t take a picture.
46. God’s a pretty good painter.
47. Fifteen dollars will not get you a quality tripod.
48. The moon isn’t going anywhere – try again tomorrow.
49. If given the option, include people in the picture – it will instantly be more interesting and meaningful.
50. Bad bokeh: if the circles of light look like donuts, the result will be jarring. Good bokeh is brightest in the middle and fades out at the edges.
51. Post-processing is part of the process. While Photoshop should not be used exclusively to fix errors that could have been avoided to begin with, sometimes it is necessary to enhance and crop after the fact. Sometimes SOOC (straight out of the camera) is the lazy way.
52. A lot can happen in a year.
53. Procrastination yields shit.
54. ISO cranked way too high yields shit, too.
55. When you get a new toy, the old toy immediately isn’t good enough. And the toy before that, which was at one time amazing, is rendered laughably archaic.
56. Cameras don’t take pictures – people take pictures! Ok, admittedly, people with cameras take pictures.
57. If you give me or my friends “bunny ears” in a picture, I will Photoshop you to look like a prostitute from outer space.
58. If it becomes work, it’s no longer fun. It’s work. Gotta keep it fun.
59. Don’t set the shutter speed too high - sometimes a little motion in the photo helps tell the story.
60. Plants need water. Even cacti.
61. Taking a good shot doesn’t have to take hours to prepare. Sometimes you only need a few free seconds to take the camera out and fire away.
62. The lower the aperture the smaller the depth of field and the less of the pictures is in focus.
63. Hummingbirds are frickin’ fast.
64. Shoot first; don’t ask questions at all.
65. Strive to create catch-lights in people’s eyes to add depth.
66. Photo albums that hold 400 pictures don’t exist.
67. The point & shoot is more discrete than the DSLR in places where photos aren’t allowed. Don’t be a hero.
68. Elton John is the perfect soundtrack for a rainy day.
69. Use the timer and a tripod to avoid camera shake.
70. Photograph everything. Some day you’ll enjoy looking back on the little details of your life.
71. You CAN take a picture on an amusement park ride as long as you’re wearing a sweatshirt with loose-fitting sleeves.
72. Having a photo of people’s handwriting (including your own) is unique and doesn’t easily smudge.
73. Use light to create depth. Side lighting shows contour and on-camera flash destroys it.
74. Any image can be titled with some Bob Dylan quote.
75. Photography conveys any emotion, not just happy. Don’t be afraid to photograph the poignant.
76. Photos make better gifts than mass-produced STUFF. Who needs more stuff?
77. DSLR’s have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (same as a 4x6 print). Point-and-shoots have a ratio of 4:3. This is why they end up cropped when printed.
78. My classroom has perfect afternoon sun!
79. Taking a million shots does not guarantee a decent one in the bunch. But to be on the safe side, always take two or three.
80. I have deltas in my fingerprints.
81. Black & white is much more forgiving on skin tones than color when shooting portraits.
82. Snapfish is a good photo service until you need to use their customer service. Then, if you don’t speak Hindi, forget it.
83. Shadows, reflections, and silhouettes are good ways to get a new perspective on a subject, but they can easily be overdone.
84. Tungsten light is disgusting.
85. My desktop monitor is extremely bright; my laptop, not so much. Keep this in mind, or prints come out with large expanses of black.
86. Put the camera in a kid’s hands; you’ll be amazed at how she sees the world.
87. The one day in this past year that I met Jon Secada, I didn’t use the picture in my 365 project. Because I didn’t take it. How’s that for integrity??
88. Process photos while they’re still fresh and you remember what you were going for.
89. Even when you’re sick and on the couch all day, there’s something to photograph.
90. Pay attention to the green box / red dots so you know what exactly is in focus. Better yet, that’s why Franklin invented glasses!
91. Sometimes less is more… and other times busy and colorful and exciting is better.
92. People usually like to see pictures they’re in... Sharing is necessary.
93. Print a picture now and then!
94. And frame some too! No one’s walls are more bare than an artist’s.
95. The best photo album has pages consisting of black mesh and crimped (not glued) pockets.
96. Read your camera’s user manual.
97. Blurry flowers look like a painting. Mistakes sometimes prove not to be mistakes at all.
98. I am blessed to have a patient and supportive husband, a beautiful family, and amazing friends, all of whom I love dearly.
99. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I counted 1,468.
100. I am a photographer.

lcardin chose some of her most meaningful photos from her project and shared why she chose each one:

#26 - The American Flag on Liberty Island behind the Statue of Liberty, taken 8 years and 1 week after the attacks. I visited Ground Zero on that day as well.

#69 - My birthday photo, and currently my "most interesting" according to Flickr.

#226 is the first taken with my new dSLR

#316 - My sister-in-law holding her baby's feet... I think I finally got the technical aspects just right... it came out just how I pictured it.

#353 is probably the one I'm most proud of... I waited for that hummingbird for an hour!

Congratulations again to lcardin! Here is the slideshow of her completed project. Enjoy!