First off I would like to say congratulations to all our finishers! We had over 50 members finish on December 31st. Yay. We have been posting the individual blog posts here, and will continue to do so over the next few weeks.
And Cheers to 2011! Hope you all had a fabulous new year's celebration. For our POTW, we normally just pick three, but I couldn't resist posting a few more to help ring in the new year!
And as always, if you see an image in the pool that you just LOVE, be sure to nominate it in the discussion threads of our group!
Congratulations to Judi, another member who completed her 365 on December 31! Judi's photostream offers a beautiful visual diary of her life and creativity. Her wonderful photostream is full of color and light, and I love her TTV shots. Below is Judi's finisher interview with some of her favorite photos, images she choose because they are mostly unprocessed - basically nothing done in post but maybe a crop.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project? I began once before and had quit at about 18 days when I started a new day-time job that at first took up a lot of my time each day. I began a second round on 1/1/10 to prove to myself that I could finish such a project.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words? Mostly I'd describe my photography as peaceful or tranquil.
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project? Two things surprised me - 1. my skills didn't improved as much as I had planned and 2. that I was feeling rather saddened as it came to an end.
What did you learn during the course of your project?
I learned that I have so much more to learn, that the Flickr community is chock full of wonderful and supportive people, and that as time went on I could more quickly choose and process a photo for the day.
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
The only interesting thing is why I took the Shrug photo on day 165 - I found the pattern at my late mother's house 3 days earlier, came home, and started making it, took the photo after several rows had been knitted. There are 2-3 more as this knitting project progressed and was finished.
What are your future photography plans? I'm not going to do a 365 in 2011; I need a break. My plan is twofold - 1. to pick a subject I wish I had learned more about and spend some concentrated time on doing just that and 2. reach back into my archives, film and digital, and process some good old stuff.
Congratulations again to Judi! Here is a link to her project slideshow!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/judifitzpatrickstudio/sets/72157622993611407/show/
Congratulations to Ken, who completed his Project 365 this week! His final project is this one:
In his description he wrote, "For the final photo of my Project 365 I wanted to capture an image of the final sunset of 2010. The photo is both symbolic as well as an appropriate theme for the end of the year and my 2010 Project." Ken's photography contains beautiful sweeping scenes and lovely nature macros. His fisheye photos are fascinating and fun. Below is Ken's finisher interview with some admin favorites mixed in, and then some of his favorites from his project.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
Many of my friends and colleagues that are also educators, like myself, decided two years ago that we should all try a Project 365 together, to get better with our cameras and to learn how to make good/great photos.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
Artistic, avant garde, and purposefully creative
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
How it felt more like a task at time than the fun it was suppose to be.
What did you learn during the course of your project?
I learned how to use so many of the functions on my dSLR that I now use manual or aperture priority mode about 80% of the time
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
By doing a 365 project, now two years in a row, I have built a library of over 15,000 images. I use these images for the many presentations I give at Educational Technology conference across the country. This has helped me avoid any copyright or creative commons challenges and it has inspired many more educators to do the same. I get messages all the time from others telling me how proud they were that they built a presentation or professional development lecture with only their own images.
What are your future photography plans?
I want to launch a website to serve more as a gallery than anything else. While it would be nice to be financially compensated for some of my images, I like to just create and share those creations with others.
Here are Ken's three favorites with a brief explanation:
One of my favorites because it was the first time I actually used manual mode entirely and was able to effectively capture fireworks
One of my favorites because this was the first time I really got to use a Fish Eye lens, which was while I was on vacation to one of my favorite places, Hawaii
One of my favorites because of all the times I have been to Chicago or flying through Chicago I have never had a view of downtown like this. Also this image was made with my iPhone.
Here's a slideshow of many of Ken's 365 photos from both of his projects, enjoy!
Congratulations to Allison, another one 365 Community member who completed her 365 project on December 31. Allison's photos are clever and conceptual. They have a wonderful sense of artful drama, often with flashes of surrealism and/or humor. I love the amount of effort she takes in setting up and lighting her photos, her choices consistently hit all the right notes and produce stunning results. Below is Allison's finisher interview with her final photo and some admin faves mixed in.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
My ability to find a reason not to bother with setting up a photograph was improving faster than my skill at taking them. I knew I needed a disciplined setting that would force me to become so familiar and fast with my gear that I would stop seeing that as a hurdle. I had participated the Strobist Boot Camp II, and found that challenge and structure immensely motivational. I work well with rules and I hate not hitting deadlines, so I knew that a 365 project would keep me on track.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
I really thought that the process of doing a 365 project would lead to a discovery of my style, but I generally found myself drawn to trying new things rather than refining a particular approach. I am definitely obsessed with light, however, and am happiest when I can control it to sculpt my image. I hold out the hope that someone with more perspective will let me know what my style is!
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
The amount of time it took every day! That's all my doing, of course - I was rarely satisfied with a quick snap. When I take into account the time spent envisioning and planning upcoming shoots, the gathering of materials and setup of gear, the light tests and composition tweaking, the selection of the final shot, the post-processing, and finally the interaction on Flickr with other inspiring photographers - I probably put in an average of three or four hours a day.
What did you learn during the course of your project? I really learned how to see light. What at the beginning took much trial and error to discover I can now set up almost right from the start. I also learned the importance of previsualization to a good image. Any thinking ahead of time that I could do about what I wanted to capture dramatically increased my chances of ending up with a quality photograph. It's still important to be open to serendipity, but as they say, chance favors the prepared mind.
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
The Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead, Part II was a bit of an adventure to make. It was one of those times when I had a pretty clear vision in my head of what I wanted to create, and it required a lot of props. Finding a large enough pumpkin was the first challenge - it was a week before Halloween and the selection was not as good as it had been for the first Pumpkinhead creation (that one had moldered too much to be reused). I believed we looked in three or four locations before finding a suitable 30 pound monster of a gourd. I gathered picnic goods at the same time, and that took two different grocery stores. By the time we had everything ready, it was getting close to the cemetery closing hour of 4pm. My assistant/model and I explored for a bit to find just the right spot, then I set up lights while he fetched all of our props. I cleared away the remains of a dead bird (so appropriate to the location!), but we still battled ants through the shoot. They sure know how to find a picnic! In the end I had a great image and we had a tasty feast to enjoy for dinner.
What are your future photography plans?
As wonderful as this project has been for my development, I am ready to reclaim those three to four hours a day for more flexible use. I think a 52 week project will be ideal to keep me thinking photographically on a regular basis while allowing more leeway in how I plan my time. I look forward to shooting more for Getty and other stock agencies, and I hope to find a few individual clients as well. I'd also love the opportunity to put together a gallery show of some of my 365 images!
Here are Allison's favorites and a slideshow of her project:
Birthday Treat
I work (making costumes for the Los Angeles Opera) across the street from a Japanese/Korean supermarket, and their fish selection included these giant salmon heads. I had to wrest a pair of tongs out of the claws of a live crab to put one in my bag, and I made my husband drill a hole in the skull to hold the candle. I also had to use a toothpick inside the fish's mouth to hold it open. But despite, or perhaps because of, all that ickyness, the resulting image is fantastic. Cute and gross at the same time, my favorite!
My Leaves
In addition to being a pleasing arrangement of beautiful natural objects, this photograph is a favorite of mine because it is like a shorthand for all that we've done to turn what was a scorched-earth lot of land into a sort of urban Eden. For me each leaf brings up an image of that particular plant or tree, where it is and how it got there.
Baby Bok Choy
This one I love just for its beauty. The vegetable had a pleasing, asymmetrical shape, perfect contrasting veins, and a delicate texture to the leaves. I'm happy with my lighting and just smile with pleasure every time I see the image.
Congratulations to Dave, another one of our December 31st Project 365 finishers! allykatimages's photostream is filled with sharp interesting photos filled with color and great use of light. I had a great time tonight exploring the stunning photos in his project and reading his Strobist info. Below are his final photo of the project, his interview, some admin favorites and a slideshow of his completed project :)
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
On January 1st, my friend Steve (dcis_steve) called me on convinced me to do it. I hadn't even considered it ahead of time. So I just kinda started without thinking about it too much.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
Bright, crisp, I don't know.
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
There were a lot of surprises but it was more challenging than I thought it would be...I guess because I didn't think about it ahead of time. Some days it was the absolute highlight of my day. Some days I completely dreaded it.
What did you learn during the course of your project? I learned a lot! Here are a few things that stand out to me:
- to see natural light better
- to previsualize an image before I even grab the camera
- to shoot less frames to get an image I want. My kids got tired of being a subject. We made an agreement that I only get 4 shots to get a picture. Talk about pressure! I could do it though.
- Process files much quicker
- to find an acceptable image almost anywhere/anytime.
- to see my surroundings very differently
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
I have a few but most will only be interesting to me. On day 19, I witnessed a police chase and capture of a bank robber. That was pretty cool. I was stuck in traffic so it made it easy to get my camera out to capture the scene.
What are your future photography plans?
To keep on shooting. I won't be doing a 365 again though. I really like portraits and sort of purposely avoided them during this project because I wanted to hone other skills. I want to get back to that. I am considering doing a 100 Strangers project.
Congrats to Martin! He completed his 365 project on December 31 with this photo:
Martin's project is filled with scenery of London and some great portraits as well. Below is his finisher's interview along with some of his photos.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
I had just finished a 365 self portrait project and couldn’t kick the daily photo habit - so I was interested to continue - but with a much more open choice of subjects.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
Documentary, random, relentless, ready for new directions.
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
That it was just as hard if not harder than doing the 365 self-portraits project.
What did you learn during the course of your project?
The importance of the histogram, a daily practice and trusting chaos.
What are your future photography plans?
Complete a major photographic documentary of my workplace - continue with the part time BA in Photography - keep taking the photographs – enjoy it!
Martin's favorites:
Congrats again to Martin! Here are the admin favorites along with a slideshow of Martin's completed project.
Congrats to Paige! She completed her 365 project on December 31 with this photo:
Paige's project is filled with great color and scenery from British Columbia, Canada. Below is her finisher's interview with some of her photos.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
It’s hard to remember exactly. I joined Flickr a couple of years ago and have enjoyed it. I noticed a few people doing an image a day and thought it might be an interesting way to document a year and hopefully improve my photography at the same time.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
I’ve never thought about it. Eclectic, I suppose. I’ll take a photo of just about anything, except people. I’m not so comfortable with pointing the camera at humans. I tend to favour closeup photography of the things that make up our lives.
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
That there are moments in the day that we would miss or forget within a short period if we didn’t pick up a camera and focus in on them. The world around us is so full of what we think is uninspiring, until we look closer at it. The most humble objects can have the most interesting angles and textures when we block out everything else.
What did you learn during the course of your project?
That I can be a bit more creative than I thought I could and that a few simple props can save an otherwise bleak day for ideas. I pretty much always carry some silly thing (Wall-E, a marble, a plastic toy camera...something) in my purse for those “this would be funny” moments. I also learned that not every image needs to be perfect to make me happy. Sometimes the imperfections add more interest.
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
My home city, Vancouver, hosted the winter Olympics this year, and it was the most amazing party that was put on. It was a fascinating snapshot of when our national newspaper featured the successes of the USA team on the front page. The Olympics have been held in Canada three times now and we won our first ever on home soil. We won a third gold medal this day, and yet that wonderful news bit was relegated to a small box at the top of the page and buried in deeply. The front page celebrated the success of our neighbours. The news in Canada has a tendency to be more positive than the news in other countries. I like that, and I thought that this particular case was a fascinating statement about our collective personality.
What are your future photography plans?
I’m not sure, I’m struggling right now with whether or not to continue on with another 365 and just keep going. I also want to spend some time focusing in on film a bit more. I’m concerned I might not be able to manage both, but maybe that can be my challenge for 2011. I would like to take a photography course. I’ve only ever taken a basic six evening one, and I didn’t even manage to finish that because I sprained both ankles and broke a bone in one foot part way through the class. Not being able to walk makes the field trips difficult.
Paige's favorites:
Congrats again to Paige! Here is an admin favorite along with a slideshow of her complete project.
Congrats to Thorsten! He completed his 365 project on December 31 with this photo:
Thorsten's project is filled with scenery and architecture from Germany. Below is his finisher's interview along with some of his photos.
What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
It was my experimental year on my way to become a better photographer (although it will remain a hobby) and I want to overcome my procrastination.
How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
No goals, no specialties (for now). Just fun!
What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
My creativity ;-)
What did you learn during the course of your project?
To find different angles or details of things to make an interesting photograph.
Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
By a favorable circumstance I had the pleasure to shoot the first German Radio Award behind the scenes. It was very amusing to watch the professional colleagues over the shoulders. The picture shows Lena Meyer-Landrut on the red carpet.
For those of you who don’t know who she is: Lena was cast in the talent show “Unser Star fueür Oslo” (Our Star for Oslo) and select as the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo. Which she won.
What are your future photography plans?
First take a break and than focus on people.
Some of his favorites:
Congrats again to Thorsten! Here are some admin favorites, along with a slide show of the completed project.
