POTW for July 24th to 30th 2011

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

Photos of the Week: July 17-23

Lots of wonderful photos in the pool this week! Congratulations to the photographers who took the following photos, they were nominated and chosen as this week's Photos of the Week!

Congratulations Smile4Me!Photography!

Congratulations to Charley who recently finished her lovely and color-filled 365 Project with this photo:


Below is Charley's finisher's interview and two admin faves. Enjoy!

What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
At first, I was hoping that maybe one of my photos would be good enough to be 'Explored'...which never happened to my knowledge. But, then it just became the challenge of taking a picture consecutively for 365 days and hoping to learn more about my camera, it's settings and such. I also noticed other contacts that seemed to be enjoying doing so.

I noticed so many members who had several, often hundreds, of comments posted on their pictures and I thought, perhaps, by posting a picture everyday, more would become aware of my photostream and leave the same amount of comments...but this didn't happen either. Shame on me...I guess that keeps me humble, lol..oh well, guess I should just be happy that I have a place to display my work...



How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
Improved, but not expert, yet!

What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
That I stuck with the project. I thought for sure I would throw in the towel.



What did you learn during the course of your project?
To look outside the box...look at everything in the frame...not just the main subject.

Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
Hmm..had to think about this one. The only one I could come up with was my picture from day 317 was of a horse named Blue. I had noticed him one day in a fenced off field that I drove by frequently, all alone..and not sure why. The next day, I took my camera an was attempting to get some pictures of him from a distance, when all of a sudden, the owner appears and starts walking toward me. Thinking he was going to run me off, I started to put away my camera. He suddenly motioned for me to come around to the gate and he would let me in for some closeup shots. Ironically, the next day, the horse was gone. Just shows to never pass up an opportunity to take pictures of whatever inspires you and to always have a camera on your person.

What are your future photography plans?
To continue to improve in my skills. I am starting a 52 week project and will continue contributing to other groups I am a member of.

Can you share some of your favorite photos from your project?
There were so many 'favorites' to choose from, but I've narrowed them down to 4-

176/365-I love the reflection in the ornament


219/365-I thought this one was great because the background (scrapbook page) says 'eyecandy' and I taped an eye on a piece of candy..though it was pretty creative.


290/365- Because it's my motto 'Smile4Me!'

Congratulations again! If you have recently completed your 365 project, or you will soon, please contact a 365 admin to find out how to be featured in this blog. :)

Congratulations to Esperantista!

Congratulations to Esperantista who completed her 365 on 30th June with this photo:

Esperantista kindly agreed to answer our finisher interview questions and share her favourite photos from the project.

What inspired you to begin your 365 Project?
I wanted to learn how to use my camera, and I thought it was a good way to start. Taking a look on some other 365's, I admired the way in which photography grows up along the way, so I said... Why not?

How would you describe your photography in just a few words?
People usually tell me that my pictures have a positive, creative and romantic feeling. I really don’t know, but maybe it’s true. The most of the times, I like to see the bright side of life.

What surprised you the most about doing the 365 project?
I thought it was much more easy! When I started the project I was sure about finishing it, but half way I was without inspiration and I realized that it was really at that moment when the real challenge began.

What did you learn during the course of your project?
Mainly, to be more creative. Before that, I only used to take pictures of the things I saw. I couldn’t think about "creating" a picture. The pressure of having to shoot something different every day, led me to experiment and to create my own situation for taking a picture. And I have do a lot of things for first time, new techniques, self-portraits (I had never done before!), zooming, panning... Moreover, I wanted to learn photoshop, so I followed many tutorials to do cloning or levitation and it has been very funny.

Do you have an interesting story about taking one of your 365 photos that you would like to share?
On days 200, 284 and 340 it happened exactly the same. I was taking a walk on the outskirts of the city, looking for some inspiration, and all three times, in different places, a white horse surprised me coming out from nowhere… I live in a big city, so seeing a horse is very, very strange! And I saw it in three different places and at three different times! Always a lone horse, and always white. I thought it was a sign!

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What are your future photography plans?
My plans are to continue learning. The world of photography is infinite, and the more you know, the more you wanna learn. I would like to improve with the use of external flashes, and change to a better camera when I save enough money. The 365 has been the best photography course I’ve ever taken, I admit, but there's a whole world for learning, and I'm just a beginner.

Some of her favourites:

Somewhere in La Mancha 332/365 - The 365 has allowed me to know much more better the place where I live (Spain). Every weekend I tried to go out of the city and discover new places. Probably I wouldn’t do it without the project

Checkpoint 314/365 - I met my life partner on a day 10, and to celebrate that, we have been taking photos of ourselves once a month from the beginning of our relationship. So there are a few truly romantic shots in the project, usually taken on a day 10. Love has made us so :)

Rain 064/365 - Or how to take a different picture in the same street that you see everyday.

Congrats once again to Esperantista! Here are a few admin favourites along with a slideshow of her completed project.

POTW for July 10 - July 16

Lots of summery imagery (at least in the Northern half of the globe) in the 365 Community pool! Our photos of the week are below. Check out these photographer's streams, you'll be glad you did.

POTW for July 3rd - 9th.

Lots of fabulous photos in the pool! Our pics for the week. Be sure to check them out!

Photos of the Week for June 26- July 3, 2011

Congratulations!

POTW for June 12 - June 18 2011

Congratulations to the photographers who took these fabulous photographs! Be sure to stop by their photo streams, you'll be glad you did.

Photos of the Week for June 5-11

Congratulations to the photographers who took these fabulous photographs!

POTW for May 29 - June 4 2011

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Yet again, I had a hard time narrowing down the photos of the week to just three.... so we have another four! Be sure to check them out. :)

And as always, if you have a photo that you see in the group pool that you just love, be sure to nominate it !

POTW for May 22 - May 28 2011

Not unusual for me, but I had a hard time picking just three this week, so I picked four ;) If you like them too, be sure to stop by and say hello on their streams!

And do you have a bunch of favs from the pool this week? Share them with us in the discussion threads!

POTW for May 15 - May 21 2011

Congratulations to the photographers whose photographs were chosen for this week! Whoot.




And if you see anything that just blows you away in the pool, be sure to nominate it for POTW in the discussion threads!

POTW for May 8 - May 14 2011

Congratulations to the photographers whose photographs were chosen for this week! Be sure to visit their streams, you'll be glad you did.