Sunday, February 13, 2011

365 Photographs Later...

Last year, on Valentine's Day, it started -- the take-your-camera-everywhere, late-night scramble-for-a-photo madness of 365 days in photos. And here we are today, many batteries later, my Samsung and I, old friends. We both have our moments -- sometimes he switches to video mode without telling me, sometimes I drop him out of my back pocket into the road-- but we're both still functional, for the most part.

So, here it is, my year in photographs, along with a few things I've learnt along the way.



Discovery: The flash is not my friend. It's been turned off since June. If the light's bad enough that I need a flash, there's no point taking the picture.

Tip: Never take a photo of yourself in a green mud mask and expect people to say flattering things.


Discovery: Taking photos at work seemed boring and desperate at the time, but now those shots are some of the most telling in looking at how my life has changed.


Tip: Photos of fried food will never look tasty, no matter how good the food was.


Tip: When inspiration runs thin, taking photos of the same old things, but from above, can hold you over until the 365 excitement returns.

Discovery: Looking back at the photos, it's always the close-ups that grab my attention, but it's nice to have a few larger-scope photos to help capture the atmosphere of the month.


Discovery: Taking a photo-a-day in those first few months of having Tilly often made me feel like I'd actually accomplished something that day, and worked wonders towards me feeling like a functional human again!


Discovery: Though I haven't beaten my slight fear of public photography, I have gotten much much quicker at whipping out the camera and taking the shot before anyone notices.


Tip: Sometimes it's the mistakes that make the most memorable photos. A blurred leg here, and sneeze-on-camera there, it all helps to recall the real feeling of the year.


Discovery: Who'd have thought photos of feet were so interesting (to me, at least) and addictive?


Tip: As well as all of the regular baby milestones, we've really enjoyed taking Tilly's photo at each of our favourite restaurants and cafes -- her first plate of IKEA meatballs is a big step in this family!


Tip: A very easy home-studio for staging shots can be made from two white sheets of poster board, propped together at a right-angle. The white board reflects light onto your subject, and gives you a blank background.


Discovery: There are several lists of weekly themes out there on the Web for 365ers needing inspiration. When challenged with the theme of 'macro' shots, some new perspectives were found.


Discovery: As with many things, taking photos begets more photo taking. So while at the start, one photo a day was often a challenge, now it's become natural to take a picture of anything of interest.


And what happens at the end, you might wonder? Do I put my camera on a shelf, and breathe a sigh of relief? Put the lens cover on and give my trusty Samsung a rest?

Not on your life! Call me ambitious, but I'd like to commit, right now, to taking a photo-a-day every day for the rest of my life. Off we go again, The Year of the Rabbit in photos...

11 comments:

Ingrid @ Fable of the Table said...

Brilliant story told in words and pictures.
What a fabulous year you have remembered here and I love the fact that so many of us have joined you on that journey.
Thanks for all the inspiration and I join you in the commitment to a photo a day for the rest of my life!

zsazsazsu said...

Just love it ! indeed a very good idea to do this.
I did something too with somehting very old, check my blog !
Maybe an idea to make with pictures ?

Unknown said...

Wow, amazing. What a brilliant record, better than any diary.
Flickr mucked up my photo storage and left me with only about 250 pictures for the group. As we were near the end with new projects to do I thought what the heck, it is in the past, but seeing these has made me think that maybe one day I will sort them out and make new mosaics of my Year of the Tiger too

Förskoleburken said...

What a great idea. I really got very inspired. And such wonderful photos. Thanks for inviting us into your your life!

Trudi * Fabricated Tales said...

What a beautiful record of your year. I wish I was organised enough to remember to take a photo everyday. Looking forward to seeing your Year of the Rabbit next Valentine's.

Trudi * Fabricated Tales said...

What a beautiful record of your year. I wish I was organised enough to remember to take a photo everyday. Looking forward to seeing your Year of the Rabbit next Valentine's.

Trudi * Fabricated Tales said...

What a beautiful record of your year. I wish I was organised enough to remember to take a photo everyday. Looking forward to seeing your Year of the Rabbit next Valentine's.

Trudi * Fabricated Tales said...

What a beautiful record of your year. I wish I was organised enough to remember to take a photo everyday. Looking forward to seeing your Year of the Rabbit next Valentine's.

monkeemoomoo said...

What a beautiful collection of photos. I'm inspired:)

Loreal said...

Congratulations, Astrid, on such a huge accomplishment! I love seeing the progression of the past year in your life, and you have become such a wonderful photographer, too! I'm so proud of you. (And thank God we can make photo books with these wonderful images, rather than feeling pressured to scrapbook every one! =)

Jadyn said...

What a great collection of photos! Such a wonderful record of your year and your creativity. I am so inspired by the gusto with which you've approached this! I keep falling off the wagon of 365-ing, but seeing this makes me realize the value of sticking to it. What a great year you've had, so grateful I've had the chance to meet you through unravelling and getting to follow along in your life. xo