My 365 project

by Donna Andrews

In early November Ellen Crosby, my nearest writing neighbor, told me that she was going to do the 365 project, and asked if I was interested in doing it.  In the 365 project, you post one photo every day for a year.  It can serve as a visual diary of your year and--more importantly for me--it can help give you an incentive for taking photos on a daily basis.  In photography, as in writing, you grow and learn by doing.

So I jumped in with both feet.  And jumped the gun.  Ellen and her husband are going to start their projects on January 1.  I was impatient to begin so I kicked off mine on November 11.

After a little over a month, it's already been an interesting ride.  There are days when it's tough choosing which of several good candidates to post.  And other days when it's tough getting even one usable shot.  Or one shot, period.

If you want to see all the winners, check out my 365 project.  The photos in this blog are some of the also-rans.  And if you're my friend on Facebook, you'll see the latest photos whenever I load them.

  I made an executive decision not to include people in my project unless they were grownups and totally adored the photo in question, which does rather limit my selections on some days. And since flowers, in my garden or anyone else's, are among my favorite subjects for photos, beginning in November presents something of a challenge. 

I started out strong on November 9 with a shot of what I expected would be my last rose bloom of the year. I coasted on fall foliage for a week or two.  Christmas is making things festive and, more important, visually interesting. I will definitely need to get out more so I can expand my subject matter.

Fortunately, right now I'm in what I call my Big Sky phase.  I've become visually fascinated by the incredible panorama of scenery that so many of us don’t notice because we don't raise our eyes above the roofline or the treeline.  At eye level, I might find nothing worth shooting in the bland suburban architecture and bleak winter landscape through which I'm passing, but if I look up, more often than not I will find intricate cloud formations, interesting atmospheric conditions--fog, rain, snow--or maybe just cool colors--an intense blue sky, a subtly shaded sunset.  Add in the incredible variety of branches, roofs, and steeples that creep into the frame and you have an endless source of fascination.

Or at least one I'm not yet tired of.  Maybe I'll feel differently by the time the first hints of green appear.  And since, as you've probably already deduced, I prefer subjects from nature, ill health, particularly if it occurs during cold weather, presents challenges.  One day I took a shot of my ceiling fan, practically the only object I'd seen during a day spent flat on my back with a nasty cold that was mutating into a sinus infection. 

  I've also had camera perils.  A few days after I began, one of my two small pocket cameras (both Canon PowerShot SD140s)  developed a lens problem, as if someone had acid-etched a faint, ghostly Nike swoop logo on the lens (see example on right).  And since the other pocket camera has been hiding for three months or so, that meant I was about to become effectively cameraless.  But I've learned that while the extra protection plans may not be worthwhile for some things, they definitely pay off for my cameras.  The Nike logo camera was the third incarnation of what I now call my Spinal Tap Drummer Camera series, after the fictional rock band's legendary inability to keep a drummer alive.  (ST Camera #1 was drowned by a leaking container of limeade, and ST camera #2 is the one now hiding somewhere, perhaps never to be found.) The Geek Squad decided that the ghost logo was covered under the warranty, and I walked out with Spinal Tap Camera #4.  That one bit the dust a few weeks later, in the excitement of Thanksgiving. When they told me that it would be one to four weeks before they determined whether they'd be fixing or replacing it, I used that as an excuse to upgrade, and bought myself a better camera as an early Christmas present.  (A Canon PowerShot SX30 IS, if you're curious.)  I could have carried on with my iPhone camera--I sometimes do, if I see a good shot and don't have a camera handy, but that's tougher.

And I'm learning to be philosophical about the ones that get away.  Less often, these days, because I don't have my camera.  (My December 7 shot of the hawk in my neighbors' driveway is a good example of a photo I probably have missed before I began the 365 project.  But there are still shots that disappear before I get the camera on.  Shots I see when I've driving someplace and can't find a place to pull over.  (I spent fifteen minutes one afternoon lately driving around the Reston Town Center to find a place to get a reasonably clean shot of a beautiful sunset. ) Or shots that just don't work. Sometimes because my skill and my camera are not up to it, but all too often because there are some moments of beauty that simply can't be captured in the limited, two-dimensional space of a photo.  My sunset photo was only a pale reflection of the real thing.  

I see the same thing happen in my writing--what I'm able to capture on the page is all too often only a pale reflection of the story I envision.  Self-editing helps.  But nothing will ever quite match the picture or the book you imagine.  You live with it.  You keep trying.

I could get maudlin about the gap between my reach and my grasp, but it's snowing! I'm going to bundle up and get cracking, because the perfect snow picture is almost certainly waiting outside somewhere.

Comments

[leslie]

I did a project on photography for one of my courses in college lately. It was strange to think in terms of photography and poetry. I tried to match photos with some of my poetry but came up with simply taking photos of what is important in my life. One of my favorites was of a pink shy at sunset through tress. I love the idea of the 365 project. Maybe I'll try it. Thanks.

[Donna Andrews]

It's worth trying, Leslie. I find that engaging in a creative activity, like photography, that is completely nonverbal brings me back to my writing with new energy.

[Kristina L]

Cool idea. The sky this time of year can be lovely. If I did this, I'd keep wanting to put it off for 2 weeks and then go to the zoo and put up 40 pictures :)

[Elaine Viets]

Now I know what that "365 Project picture" means on your Facebook page. Enjoyed this blog -- enjoy your pictoral journey.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Donna, this iw wonderful!!! For so many reasons, but to look at the world in a visual way is something that's so inspiring.. What a terrific project..

[Susan M]

I don't take enough pics to qualify for the 365 pics kinda thing. I know this because I signed up for one once. Hah!

Enjoyed your pics and reflections on picturating ;-)

Best wishes on your new commitment!