365 and breaking patterns (warning: rambling!)

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by BryanC

Interesting thread. My interest in picking up a camera has always ranged from 'completely obsessed' mood to 'totally uninterested' mood, and everything in between. I tossed around the idea of a 365 or a 52 project, but I know myself. (At least I think I do.) I'm pretty sure there would come a day where I just wouldn't be motivated, wouldn't feel creative, just wouldn't feel like it.

I can totally relate to that actually. I pretty much hadn't picked up the camera in weeks when I opted to start and figured I'd do it anyway.

Originally Posted by BryanC

I have a question, out of curiosity, to whoever wants to answer, either currently doing these projects or have already done one: Have all of your images been ones you have been satisfied with? Meaning, forget about it being part of the project for a moment, standing on it's own, are you happy with what you accomplished? Or, has there been one, or maybe more, that you weren't happy with but it satisfied the project requirement? Again, I ask out of curiosity only, not to pass judgement or anything like that.

Pass all the judgement you want In any case, I've actually been pretty happy with most of my shots. Even when it was 11:30 at night and I was verging on not having a shot, I'd suck it up and come up with something. My least favourite shots are some of the iPhone ones, but even then it's all just part of it. I don't feel bad about having a few less than "perfect" shots because the point was to try something, to try to work with whatever limits I had at the time, and to try to take something I wouldn't mind posting. So far, so good. There may yet come a time when I'm taking a shot just to take a shot, but for now, I'm happy with what I've accomplished and happy with what I'm learning.

[DannyF1966]

Originally Posted by BryanC

Have all of your images been ones you have been satisfied with?

No, they haven't, and you're right when you say that there are times when you just get the camera out for the sake of taking a photo of something, anything, just for the 365 project.

I've had my camera less than a year, and I'm just starting to learn the possibilities of what can be done in post-processing. So I'm hoping to see an improvement in my photography over the course of the project, simply because I'm thinking about it a lot more and doing something with it every day. It's a learning exercise for me, a habit-building exercise, not necessarily a portfolio-building exercise.

[dcclark]

Thanks guys, I'm glad I'm not alone!

I definitely have some images (even after just 27 days!) which I'm not satisfied with. The main one is a recent one -- a small loaf of bread. It's grainy, not quite in focus, poorly composed, no sense of scale... and the thing is, I intended to take a photo of that loaf of bread! However, I was also baking it just before I had to run out the door to go teach, so I had a severe time crunch. No time to set it up in a nice arrangement, no time to light it better, no time to think again about the whole composition -- just shoot and go!

I think that that time crunch is one of the things that's produced my least favorite shots. It's something to work on (probably by planning better!) for sure.

[LMAshton]

I'm also doing Project 365. I find myself also challenged by mostly taking the same sorts of things - they tend to be plants of various types and in various stages of growth or flowering in my yard. Luckily, I like in the tropics, so it does get interesting at times, but I'm still limiting myself.

Unfortunately, I'm chronically ill, so don't get out and about much at all, so I don't have a great solution to the whole get out and photograph bit.

Recently, I started photographing objects inside the house instead, trying to find interesting angles and playing with the colours to make it more interesting to me.

Originally Posted by BryanC

I have a question, out of curiosity, to whoever wants to answer, either currently doing these projects or have already done one: Have all of your images been ones you have been satisfied with? Meaning, forget about it being part of the project for a moment, standing on it's own, are you happy with what you accomplished? Or, has there been one, or maybe more, that you weren't happy with but it satisfied the project requirement? Again, I ask out of curiosity only, not to pass judgement or anything like that.

No way have I been satisfied with all my images. Nope. BUT I am happy with the progress I think I'm making as a photographer. My goal in doing the project 365 was to expand my creative horizons, try to learn how to see things in a different way. Sure, there'll be some flops, but that happens with experiments, which is what this is to at least some degree.

[SoxAddict]

I too am a 365'er. I also have quite a compulsive and addictive personality (not to substances - well, except chocolate and ice cream, and maybe pumpkin cappuccino - but just to anything that I get my teeth into) so to prevent myself from going stir crazy doing the 365 whereby I need to get my "best" shot to post, I set some internal ground rules for myself:

1) It doesn't matter whether I use my DSLR, P&S or iPhone camera - a photo is a photo
2) I'm not trying to capture perfection - just something from that day

The main aim for me doing the project is to have some fun, and also because I've heard so many people who, at the end of the year, say that the project has improved them in some way - whether forcing them to think outside the box, making them think more about composition, allowing them to see photo-opportunities in even everyday things.

The easiest way for me to accomplish the project is to view it as a "Photo Journal" for the year - each photo tells something about my day - whether it was a fun trip somewhere, something about the work I was doing, someone I met, the mood I was in. For me at least, thinking of it this way makes it easier for me to find an idea for a picture.

And in response to Bryan's question - yes, I definitely have posted pics that I would ordinarily never post because I wasn't satisfied with them. It's just my photo diary after all!

Another thing for me and the 365 is that I already know it'll help to branch me out of my favored, comfort zone - I intend to use it as an excuse to take more shots indoors, use artifical light, try new PP techniques, even (shock horror) maybe take some SPs!

Sorry for my ramblings, but I guess if even one of my points helps alleviate someone's 365 angst I'll be happy!

Oh, & I actually came across a cool Flickr group that was "365 anytime" or something like that - basically people who were doing a 365 photo project but in whatever time it took them to reach 365 photos. So that might be another way to look at it for those who don't want to force themselves into a photo every single day.

[BryanC]

Some great answers and insight! It wasn't my intention to stray off of David's original topic and question, but this was my roundabout way of answering it. I probably would have fallen into a 'pattern', personally, if I was involved in one of these projects. Just an individual thing on my part. You guys have me curious enough now to maybe try it and challenge myself to work through that. Or not. Either way, good luck and encouragement to you guys on your projects...as I said before, big respect for those who get involved with these!

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by SoxAddict

1) It doesn't matter whether I use my DSLR, P&S or iPhone camera - a photo is a photo.

This reminded me of something -- one of my favorite 365 photos so far was actually one that I took with my crappy camera phone! I used it to take a picture of my normal camera (A Nikon D40x), stuffed into a snowbank. The photo quality isn't good, but the photo itself elicited a much stronger, more emotional response, than most photos I take!

[lovephotos]

I was forced to stay close to home because my vehicle was in the shop and I live in the country, (the land is flat so not much interest there right now). I started concentrating on how the lighting affected my subject (which didn't matter, stapler, pen, plant etc) The lighting became the most important aspect of producing a picture a day. I've learned so much from just focusing on how the light hits my subject and I know that when I finally can get out to do some beautiful landscape photography, I can transfer these learned lessons to any subject I chose.

Doing a photo a day is not just about pumping out a picture just to say you did it, it's about learning and growing with your photography. It's a commitment to yourself to raise the level of skill you have, it's about planning and it's also about post edit.

Spend some time with a note pad and pen and write down specific things you want to learn or shoot. Set up themes for yourself for each week, eg. wk 1 shoot all in B&W, wk 2 shoot only people, wk 3 shoot contrasts. Leave yourself open to that opportune photo of a special occasion/subject.

Most of all don't make it a chore that you have to do. We all get in a slump sometimes or can't go where we want, the important thing is to keep at it and take your cam every where you go.

[Saralonde]

I started a 365 Jan. 1, 2009 and finished Dec. 31, 2009. I did a 365 self-portrait the year before.

I took shots I was proud of, plus quite a few stinkers. I'd like to say the bad ones were due to lack of time or enthusiasm, but that doesn't explain why some of the ones I liked were spur-of-the-moment-I-don't-care-today shots. But even if the pic was disappointing, I learned something daily, even if it was just "Remember to check your wb setting."

I also used some "not quite perfect" images as a chance to understand Photoshop better. I agree, Photoshop can't make a bad shot good, but I learned a great deal about what this powerful editing tool can do.

I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to quit, but I find it very difficult to quit something once I start, so I soldiered on. Three quarters of the way I went through a two month period where it took a lot of effort to shoot something everyday. But it forced me to think about photography everyday. Just showing up here and reading threads does not force you to really think about photography in the same way. Knowing that you have to compose an image and share it with everyone does.

During my dry spells I would do a week or so with certain constraints. Such as:

• only black and white
• macros
• cliche shots
• TtV (through the viewfinder)
• only 50mm
• shallow dof

Assignments here at dPS can give you ideas, too.

And, OMG, I have so many cliched images!

They don't bother me very much though. I take them as learning experiences. Everybody should try to take a sunrise and /or sunset shot at least once. It can teach you a lot about lighting. Closeups of butterflies/bees can teach you about patience if nothing else . And some of those cliched shots (wedding ring forming a shadow heart, most pregnant shots, jumping bridesmaids) are often what clients want if you are doing portrait work.

So yes, cliche shots give a chance for practice.

If you are still looking for ideas, check out Flickr Group Roulette and 365 - DPS Assignment.

I swore I'd never do another 365. But I think less about shooting when I don't have to do it everyday. I stop looking at everything as a photographic opportunity. This disturbs me a bit. I don't want to do another 365, but I don't want to lose my photography brain either. I am not a natural photographer and I'm constantly learning, practicing and trying to figure things out. So I'm actually feeling a little sad at not doing it this year.

Enjoy it, take your camera everywhere, push through it and at the end of December, take stock of what you learned.

[abaranda]

I just completed a 365, which I titled "making ordinary things extra-ordinary." My goal was to take a picture everyday of everyday things around me. I did have to resort to table top setups a lot, however. I also ended up buying little things at craft stores, etc. I have a Canon G10 that I bring everywhere allowing me to take pictures at stores without really getting noticed. Many of my pictures are fruits, vegetables, etc at the produce aisle in a local grocery store. Having a list of ideas (or specific things) help, so I wasn't guessing as much. I wasn't able to post everyday, however, so I think you have a harder challenge.

I'm now doing a 52, a weekly landscape series.