Project 365 Book

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I’m so totally thrilled with how this little book turned out. All along, throughout the project, I had been hoping to print all my photos from Project 365 into a Blurb book and it was so fun to get the book yesterday and finally see them all in print. I was so excited about getting it I was tracking the package online every day and left a little note for the postman about which buzzer was mine (they never buzz, and then I have to trek out to the UPS store to get a package that could have just been delivered straight to me!).

Anyways, I love it. It is the visual record of my 2012. I intentionally printed the book with 8 photos per spread – partially because of cost, partially because I love being able to see about a week at a time. Also, as I’ve said repeatedly throughout the year re: this project – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Not every single photo is special. But together they are so special! And I love that I can remember things that were happening that day when I look at the photos. I made this 7×7 book using Blurb and I am very happy with the results.

Plus – guess what? I learned how to manually set my white balance when I took these photos this morning! So Project 365 (the learning, the growing, the improving) has come full circle and is going full steam ahead. Yay!

Project 365: The End

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The above picture is a mock-up of my Project 365 Blurb Book! I am anxiously awaiting its arrival, and I’ll post a few photos of it once it gets here. I had always intended to print my photos from 2012 into a book, and needless to say I cannot wait to flip through all the pages of photos from this past year. I didn’t quite make it to 365 (I lost about a week, somewhere or other) but you can see my Project 358 photos in their entirety here!

I’m really happy I chose to do this project. It’s true that my photography has improved by a lot from the beginning of the year to now, and I’m proud of that. At the same time, I have been relieved not to have to scrounge around my badly-lit apartment for a decent photo on days when I am feeling busy and uninspired. I’m conflicted about this! Part of me thinks that searching out beauty in the everyday is important (it’s one of my goals for January, after all!). The other part of me thinks that being creative shouldn’t feel like a total chore. I was starting to resent doing this project every single day. So I’m giving myself a little time to “detox” from the project, and giving myself permission to take photos that inspire me and make me happy, whenever that may be. I’ve also been using my iPhone to take photos much more, which I’ve enjoyed (it’s easier, and always with me). We will see how 2012 goes from here re: photography!

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Project 365: Week 46 + 47

I’m still so grateful that I decided to take on this project in 2012. Today I was looking at photos from February, and I remember taking one of them and thinking to myself “well, that’s it then, better get outside because I’ve taken every photo I could possibly take in my little apartment”. Funny, though, that I’m still having that thought almost every day and apparently it is never true! I love that I’m still learning new things all the time and experimenting. Yes, I could do to get outside more with my camera, definitely. But learning how to play with all the different settings is a great thing, whether I do it inside in bad light or outside in nice light.

I’m excited to be finished this project and move on to something new, but I’m happy happy happy that I did it this year.

Project 365: Weeks 41 to 45

Whoa girl, it’s been a while since I posted my Project 365 photos. Don’t worry, I haven’t fallen off this wagon quite yet! That being said, I am really excited to be finished this project. I think it’s been real, and great to take a photo of something every single day – it forces me to look hard at my environment and try to find some beauty in the everyday. Atthe same time, I think it’s natural to have some “off days” where things just are a little boring or a little busy, just because they are. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am planning on having another, vaguer photo goal for 2013: take as many photos of beauty as you possibly can, do a weekly roundup. I like goals that can come together over a slightly longer period of time (like the cake goal!) and that don’t have to be done every single day. I’ve at times found this goal a little suffocating. But my photography has improved! So that’s the best.

Happy Thursday!

Ps. A few links:

  • I was immediately into this computer wallpaper from LinkWithLove as soon as I saw it. December promises to be completely crazy, so having a (cute, graphic) calendar close at hand seemed like a very good idea.
  • One perk of my hair having grown (way) out is going to be trying these holiday hair tutorials from A Cup of Jo.
  • I’ve been using this pattern to make some cozy handwarmers. I’ve made one so far!