Project 365: Mission Accomplished

Hello there, Blog Reader.

If you have been reading my blog at all during the last year you have probably seen my Project 365 posts. And, if you check in regularly, you may have noticed that since I finished it last weekend, I have been fairly quiet. I think I needed a little blogging vacation after the past 365 days of obligatory blogging. Throughout the past week I have been thinking about what the project meant to me and how I will go forward from here. To keep this from being the longest blog post ever, I will recap the experience mostly through bullet points. Even then, it is a long one, so you might want to get a cup of tea.

My rules were (posted on Day 1):

• Project 365 = 1 photo posted for each of the next 365 days
• All photos will be taken by me
• I will try to post daily, but at worst, will only fall a few days behind real time
  
• My camera is my new best friend
• I am excited to see where this project takes me (and you!)

What I thought I would get out of it:

• inspiration and motivation for regularly posting on my blog
• increase my competency with my camera
• 365 photos
• fun
  

What I learned in the process:

• some days are kind of uninteresting but if you try, you can usually find at least one remarkable thing each day
• i value having a photographic journal and having recorded the stories that go with those photos
• my camera hates low light
• camera flashes have very limited use/natural light is my best friend
• it is a lot more fun to take pictures in the spring/fall/summer than in the winter in MN
  
• i feel uncomfortable taking pictures of people without their permission
• i favor taking pictures of things over people, yet i love pictures of people
  
• i like to photograph food (and make it and talk about it and write about it and grow it...)
  
• 365 days is a lot of days
• the last 2 months of the project went by really slowly and most days of the last month i really felt obligated to finish the project, rather than enjoying the project
  
• sometimes it felt like a chore while other times it was a lot of fun
• the project gave me an excuse to take pictures at odd times or places
• a lot happens in a year

Damn, I am proud that I did it! I got what I had anticipated out of the project and then some. I followed all of the rules I set for myself, even on the days were it was a total chore. Like this day, which I think was my worst photo. I was not in the mood that day and was trying so hard to just find something to take a picture of. I eventually gave up and just posted this photo:

No doubt there were times where I did not want to take pictures or post, but the rewards were definitely worth it. I don't know about you, but the rules I set for myself are for my own good. If I had started to let myself make excuses, chances are that I would have skipped a day and then another day and then another day, which would have diminished the impact of this project. And, sometimes having to find a photo stretched my creativity, like on this day:

Making it a habit to always have my camera with me was essential in the success of this project. Having it on hand provided me with some great opportunities for photos that I might not have been able to capture otherwise. Like this day:

and this day:

Now that I am used to carrying my camera with me everywhere, when I left it at home for a few days this week, I felt a little bit naked. And, I missed it!

So, what does this mean for the blog now that the project is officially over? Well, for one, it means you won't be forced to see awful photos like that first one in this post! The project definitely served its purpose of inspiring me to post regularly and I expect that influence to continue. I really enjoyed the small amount of explanation that came with most of my images. The images and the stories are like my own personal scrapbook.

One of the most important opportunities this blog affords me is a venue to share the important things in my life with you, Reader. Be those things the simple joys or the major events, I enjoy putting them here and connecting with others through my posts.

I suspect that there are a good amount of you who have never commented, so I would like to invite you to do so. Of course, you do not need to feel obligated, but please do feel welcomed. And, for those of you that have commented, please keep it up! I love to get feedback from what I throw out there.

With that said, I am interested to hear anything you might have to say about this project. Have you done anything like this? If so, would you share a link/your thoughts about the experience?

And, lastly, a big thank you! Thank you for spending some of your time here on TrinKnitty.