“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”
Greg Anderson
Well, it’s official now – Project 365 is over and a 2012 photo project is conceived.
First of all, I must thank everyone who has been following this photo project – through Flickr, Facebook and Blogs - for all the encouragement. There were lots of days when my creativity kinda hit the wall… and knowing there was a corps of supporters who were “waiting” for the daily post, well that definitely helped get me over the hump many times. I’m not sure I would have actually completed a 365 project if not for the sharing and feedback component – that interaction is the part that makes it fun.
By the way, there were three local photographers who participated in Project 365 and MADE IT. I did double duty, once as a personal project and another photo each day from the Historic Gardens. Jane DeWolfe and Ryan Scranton also made the trip – congrats to them as well! We had each other’s support, and it was always interesting to see what the others had chosen as their photo each day. There were a few days when we all had similar ideas (like Day 42 when we all captured the same dramatic storm clouds), and lots of times when our photos were of totally different themes. So in total the three photographers have accumulated a collection of more than 1400 photos, which collectively tell a story of the past year in this community. Our intention is to archive this collection at the O’Dell House Museum – who knows, future generations may look back on this for its heritage value much like we all value Charlotte Perkins’ photographic work from years ago. I think it’s safe to say we all feel quite good about Project 365. But we’re also glad it’s over!
Happily, all three of us have agreed to participate in the new 2012 challenge – in fact we hatched this plan collectively! And we have more shutterbugs joining with this effort, which makes it that much more exciting!
So what’s up for 2012? The challenge is called Project 7×52 and will involve posting 7 photographs weekly. How is that different than a photo-a-day, you may ask? The big difference is that it does not require taking a photograph every single day of the year, and that’s a BIG difference indeed! The other difference is that we will, individually, be picking themes for each weekly collection.
For me, the weekly theming will give me an opportunity to include many of your great ideas: portraits, shopping local, above & below, etc. It will also allow for theming around community events, or even world news. I will pre-select some themes, to force myself to focus on areas where I may want to improve my skills – like Larry’s “portrait” idea. Other times, I will let the theme evolve as the week progresses – I find some really great things can result if you just let things unfold in a natural way.
And as for some of the other suggestions, like chronicling what is great about Annapolis Royal, these things will emerge as the photo project progresses, much as they did in 2011. Because of the way my mind works, and because of the industry I work in, it is always a natural for me to migrate towards all the things that make Annapolis Royal the World’s Most Liveable Small Town!
When I started Project 365, I truly had no idea how it would unfold. The results were as surprising to me as to everyone else. The Shop Local photo campaign this past fall (which became a fairly popular initiative) initially came about as a result of my desperation for a photo-of-the-day on a dreary day in November. Many of my photos through the year recorded special community events, or local news. I just went with the flow, and some good things happened. So I think it’s important to continue to build in a lot of flexibility to the photo project so that things can continue to evolve in a natural way.
So that’s Project 7×52. Any shutterbugs who want to join us in this effort, please do so. The more the merrier. Just contact me for posting instructions. Ready… set… go!
Oh yeah, what about my “alter ego”? The Historic Gardens side of my photography? Well, instead of mirroring the same project with my Gardens hat on, as I did in 2011, this time I have decided to take on a totally different project for my Gardens photos… Project 1000. That will involve taking and posting/sharing 1000 photos in the coming year, all about the Gardens. There is no schedule specified, but it will likely follow a weekly format as well. The only goal is a total of 1000 photos by December 31.
“A journey of a thousand photos begins with a single click”
