What’s This All About?

A picture every day, for a year. Sounds pretty simple, right?

I think the photographer Taylor McKnight, who’s done a 365 Project more than once, sums up the payoffs of this project best:

• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!)
• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.
• Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day.

Personally, I wanted to become a better photographer and expand my capabilities. I was inspired to do the project by observing the results of a few others that just finished their 2009 projects. To say I was impressed is a gross understatement. The project seemed to mean so much more to the photographers I followed than just trying to produce great imagery. They were sharing a little bit of themselves and their experiences every day, and I got the impression that the project helped them gain a greater appreciation of their surroundings, and life in general. And, did I mention the amazing photos? 🙂 Aside from the obvious intention of becoming a better photographer, I also wanted this experience for myself.

The Self-Imposed Ground Rules

• A picture taken every day of the year.
  No shooting photos in advance, or pulling photos from the archives. While it may not be possible to POST every single day, due to vacations, sickness, etc., every effort will be made to take a photo each day.
• Bring the Camera Everywhere
  Yes, everywhere. In a pinch, the camera on the phone will suffice.
• Mix It Up
  Don’t do too much of the same thing. Try for new creative approaches on old themes and be original as much as possible.
• Tell a Story
  Whenever possible, produce images that: have a story, invoke emotion of some sort, and are unique.
• Don’t Stop, No Matter What
  In researching this, I’ve read that “You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up.”  The result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.

Content Credits:
I have paraphrased some content from this post on Photojojo.com that I found when I was originally planning this project.