Project 365

Recently, I attended my nephew's Christening. I figured I would bring my Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2, be fancy, and take fancy pictures...

Right.

I haven't really used this camera since... Honestly, I don't know when. It only crossed my mind to use it because I had just used it to take photos for my work's website. That day, I realized that I really am not all that familiar with my beloved camera. Other than knowing how to maneuver through the controls/settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture- Yes, I know what they are for...) and the "auto" functions, I don't know which settings to use, and which combinations work best for certain "conditions." I was so bummed that I stopped using the camera, and I just let my sisters take photos with their cameras for the rest of the day. However, I did make a resolution with myself that I was going to be a great photographer... or at least familiarize myself with all of my cameras.

As soon as I got home, I started going through the internet (Flickr forums, Pinterest, photography blogs), looking for tips on photography and on using the GF2. There were a lot of information, and I was, of course, overwhelmed. But there was one thing that kept popping up in every one of these sites... The key is to practice - just keep taking pictures! That is the only way I am going to learn and get better. I already know the basics, the next step is to just do it.

Of course, I didn't "do it." I just kept visiting these sites. I kept reading, learning, and looking at the pretty pictures others have taken. I was very jealous of their skills, but I wasn't as motivated as I thought I was going to be. I needed to challenge myself... The way I challenged myself to do the 52 Week Challenge. So far, I am doing really well with that, so I needed to do something similar... That's when Project 365 came up.

Project 365 is a challenge to take one photo a day for a year. From what I have learned, people do this for various reasons. Two of the more common ones are: 1.) to document their lives, sort of like a daily photo diary, 2.) and/or so they can improve their photography skills, which is the main reason I will be doing this project.

Can I really do this? I like think that I can, but realistically speaking, I probably will fail. Fail, in the sense that I will miss some days... To be successful in doing this, one should always have his camera on hand, which I probably won't. I have my Canon PowerShot Elph 330 HS and the camera on my phone, but I really want to complete this project using just my GF2, which I know I won't always be carrying. I have already failed before even starting. :/

I really, really want to do this... 

Okay, I am going to do this, but with a few different rules.

Since I wanted to do this as a personal project, and I have no intention of sharing my photos on the Project 365 website anyway, I figured I am allowed to bend the rules a little. Here are my own rules:

1. I will do my best to take a photo a day. - Life happens, so I may miss a day or two. If this happens, I have to "make it up" by taking two or three photos a day until I am caught up.

2. I will use my GF2 as much as possible. - There will be days I have to use a different camera. When this happens, I can "make it up" by posting a photo taken with my GF2 in addition to the one taken with another camera. This will force me to still use the GF2, since the main reason I am doing this is to familiarize myself with it.

3. I can take and post the same photo or similar photos of the same subject, as long as it is not from the same "session" or photo shoot. - I know one of the main rules of Project 365 is that one cannot take the same/similar shot of the same subject, or something like that. I understand the logic behind this; it forces one to be creative. But my reason for wanting to be able to "retake" a shot is so I can improve my skills. I want to be able to compare and see how much better I have taken the picture the second or third time around. I mean, how else am I going to learn? I am not planning on doing this all the time, but I want to be able to.

4. I will do my best to post a blog a day, to update the project. - But like I said, life happens. So when I can't, I will either combine the photos in one blog post, or post the photos separately based on the day they were taken, and backdate the post. I will most likely be doing the latter. It just makes it look neater and more organized that way. :P

I know that making my own rules is really not doing the actual Project 365, but like I said before, I want to do this to hone better photography skills. If I set it so that I will just fail, how is that motivating myself to be better? I am not in competition with anyone else but myself, and that's the best kind!

Okay, enough blogging... Let's start taking pictures!

xx,
Pamela