This is my first time doing a Project 365. Many of the people I follow on flickr have taken on one of these challenges or another. Many of those people I discovered because of their works for their Project 365. Some of these people, and countless others, have made it partway through the project and simply fallen behind and then stopped altogether. Others make it through to the end, sometimes begrudgingly, just to conclude with a resounding “there, done!” Fewer still make it through the entire year and just keep going, taking on another 365 challenge all over again.
When I first considered taking on the challenge myself, I realized that picking up the camera every single day was going to be a challenge. It’s not that I don’t love the camera and love making pictures, but that there is just a lot of things going on in my life and committing to one more might be a lot to ask. I work full-time as a product manager in a technology company, and I am floored at the amount of deliverables expected of my team. I also come home to a family of three kids and two dogs, each of which deserves some level of attention from Dad. It seems that many days I get home from work, and by the time we get through dinner it’s time to start the bath/brushing/books/bed routine for the three bipeds. The poor quadrupeds hardly ever get the walks and scratching and grooming they need. I also have a lovely wife to give attention to, and of course my share of the chores around the house. Often I find myself starting to plan and execute my daily photo after 9 or 10pm. This is a common story for many people, except for maybe those college students who seem to the time for all kind of wonderfully creative projects. So yes, taking on one more project is adding to an already full plate.
So why did accept the challenge this time? Which of those three categories of participants to foresee myself in? To be honest with myself, I will be probably be in the category of people who does it and is glad to see it done. Maybe I’ll love it by the end and do it again, but it is far to early in the year to make that determination. Of course I don’t see myself dropping out of the challenge. I don’t think anyone who foresaw themselves dropping out would ever take it on in the first place. So what makes me think I can do it. My new smartphone. (I won’t bias this article by mentioning which one I use.) With the smartphone I not only have a camera in my pocket, but also a way to edit and upload pictures without ever sitting down at the computer. So when all else has gone to the bucket and I just need to get some sleep I have the option of grabbing a snapshot and sending up for my daily submission. I agreed to take a photo a day, I never said they would all be great. This much I can do.
Yesterday was one of those “can’t do it today” days for me. I had a good day at work and felt productive. My DSLR came with me too, and I even took a rather uninteresting macro photo of my pen holder. That photo is still trapped in the camera, waiting to be downloaded and reviewed. While helping my daughter brush her teeth I noticed the kids had a small collection of handmade soaps at the sink, two of them forming a vague resemblance to the flickr circles. I took a few quick pictures with my smartphone just for insurance. (My daughter took a few more.) Later, once all the books had been read and kids were asleep, I suggested to my wife that we retire early. I had been up late the past few nights working on my Project 365 photos and promotions and felt very ready to catch up on some sleep. After getting snuggled down in bed I picked up the smartphone made some adjustments to some of the soap photos. I picked one that was moderately interesting and uploaded it to flickr. There. Done. Goodnight.
365 Days of Motivation?
This is my first time doing a Project 365. Many of the people I follow on flickr have taken on one of these challenges or another. Many of those people I discovered because of their works for their Project 365. Some of these people, and countless others, have made it partway through the project and simply fallen behind and then stopped altogether. Others make it through to the end, sometimes begrudgingly, just to conclude with a resounding “there, done!” Fewer still make it through the entire year and just keep going, taking on another 365 challenge all over again.
When I first considered taking on the challenge myself, I realized that picking up the camera every single day was going to be a challenge. It’s not that I don’t love the camera and love making pictures, but that there is just a lot of things going on in my life and committing to one more might be a lot to ask. I work full-time as a product manager in a technology company, and I am floored at the amount of deliverables expected of my team. I also come home to a family of three kids and two dogs, each of which deserves some level of attention from Dad. It seems that many days I get home from work, and by the time we get through dinner it’s time to start the bath/brushing/books/bed routine for the three bipeds. The poor quadrupeds hardly ever get the walks and scratching and grooming they need. I also have a lovely wife to give attention to, and of course my share of the chores around the house. Often I find myself starting to plan and execute my daily photo after 9 or 10pm. This is a common story for many people, except for maybe those college students who seem to the time for all kind of wonderfully creative projects. So yes, taking on one more project is adding to an already full plate.
So why did accept the challenge this time? Which of those three categories of participants to foresee myself in? To be honest with myself, I will be probably be in the category of people who does it and is glad to see it done. Maybe I’ll love it by the end and do it again, but it is far to early in the year to make that determination. Of course I don’t see myself dropping out of the challenge. I don’t think anyone who foresaw themselves dropping out would ever take it on in the first place. So what makes me think I can do it. My new smartphone. (I won’t bias this article by mentioning which one I use.) With the smartphone I not only have a camera in my pocket, but also a way to edit and upload pictures without ever sitting down at the computer. So when all else has gone to the bucket and I just need to get some sleep I have the option of grabbing a snapshot and sending up for my daily submission. I agreed to take a photo a day, I never said they would all be great. This much I can do.
Yesterday was one of those “can’t do it today” days for me. I had a good day at work and felt productive. My DSLR came with me too, and I even took a rather uninteresting macro photo of my pen holder. That photo is still trapped in the camera, waiting to be downloaded and reviewed. While helping my daughter brush her teeth I noticed the kids had a small collection of handmade soaps at the sink, two of them forming a vague resemblance to the flickr circles. I took a few quick pictures with my smartphone just for insurance. (My daughter took a few more.) Later, once all the books had been read and kids were asleep, I suggested to my wife that we retire early. I had been up late the past few nights working on my Project 365 photos and promotions and felt very ready to catch up on some sleep. After getting snuggled down in bed I picked up the smartphone made some adjustments to some of the soap photos. I picked one that was moderately interesting and uploaded it to flickr. There. Done. Goodnight.