Shutter Sisters

365 moments

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When I started a photo a day project last July, I thought I would only manage a month’s worth of photos, so I set myself that goal. By the end of the month, I enjoyed recalling the memories and moments so much, I decided to carry on.

Taking it a month at a time, excited by the prospect of month of gratitude, the year long project really took hold and was the tonic I needed. Finding these blessings, things to be grateful for, everyday memories and the beauty in the ordinary. This project was opening my eyes, helping me when there were difficult times in my real life and teaching me to embrace how lucky I was, to be a partner, mother, sister, friend and photographer.

Many of you reading this may be on your own 365 journey, or may have well surpassed it, or fallen off the wagon even. Yes, there are days when it’s hard to find the inspiration or motivation, but believe me when you look back at your year of captured images, the body of work that has challenged you and brought you joy, it will be worth it…

You are creating your treasure, a moment that challenged you, a poignant, significant moment or a moment that makes the whole 365 project mean something to you.

What things are challenging you right now? Please share the ups and/or downs with us

And never fear, we will be announcing our brand new word for the One Word Project for July so pop back over tomorrow and be challenged (in the best way)!

Comments

  3. I love the idea of a picture a day for a full year but feel that I wouldn’t keep up with it. Maybe I should start small by starting with a weeks worth of photos and then take it from there.

  5. Thanks so much for linking to one of my favorite photos ever!

    I’m challenged to remember that there are worthy moments every day. I get stuck in the Every Photo Must Look Like a Fabulous Moment Vortex. I need to go back to the Just Live & It Will Happen Vortex.

    oxoxo!

  6. I have been contemplating and contemplating doing a 365 project so much. The perfectionist inside me has been wanting to wait until January 1st to begin. I also thought that giving myself that much time might just allow me to come up with a pretty darn sweet idea. Right now I’ve got nothing. I really think I should sit down and think about it before the day is out because there is nothing wrong with today to start one 🙂

    http://www.cabinfeververmont.com

    http://www.nekphotography.blogspot.com

  7. Tomorrow is my birthday – that sounds like a perfect day to start a 365 project….

  8. I love to take pictures…capturing the moment to tell a story or taking a photo to help pass the story from one generation to the next. So…foolishly I thought it was going to be a snap….

    wrong

    i did great for the first few weeks and then slowly…..just….dropped…off a day here…a few days there…a WEEK…I still do the project just not daily (ummm like its suppossed to be done. I mean it is called a 365day project)

    Its not that I dont see the inspiration or something to capture…I do! Several times a day I catch a glimpse of something and I instantly think ‘God that is a beautiful shot!’ but I dont get the shot. WHY in the world is that?! I carry my camera with me all the time so that’s not the reason…
    That is my challenge…wanting to take the shot but just not pulling through to get the job done.

  9. I love doing my 365.So far no challenges. I enjoy waking up daily and thinking about it and now taking Tracey Clarks summer class so more ideas for my 365.Today is halfway done!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/debbsga/4751196939/ Im so proud of myself for no thumb photos no looking at a blank wall photos. Im happy to be halfway done with my journey and I encourage others to do one as well and if its to much try a photo a day for a month challege!

  10. xanthe!! this photo is a beautiful ending for your project! i am in love with my 365 project, this year of so much change, i know i will look back on it with fondness (and confidence in the human spirit)
    xo

  12. 🙂 How amazing that this post comes at a pivotal moment in my 365 journey…I am on the verge of quitting. I’m almost at the half way point, but am feeling uninspired. Also, my 365 photos are usually the ones that I like the least, from a technical standpoint, but post them anyway because I "have" to. And then I see that you linked to a very special photo of mine – one of my 3 boys in a spontaneous group hug – and seeing that photo again made me melt. Now I know I have to continue. It will be worth it. I know this.

    xo and thank you!

  13. yay for your journey 🙂 my biggest challenge is film. when my canon got sick i decided to keep it going with my old 35mm. i’m grateful for the backup, but i miss sharing in-the-moment shots. now i have to wait on processing, and by the time i get the negatives, usually a whole week has passed.

    on the flip side, challenges are what keep us searching, yearning for what we can not reach, only to set our goals higher. and i’m grateful to have that opportunity 🙂

  14. I am happy I saw this posting today. I fell off the wagon, as there have been a number of sad days this year and, as a result, I haven’t been as motivated to post a picture, let alone take one. I went for thirty six weeks and then stopped.

    Three weeks later, I’ve started shooting again and it feels soooo good. I’m realizing that seeing the world "new again" through my lens is one of the outlets I need to get through the rough patches and sustain my creative soul. Whether you complete the 365 in a linear fashion or drop off/pick it back up again, it helps you move forward/move through. Before you know it, you’ll reach your 365 and see just how far you’ve come.

  15. I am happy I saw this posting today. I fell off the wagon, as there have been a number of sad days this year and, as a result, I haven’t been as motivated to post a picture, let alone take one. I went for thirty six weeks and then stopped.

    Three weeks later, I’ve started shooting again and it feels soooo good. I’m realizing that seeing the world "new again" through my lens is one of the outlets I need to get through the rough patches and sustain my creative soul. Whether you complete the 365 in a linear fashion or drop off/pick it back up again, it helps you move forward/move through. Before you know it, you’ll reach your 365 and see just how far you’ve come.

  16. I should really make another attempt at a 365. My personal creativity gets pushed to the back burner with the day job, the parenting, the bill paying, etc etc etc. 365 is a nice escape just for me. Thanks for the inspiration.

  17. Making sure to look closely and capture something new in my world is my Project 365 challenge right now. I’ve got another project that’s consuming my energy, and my 365 commitment is no longer fresh and new, so it takes effort to keep it exciting and interesting for me.

    Even in the challenge, even when I take only one mediocre photo in a day, I’m cheering myself on. Because if I don’t, then why am I doing this?

  18. Xanthe, that is a beautiful image and thank you for the reminder "the journey is the destination" I seem to have forgotten that in the last few months and have been so fixated on the destination of where I am trying to get to in my life that I am missing the journey itself.

    I would love to start a 365 photo project and I feel like today may be the day to start 🙂

    Thank you again for the inspiration

  19. A couple of years ago I did a SP 365.
    I had always wanted to a 365 of someone to see how they change through the year, but I never got around too it.
    So then I ran across Wardrobe Remix on flickr and wanted to play, and then it turned into my SP 365.
    Then that tuned into my photography love. So now I want to keep learning and learning how to make better photos.
    I am considering another 365, but can’t quite commit yet. But I will sometime soon…..

    Most of my SP 365 is here
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/_nikkole/sets/72157605284394257/
    Had to make a few private cause of weirdos.

    Good luck to all that working on their 356! Your inspirational!

  20. i admit it…i fell off the wagon. i couldn’t keep it up with my work demands and only seeing a few of the same things over and over and over again. i was boring myself silly.

  21. I’m halfway through my 3rd year of Project 365. I was so intent (AKA obessesd) in the first year of never missing a day that I would get out of bed if I hadn’t taken a picture that day and find something to take a picture of. I’m much more relaxed now. I have many days that I take my POD with my cellphone camera, even though I rarely am without a camera.

    For people having trouble staying motivated just LIVE the moments and forget about taking a picture (even though it might be one of the first things on your mind). And if you get behind, just use your pictures to catch up – the great part about having cameras that record the date! Catch it up when you have time! It’s more of an attitude after a while, of appreciating ordinary little and big moments and becoming more observant and recording your life. Don’t give up! The longer you do it, the more you will find to take pictures of and you’ll be more creative and excited. Well, I am, anyway! 🙂

  22. I found this blog through PW and have been encouraged by you all in so many ways. I love taking pictures but don’t do the 365 projects. However, you have inspired me to continually grow in so many ways! I am in the season of contentment, growing and being challenged. So much deeper than I have ever know. Thank you for your passion for life and to live it to the fullest. It ispires me!

  23. I have been doing 365 for the first time this year and I have to say even looking back at the last 6 months has been really a cool thing! I personally call it 365ish as I get to it most of the time but not everyday, and I seem to be playing catch up for putting them together, but not by too much! I am using a program where I can put text and add media ( it’s called pages – for my mac) and that has been an easy and non complicated way to keep them together. I plan on getting them printed out at the end of the year putting them in a special binder, also with some other pages of dream boards and emails and blog posts that show where I am and going along with it. I thought about going the digital scrapbooking way with cool fonts and images, but decided to keep it fairly simple as that is the best way for me to stick with it! Personally my challenge right now is brining my new online workshop to life and getting the word out. You know as soon as you talk about it you want people to pounce on it and it is a challenge sometimes to not take it as a personal thing!

  24. hi xanthe! i followed this from your flickr and i have to be honest, my very struggle at this moment is deciding if i want to start a second year of 365. this photo and your words are exactly what i needed to read. i’m so caught up in the details of "do i really want to do this again? will i even be able to finish?" that i’m forgetting how enjoyable it was to go off and be one with my camera, even if the results weren’t that good. i think this blog might just be the sign that i’ve been looking for! thank you!

  25. This is my first 365, and I have to admit I’m a little surprised that I’ve kept it up and that I still look forward to doing it each day. And seriously, I will sacrifice SLEEP in order to take and post my pictures, so you know it’s got to be something special to me. The most challenging part of my project so far is guilt that I’m being selfish since the project takes away from time I could be spending doing other things (laundry, cleaning up, etc) but it feels so right to do something that I love.

  26. Congratulations on finishing!! I am loving doing my project 365. Already starting to think about next year, and only halfway through this one. I’m keeping myself motivated by printing out the photos once a month and taking the time to put them in an album. Showing people a physical album means I get to tell the stories behind all the pictures and share small moments of my life. I love it.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/katyharmer/sets/72157623116510288/

  27. i really love that you took on your project one month at a time. like a person training for a marathon, starting off slow maybe just walking and running a bit here and there and then one day they turn around and they are hitting the finishing mark of the marathon.

    Congrats my friend!

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  29. My biggest challenge has been to just…take a photo a day….not a "perfect" photo, not even a "good" photo or a "unique" photo or a "creative" photo….just one photo….every day.

  30. My biggest challenge so far is finding variety in my photos. I keep coming back to the same subjects over and over again, because I’m not allowed to take my camera to work and I spend most of my free time in my apartment. When I did my 100 Days project in college, I was constantly walking around campus or walking downtown, and every day’s photo was so varied.
    Thankfully, I’m moving soon, and am really looking forward to lots of photowalks!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/pishkinn/sets/72157622991125301/

  31. I did this for part of a year, but then my year started to have personal challenges that got my spirits down and I abandoned the whole idea. Then a tragedy hit my life that made me want to forget that the whole year even existed. I ended up deleting them all since they were triggers for me for that year. I have thought about doing this again to redeem the idea, but just not there yet. Instead I am doing a weekly scavenger hunt and I am already 3 weeks behind on that. All the other people I was doing it with stopped except one and I find it hard to challenge just myself to do it… but I will.

  32. I did a 365 in 2008 and am currently doing one right now. I cannot argue against what you said about the pictures being a treasure. When I undertook this project in 2008 I managed to do about 60 percent of the photos. Nevertheless, when I look back at the photos, I feel the memories come rushing down and I am so glad I didn’t give up even if I missed many days.

    This year, I am able to keep up with the daily photos. My biggest challenge has been a computer crash I had a couple months ago. Since then, I’ve lost my groove and have been behind editing and posting… but I’m still taking photos.

    Congratulations on your journey and I love how your 365 turned out.

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