is it me??

May 17th, 2010
am struggling with this project....am a little over a month in and am finding myself uninspired and not really wanting to continue. at first, i was so excited! my basis for my project is documenting my 30th year. So, even though my photos might not all be the most artsy and a little redundant (i love my little guy!) i'm frustrated. i've found some photogs that inspire me and speak to me and am following them. some of them i've commented on almost every photo they've posted. but it seems when i post mine, i don't get any feedback (with the exception of one lovely australian who has the same name as me :P) not trying to whine, complain, etc... i do understand that i am not that significant in the grand scope of things.... just am wondering if there are unspoken rules on 365 that i'm not following and that's why?? again sorry, not trying to sound like a baby...but i struggle a bit with self-worth and usually tend to base my opinions of myself on the views others have of me. (i know this about myself, and can't always ward off the thoughts)...

so, yes...in short form.... Are there unspoken rules on 365 regarding comments left for others /slash/ returning feedback??? all thoughts are appreciated!

andie
May 17th, 2010
Aly
We all feel discouraged at times... it happens to me a lot.
I like things to be perfect, in the way that I imagine I want them to be... exactly the way I want them to be, you know? So I get discouraged because that takes a lot of time and sometimes I just wanna quit but then I remember why I started doing this in the first place and hey, your idea is quite awesome, so cheer up and snap on!
May 17th, 2010
I think everyone feels like this sometimes. I know I've wondered the same thing about comments and things, but the way I look at it is that I'm doing this project for me, the fact I'm sharing my pics here is just an added extra.
Yes I'd welcome more comments, but the few times that people have commented on my pics are so special that I'd worry about losing that sense of joy if I was getting comments on every pic.

I'm just happy that anyone would comment about any of my pics, it's such huge confidence boost to know that someone likes them, and it's made more thrilling and special because I'm not gettign 10's of comments on every pic.

If I was you I'd take the fact that 13 people have chosen to follow you as a huge boost.
May 17th, 2010
I follow and look at lots of photos and seldom comment. I don't have the lingo to comment in a photography sort of way and often am too tired or busy to comment in a more personal way. It doesn't necessarily translate out that no one is looking.
May 17th, 2010
Stick with it. the motivation thing comes and goes. the trick is to fight through the down times and just pick up the camera and take a phto.

Regarding comments - i found when i first started that by commenting on and following lots of others i received a lot more back.

I browsed through the daily photos often and comment all the time. Doing this you will find people will click on your photos and often respond back.

Anyway - stick with it. Its not always easy - but it comes and goes in cycles i find. I am luck to be on the upward curve at present
May 17th, 2010
It is also a game of numbers. You have only 28 peple following you. Get yourself out there. And sometimes, to get people to follow you, you must follow them first. Scan the popular page, find ones you like, then follow them. They typically reciprocate.
May 17th, 2010
you have received a lot of great advice, follow it. We are here to support each other any way we can from our keyboards. It is ultimately your decision; I would feel bad for you when you turn 31 and realize you didn't set out and complete your 30th goal. I have posted a thread on thought helpers for daily images, look it up in the General threads. I have started to follow you. I am the kinda guy that will Comment and Critique(CC) if you asking. As I have told others, when someone CC it is their opinion on what that person likes/dislikes and it could not be the same as your vision so keep that in mind.

Again, stick with it, pop some boring stuff, whether it is dinner, lunch, or the days errands. In the end you will appreciate your 30th year as a nice milestone to go back years later to see what you did. Most of all, try to have fun with this project, as there is no boss beating down your neck to have this complete.
May 17th, 2010
:( I'm sorry to hear you feeling this way..!! I've been going just over a month aswell and I know it's really hard to just get the motivation some days... But I try to think of this while this as just for myself anyway.. And if nobody else comments or likes what i do then so what... At the end of the day, as long as when you look back on your own photos you smile.. That is the most important thing... Keep going :)
May 17th, 2010
I'm sorry you are feeling discouraged. I know I've felt like that. Just looked at your photo's & I like them. They're quirky in a really good & interesting way! Think of how great you'll feel in a year and you see all those photos!
May 17th, 2010
You seem to have quite a lot of comments to me. I've only been at this a week, but I've only got 2 or 3 comments altogether so far.
I think your photos are great because they're very personal to you. A lot are about the love for you little boy, and that is a beautiful thing, but not something easy to comment on. I love the editting of your photos and the look you give them :)
Definitely don't give up just yet. If you don't enjoy it, then its probably not worth carrying on right now. In 10 or even 20 years, you might wish you'd carried on so you could look back. If that's the case then you can do it again then! I think you will feel a sense of achievement when you've finished and you'll love looking back at all the pictures of your son's childhood & your life for a year. Try to do it for yourself, not for the comments, and give it time for more people to follow you and things.
Good luck :)
May 17th, 2010
It's definitely an issue like Chris mentioned. Most people will follow you after you follow them. As for commenting, I do not usually comment all that often, mostly due to the fact that I cannot always articulate my feelings with words. I do love sitting here sifting through the photos....that has a lot to do with my inspiration, but I will tell you this, there are times when I take photos and get no response, and then there are those photos that invoke some sort of emotion and I get a lot of feedback on. As for the rules, I really do not know of any written rules, just take pictures, take lots of pictures, post ones that are important to you and follow people that you feel take pictures of interest to you, the comments will certainly follow. Good luck, and do not quit. And, happy 30th, whenever that is. I will be documenting my 4oth year (which is the new 30 - I have been told).
May 17th, 2010
2 things :)
i started out this project following 3 people. i commented on almost every photo. now i log on and i'm 10 photos behind on my own project and there's 50 new photos to look at :) comments come and go, so on to my 2nd thing. .
it all comes down to 'why am i doing this project' personally i'm doing this for ME. to document my life. as the little moments slip by i want to remember them. the comments? for me they are just extra. like a little topping on my icecream :) if you're doing it as an actual photography project then that's different. i'd encourage you to stick with it, and do it for you. figure out how to move it all to a book at the end of the year. you'll be so glad you did it!
sometimes i go 10 photos without a comment. :) it's still absolutely worth it to me!
*hugs
May 17th, 2010
Hang in there with us, and I hope you're soon on the radar! In the beginning, I didn't post pictures with the idea that anyone wouold even notice...it was just for myself, and I soon thought I'd run out of ideas for things to photograph. The opportunity to take part in a theme turned everything around for me! It challenged me to take better photographs and more variety. Each day I looked to see what other people had put up for the theme and commented on their pictures; it took me out of a small circle & soon I made many friends. Since there's a weekly thems, you're never without challenges and possibilities. Personally, it's a daily goal to respond to the people who leave me comments, and to try to comment on photos of those people I follow. Get's to be more than I can do somedays, but the principal idea is to enjoy the photos we see. Do it for yourself first and foremost...let the rest come to you in time. (That said, I'm off to see what you've left for us the last few days!)
May 17th, 2010
@ Aly...that is a source of frustration for me too...I generally have ideas of how i want something to come out. but it seems my lack of equipment and time are usually my downfalls!

@ Jayne...wonderful points...i DO think it is amazing that people have chosen to follow me...I mean, I'm just me, right??

@ Amanda...great points. i wouldn't worry about lingo if you do want to comment on people's pics... i'm not good at that either...

@ Murray...I do love the daily photos...there are always ones that jump out and speak to our hearts, aren't there?

@ Just Chris....good suggestion...guess i'll have to spread my wings more!
May 17th, 2010
@ Jeff O...thanks for the encouragement! am going to stick with it. i have too.. can't stand things unfinished..

@ stevie day...true, true....maybe i've lost true sight of why i wanted to do this. need to refocus.

@ kathy mason..."quirky"...that's funny. that along with awkward are the words i think describe me best!


@ Thomas Mower...thank you for your comments...am doing it for myself now! thanks for the pick me up!

@ Warren...yes! 40 is the new 30! thanks for the belated wishes!
May 17th, 2010
@ abbEy...those little moments do go by so fast. it's hard to remember them. i try to catch pics that are a good representation of what happened that day... and it is definitely worth it...especially when i think of the end result. :)

@ Louise...a little star-struck to have you comment on this....thanks for the pep talk and re-motivation!!
May 18th, 2010
Andie, pullleeze! I'm just one of the gang! But that was cute!
May 18th, 2010
hey Andie, where have you been ? Have you been hiding your light under a Bushel?
tch!tch! I'm a newbie, by a month or so, have a look at mine and what you make of them. I don't mind having someone comment on mine and I just lurvvvve commenting on all the others. But I think what someone up above me on this page said, we all get these days. Some people say things and I think what the? are they talking so just ask. You will find me I'm the little grannie who is out to do a picture a day, and also comment, but gosh it's getting harder to keep up with the Photos that come thick and fast. Darling just have a ball. I'm off to read your profile, and look at your pictures. In Arnie's Voice "Ar'll be barck" I will be back.x
May 18th, 2010
absolutely stick with it! I've only got 13 followers! I like my own pictures and occasionally I'll get a comment here and there. I'll go back and look at the pictures that people commented on and try to figure out why they commented. sometimes it's the subject matter. sometimes it's the quality of the photo. If it's good, then I'll try to apply that to another photo. Doesn't always work but it's fun trying to improve my skills.
May 18th, 2010
We all get these days. I don't know if you've realised yet, but on the bottom right under the photo is a box where it says how many times that photo has been viewed. It might give you a more realistic idea of how many people look at your photos. Don't worry too much about comments. I know it feels good when people comment, but not everyone does unless you have an amazing photo (which most people don't manage). I try to comment if I like photos, but I go through some times when I'm just too busy to do more than glance, so I don't comment. Hope this helps.
May 18th, 2010
I have plenty of experience with "no comments" from other photo websites, so that doesn't really get to me anymore. :) I decided to do 365 *for me* because I know I will enjoy looking back on the project sometime later in the future. It's a small album of family life and the mundane (which in truth, is what is most beautiful to me). I'm not going to be capturing grand sunsets and amazing wildlife and rugged mountainscapes on my 365 project, and I'm totally cool with that. Hang in there--you are going to appreciate this project, and your 30th year, probably more in retrospect than you feel about it right now.
May 18th, 2010
@ Glenys...your lovely comments put a smile on my face! i accept your challenge on a smiley self-portrait....say...21 june as a "due" date...it's the 1st day of summer!

@ Sandra M...your photo today is amazing!

@ Rachael....i tend to forget that "views" box....not sure why...something to remind myself of. thanks!

@ Lindsey...you took the words out of my mouth!
May 19th, 2010
Andie - stick with it. I did not have many comments on my pictures and still don't some time. I am doing two other 365 projects and have not gotten much feedback from them. So after the year I will be out of the other two and will only be in this one. I have meet a lot of friends through this project. After a while, you get to know a lot about the other people. Just take as many pictures as you can during the day. Do not worry to much about what you took and don't alway look for the perfect shot. You will amaze yourself with what pictures you take after a while.
May 19th, 2010
@ abbey... I agree completely. dont give up! we're all new at some time.
May 19th, 2010
@ Joe Ciras...i think that's my problem...i always look for the perfect shot instead of letting it happen.

@ haley yates...true, true

@ sissybufu...sorry about that...i usually do comment back...
May 19th, 2010
well, i must say that i am extremely appreciative and tremendously humbled that so many of you have taken the time to respond to this. thank you all. i've wanted to reply to the whole for a day or so now. is so hard to clarify my thoughts and feelings and put them into words. i guess it's not so much that i need the feedback...but i know these truths regarding myself a. i am a people-pleaser b.i am forever paranoid that i am upsetting/offending others. in short, i'm a mess and i know this. was just wanting to make sure that there wasn't some 365 etiquette that i was supposed to be following and wasn't. or that something i was saying/doing was putting people off. all that negative rolled up into a big ball of discouragement and emotion. again, i apologize for whining. but! am revitalized from all of your powerfully positive words....have cowgirled up and it's on with the show! thanks all!!
May 19th, 2010
I found the first month by far the hardest, after that it was pretty much plain sailing although I still do have days when I feel like giving up particularly if I haven't done a lot. I am using my project 365 as more of an online diary than a photography project as I am only taking the pictures on the camera on my phone.
May 20th, 2010
When I started up I asked some people to critique my photos, and I would reciprocate. That way you can build a few relationships and encourage each other. I miss a few days commenting here and there, but its going to happen, and I still try and regularly comment on those that I follow as often as possible. When you start following alot of people, and you have alot, it becomes harder to do, but it is all good. But if you're looking for feedback, this community will help you out - its great!
May 20th, 2010
Please don't stop. I began this to document my year in photos, for me. So far, I can look back at some of my photos and immediately I remember the day, the weather, the way I felt; all the details.
I've done what others have suggested. When I get a chunk of time I like to look through the photos posted by the day and the popular page. I have found that I kept clicking on photos by the same people. Those are the people I follow. There are lots of photos out there that I really like, they speak to me at that moment. Maybe the color, the textures..I don't always know why a photo speaks to me, but I put it in my favorites if it does. Many times I put a pic in my favs and don't comment because I don't have the words I want at the time.
Please stay with us and just keep looking around for the extraordinary or the ordinary. But keep looking and keep your camera with you because you never know when that special moment will occur. The satisfaction will come when you look back on it in the future, a week, a year, or more and re-capture that feeling.
May 27th, 2010
I know how you feel and I'm only 2 weeks in. I try my best to keep it interesting and not photograph the same thing over and over again but that can be hard, especially if most of your time (as mine is) is spent at home. I can relate to the pressure of not being artsy or interesting enough, but all you can really do is roll with it, and keep it on your mind so you can always look for new shots. Starting the project has helped me look at things differently, ie how I could frame up a shot, and looking for new things to shoot that I necessarily wouldn't shoot before. Keep pushing through and keep looking for new things to shoot. Don't be so worried about making art, but rather document your life and moments that are touching, interesting, cute or what have you.
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