I go through this ALL the time! I try to always snap a photo(s) of something each day even if I am uninspired. I also try to only post photos I take on the day but sometimes filler photos are necessary.
I am with you. I will do both. I have been doing this for almost 18 months, and for me the novelty has not worn off, but it does get difficult to find things that I have not photographed, but what happens is that I may go back to the same places but look at them from different angles, hope this helps.
Sometimes I post fillers...probably more than I should. But lately I've been pretty good about a photo a day. I just got extension tubes, so that makes it more interesting. I find any random item around the house and just shoot a macro...I LOVE macro shots! I'm over 100 photos, and still going strong. Hopefully you'll find your mojo and continue. Good luck!
I usually take some iphone photos for backup for the day. Normally, I have to make a few stops somewhere on the way home from work to take photos for that day. Haven't used filler yet tho.
I get uninspired all the time (mainly due to the little spare time I have after work), so my philosophy now is just to go day by day. If I can take quality photos then great, if not an iphone pic of that day will do.
I been forcing myself to get up early on my days off and driving somewhere chasing the incoming sunrise...lately light and trees and lakes have been my new source of inspiration...always seem to find beauty somewhere just got to keep your eyes open and be in tune and patient as you go on your quest for fire
When I'm stumped for a decent shot I start by looking up...the sky has some great photo ops with clouds, vapor trails, birds, the moon. If that fails, I use a photo from the past week from a day when I had more than one decent shot to choose from. I'm almost at the end of my project and I've had a few uninspired days, but if you just work through them a good photo day seems to help get things back on track. Good luck, Marc! :)
On days when I'm too busy or just totally not in the mood to take a photo, I'll post one that I took previously. This project IS difficult, but I believe it's worth it. You just have to get past the low points. For me it goes up and down, I may be uninspired or unenthusiastic for a while, but soon get back into it. To get your creativity back things like a vacation, change of weather, new equipment make it more fun! :)
Take a second or third look at everything. Anything is compelling from the right angle. Rise to the challenge and avoid filler! YOU CAN DO IT!
Almost everything was put somewhere by someone who though it looked pretty good at one point! Try to see it the way THAT person saw it! Garbage ties, shoelaces, piles of mail, even dirty laundry all has appeal hidden in it somewhere...find it and show it to us!! :o)
It's there, I promise...you just have to find the poetry inside the mundane!!
Yep, I've had a few lags in this project- for me, I'm no good at indoor shots, so if it gets late and I realise I haven't taken a photo I'll use a filler, but if I'm uninspired doing the day I just venture into my backyard, theres always some creepy crawly or flower to get me through!
I personally am trying my hardest to go through the project without using a filler but I do get uninspired a lot, a snapshot of my daughter always works to fill in during those times though =]
I have been trying to just record my days with a shot, but sometimes my day is just so "the same" that I have to hunt a little for a photo... so far I have been able to find something in my room of memorabilia to shoot. The only2 "filler" shots I have used were for a specific reason... one was the one year anniversary of the death of my cherished mother-in-law and the other was my photo of the "bunny cloud"... also used on the one year anniversary of taking the shot. Sometimes my shots are so-so, sometimes pretty good and occasionally really good, but they always reflect something I have seen or done during the day.
@marilyn That's typically what I try to go for as well...I'm less about capturing the perfect shot and more about letting people in on my day....however my days suffer from that "sameness" as well so I have to search for something to take...
Things are different in the morning light rather than the evening light or in the light just before a storm. And you can take the same walk every day but there will always be something different going on around you if you're patient enough to observe it. I think the challenge is finding the time every day. But it's worth finding it whether it's 5 minutes or an hour because you'll have seen something beautiful or interesting and had the time to reflect on it as well as honed your skills just that little bit more.
I definitely do both. If I use filler it has to be recent, maybe not that day, but hopefully that week, definitely within a month. I'm trying to accomplish multiple goals with this project. I'm trying to improve my photography but I'm also trying to capture a year in the life. Ideally my posts will be both good pictures and images that will take me back to right now if I look at them in ten years. Some days, maybe most days, I post something that is one or the other, but not both. I'm definitely getting better at seeing photo ops and thinking about light and framing since I started and I'm only a month in.
one of my goals was never to post a filler. instead, i'll take a photo of something around my house -- anything. sometimes i'll experiment with different lenses or with post-processing, just to make it more interesting (for myself). probably 90% of my photos are just everyday things that i find in or around my house =P
I've had a few uninspired days, so those are days when I play around with different concepts I've wanted to try or I just take a photo of a random object I see all the time. I did one of nail polish on a day when I had zero inspiration, and it turned out to be one of my better shots. I'm not going to do fillers. I refuse! I like for the date it was taken to be the actual day it's posted. You can always do something like how you're feeling. If it's a happy day, find something bright to take a photo of. If it's a boring day, maybe something like a brown branch? Just play around with lighting, angles, focus, or edits. Good luck!
I just keep thinking until I come up with something to do. I even sometimes google random words or ideas to get a bit of development on something. Usually that does absolutely nothing, but occasionally it triggers another thought process. There is *always* something to photograph, and if you get stuck there is always light painting. So even when you leave it until very late at night and you are stuck.. just go outside, set up your camera on a tripod/stable surface, set it to long exposure and run around like a crazy with a torch. Or several torches. Or fire. Or your phone. Or anything, really. It is never the same twice, so you'll always have something interesting. Try writing or drawing pictures. I never get bored of that. :D
I'm goofy, but I refuse to post a filler that wasn't taken the date to which it is posted. (Okay, I did post a picture taken a day later because I was deathly ill with stomach flu.) To me the whole concept of the 365 project is to actually take a picture each day. On days when I'm uninspired I'll go to dailyshoot.com for an idea or just take a picture of something random. If it's an evening when I have some time, I'll look up a new technique I that interests me and try my luck at it.
I never use a filler. I always have things to shoot around me. If all else fails I either take a shot in or around public transport (on work days) or of my children (non work days).
Sometimes I just don't even feel like picking up the camera. I have occasionaly fallen back on previously photos. It's especially frustrating when you have several really great ones you'd like to share, and the next day is blank. I try to never use anything more than a day or two old unless I'm using an image to practice various editing techniques with.
Most days I simply look at something mundane and ask myself how I could see it differently. I take lots of inspiration from 365. Others have marvelous eyes, and I try to imagine what THEY would see, gazing at the same thing I"m looking at.
Also, I always have a camera with, even if its just my Droid, which I've had lousy results with.
@ldpaul I can always count on you to make me feel better about my pictures even if its by sharing a similar experience cause you know exactly how I feel, or seeing something in a picture that I didn't even notice...thanks!
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I get uninspired all the time (mainly due to the little spare time I have after work), so my philosophy now is just to go day by day. If I can take quality photos then great, if not an iphone pic of that day will do.
Almost everything was put somewhere by someone who though it looked pretty good at one point! Try to see it the way THAT person saw it! Garbage ties, shoelaces, piles of mail, even dirty laundry all has appeal hidden in it somewhere...find it and show it to us!! :o)
It's there, I promise...you just have to find the poetry inside the mundane!!
Most days I simply look at something mundane and ask myself how I could see it differently. I take lots of inspiration from 365. Others have marvelous eyes, and I try to imagine what THEY would see, gazing at the same thing I"m looking at.
Also, I always have a camera with, even if its just my Droid, which I've had lousy results with.