I'm new here! Started 365 on 1st January. Really loving the project so far! Just really curious about what motivated people to start on this project, which does require a fair bit of commitment! I saw that this thread has kind-of been covered before but (I think) the last one was a year ago so it might be nice to get some fresh perspectives.
Personally, I started because of my boyfriend's sister. I saw her finished project and was amazed at her pictures and the story behind them and thought it was lovely to see how her year progressed through pictures. I wanted to do the same, particularly as my mother is ill and I want to show her recovery also through pictures, which I'm finding to be more therapeutic than writing in a diary.
I've noticed that people are using 365 for very different reasons - some people to tell a story and others to display their best work. So, what is your inspiration?!
I had a few friends do it last year and it caught my interest. I want to have a reason to try to improve my photos. I decided to start at the beginning of this year so I would have a definite start and end date.
I was watching a friend's 365 shots pop up on fb and started asking questions, since I post ridiculous amounts of travel photos to fb.....She's long since abandoned her project, but I kept on with the addiction, lol
I just completed my first year and now am starting my second. A friend motivated me to do it and same as Paula, I kept up with it all year and my friend did not. I am happy to say that it has motivated me to shoot more and look for more creative things close to home. Two of my images will be in a local artist show which opens this week. My calendar on my wall for 2012 is full of images I shot for my 2011 365 Project.
Stevie, Enjoy it and push through the hard times. This past year for me have been very stressful and my 365 Project kept me focused on something I love to do.
I started this on January 1st because I wanted to document this year especially but hopefully I'll use it for years to come. This year I'm getting married and planning to have a baby.. so I think documenting all the events for my husband and I to look through from time to time would be really special. I love the organization!
@schwendemann - Thank you! I'm really enjoying it so far .. the problem with me at the moment is that I'm snapping so much that I'm finding it hard just to choose ONE picture for each day! But maybe that will settle down as the weeks go on! x
Funny you asked. I did a photo a day + a haiku in 2010 (Jan 1 - Dec 31) - on a blog I started - thinking I was being super duper original, until a friend said - ahmmm - why aren't you doing 365? So 2011 came around and I was going to give it a break - I lasted 8 days before I signed up to this site and I'm now on to year 3 and loving it. I can't imagine not looking at my life in detail. Hope your project is as rewarding as mine have been - good luck. Happy snapping!
Hey I'm also new here. My main camera is 5D which is pretty heavy for casual use and carrying around so I decided to bought myself something more compact and smaller. I fell in love with Fujifilm x100 and it became my everyday 24/7 companion.
So now I don't have any more excuses for not trying something as interesting as 365 project. It will boost my creative side and help me observe the world around me trough the viewfinder. ;) I would be more then happy for any new follower.
I started because i wanted to be a better photographer and learn.
But i discovered here is better than i thought.
I am amazed of how much we can discover. How much each picture brings of your thoughts and views of life. What each person values more than the other.
I am amazed with my personal discoveries and learning through only those few days. I think my pictures have gained such a refinement that i am still wondering how this happened. And it all was because i saw everyone's struggles and processes. And learned through it. And tried harder.
it has been wonderful. Specially because all the support and feedback you all do. It encouraged me even more.
I had a friend who is doing it and she said she loved seeing pictures from all over the world. I love seeing pictures and having comments and questions on mine.
@steviemichelle - Stevie, I saw a few friends on fcbk doing this and then my sister asked me on NYE 2010, so in 2011 I took a few photos and completed the journey. I then thought I would maybe put them together into a book (haven't done this yet). A few years ago, I lived in a developing nation full of corruption and full of life; Papua New Guinea. It was in PNG that I really developed an addiction to photography, documenting my life and journeys in a very primitive country. I took maybe 26,000 photographs in my time there, and I never knew how to collate a 'best of' collection. I decided to implement the same principles of the 365 project on all of my PNG photos, and undertake Year 2.
So maybe finally I will have my definitive collection of PNG shots, by years end. By the way, my sister continues her 365 project into year 2.
I'm on my 3rd year now and have found new inspiration. I found out about it from the BBC website and been here ever since. I've learned to look at the world in a different way and I love to see other people's perspective on life around the world. It's a great site, full of fun and support.
Was just one reason... to document in pictures the sights around my home. Then, I was inspired to renew and refresh the skills I learned in my college photography classes so very many years ago, and improve them all together with digital instead of film.
Good question. When I first started I had already been taking pictures for my various fb pages; The Weekly Cooking Challenge, The Shoreline, Wa Photowalkers, and Dorrena Ortega and Gardening. I enjoyed doing this but was feeling a need to do other types of photographs. I struggled because I wanted to share them but not just on my personal fb page which is locked down for friends and family only. I also wanted to push my creative side because there's only so much that can be done with food and gardening pictures. ;-)
I read of someone who was doing a 365 photo a day project and went looking for information. So, I started googling 365 project and found this site. What I learned later was their project was on Flickr. That did not change my mind about this site because I liked the calandar type format and what people were doing here.
My project has morphed a few times as I have grown with my photography. What started out as a daily picture of the day-to-day look into my life has now become a passion to present my corner of the world.
I knew I would enjoy the journey but truly never imagined I would be having such a fun time. I've learned so much and there is still so much to learn. It's what called my into the dark room and kept me there for hours on end. When I no longer had access to a dark room my passion took a backseat but never disappeared. This site really has helped to draw it back out into my everyday life in a way that keeps me excited about photography. I don't know if I would feel the same if I had gone to Flickr but who cares?! It's the journey that keeps us coming back every day. :-)
Actually I started because I was into photography and wanted an excuse to get better. I needed a distraction and I already had the equipment so it gave me something to do and an excuse to do it every day. I have never taken this project so seriously that I felt the need to take a photo every day and post it. Some days things get in the way so I decided to use a shot I was really proud of or that I liked when that happened....been a pretty stress free project going about it that way and it has led to some shots I would have never attempted otherwise.
Really looking for others views of what I photograph and constructive critique and recommendations. What I found was ego boosting and learning by seeing others work. Great assistance to "how to" questions. Love it here.
My friend convinced me to start this project and I'm so glad she did! I'm always wishing that I could spend more time with my photography and this is making sure I do that. It's also proving to be quite inspiring to see the sheer creativity of so many on this site. I'm really looking forward to being able to capture my entire year and hopefully can put it into a book at the end of the year. It's something I'd be proud of!
I've just started on my 2nd year. My boyfriend is a certified professional photographer, so I started the project to try and better my own skills - it later turned into me wanting to document a whole year through pictures and the posts I make to go along with each picture.
I started with a group of my friends as a kind of "One does it, everyone does.", haha. it is really cool to see another side of them through photographs. It's a completely different view from the ordinary.
I kept a written diary for 38 years so I'm probably the oldest person to post an answer here. Every single day from 1.1.1970 until 31.12.2007 is chronicled in my handwriting for future generations to read. But it was time consuming and laborious and if I missed a few days it was almost impossible to recall the events of the day before, let alone three days ago. This is quick and instant. OK, so it may not be possible to post every single day, but one can shoot every single day and post when possible. My daughter did it last year and another dear friend is doing it this year. Why not me? And how gratifying when a stranger becomes a follower. Clearly they see something that attracts them in one's pictures and wants to see more. I only have one (so far!) but I'm flattered.
A friend of mine suggested we both did it at 23.45 on the 31st December when we were both very drunk! I remembered and started it the next day, spoke to him 3 days later and he hadn't...
I started in January of 2011. I got a DSLR in October of 2010. I thought signing up for the site would be a fun way to really learn how to use my camera, instead of taking it out once and a while for trips. Now I'm addicted, I try to take my camera with me everywhere.
I started my 365 last year on fb after a friend had done the same for a year. I came off fb and wanted somewhere else to post my photos so I came here and never looked back. In fact I am in year 2 and now an ace. I am addicted to photos and here you learn how to make them better rather than one of your friends clicking the 'like' button on fb then going on to rant about mindless drivvel!! I love this place so much!
We had just moved and I decided to stay home. Life was boring and I wasn't using my camera. My dad told me about this site and asked if I would try it. BEST THERAPY ever. Now, it has been over 390 days and I find something EVERYDAY to photograph. This is a diary, blog, a place to tell my kids' stories, and artistic inspiration. It depends on the day on what I use it for. I am addicted.
A friend suggest the site to me. I still post albums to facebook, but really love seeing everyone else's photos while I attempt to work on my own skill set. Find all the original photos everyone else posts to be inspiring me to try new things and keep a shot list of projects.
Originally my friend wanted to start it on jan 1 (2010) and I finally gave in because it could be interesting. She finished the project, I did not. I missed one picture and lost all interest. She recently made a book from her project and I was incredibly inspired so on jan 1 of this year I restarted. Less restrictions, and more fun "goals" so I feel a lot more creative and inspired this time around. I tried to get her to come back as well. 3 days in she gave up. Oh well :)
@lolanae Brandie, assuming Ryan is your sailor, I am happy to see he made it home safely and in time for Christmas!!!
@grecican Hmmm... well there has been a spike in ass images here recently.
I started Christmas Day with the purpose of challenging myself to better develop my eye, to push myself creatively and to improve my photography skills as a by-product. And to see what others are creating to help keep me inspired. Thanks to all of you for that.
I noticed a friend's 365 shots pop up on FB about 14 months ago and it looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a go.........she's long since abandoned her project, but I've become addicted!
I did my own 365 project on facebook last year mainly for me, because I love photography. I was amazed by the reaction my photos got from my friends on fb....it was amazing. Taking photos all last year made me open my eyes and look around me which made me see so much more (obvious right??)
I follow The Photo School on facebook who recommended a few sites if anyone was thinking of a 365 project - I looked around and this seemed the best - I had NO idea about the community that is on here tho - I feel like I have a family from around the world - I am loving seeing where everyone lives and what they everyday - some of you are sooo lucky !! The reaction to my photos on here has been amazing and it's become quite an addiction !
I started just over a year ago. A friend of mine showed me the site and I thought it was interesting, but I didn't think I'd be able to stick through for an entire year, taking a photo every day.
I thought for sure I'd be taking a lot of photos of my toenails to get through days where I didn't have any kind of inspiration. I've now taken photos each day for 380 consecutive days and nary a toenail photo in the bunch.
I started it because the past few years in my life have changed so drastically and I think it is an interesting to see those changes looking back. Since pictures tell a story on their own, it is a great way to do that, I think! It is also my 2012 resolution and I have had a lot of fun so far!
@binny - I try to upload daily, but sometimes life gets in the way! I always take a picture daily, even if I don't edit it etc. By the way, I've loved reading everyone's replies!
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now i'm just as addicted to it and have to wait to log into other sites for what i really was trying to find.
meh... live and learn
Stevie, Enjoy it and push through the hard times. This past year for me have been very stressful and my 365 Project kept me focused on something I love to do.
So now I don't have any more excuses for not trying something as interesting as 365 project. It will boost my creative side and help me observe the world around me trough the viewfinder. ;) I would be more then happy for any new follower.
Stay hungry! :)
But i discovered here is better than i thought.
I am amazed of how much we can discover. How much each picture brings of your thoughts and views of life. What each person values more than the other.
I am amazed with my personal discoveries and learning through only those few days. I think my pictures have gained such a refinement that i am still wondering how this happened. And it all was because i saw everyone's struggles and processes. And learned through it. And tried harder.
it has been wonderful. Specially because all the support and feedback you all do. It encouraged me even more.
So maybe finally I will have my definitive collection of PNG shots, by years end. By the way, my sister continues her 365 project into year 2.
I read of someone who was doing a 365 photo a day project and went looking for information. So, I started googling 365 project and found this site. What I learned later was their project was on Flickr. That did not change my mind about this site because I liked the calandar type format and what people were doing here.
My project has morphed a few times as I have grown with my photography. What started out as a daily picture of the day-to-day look into my life has now become a passion to present my corner of the world.
I knew I would enjoy the journey but truly never imagined I would be having such a fun time. I've learned so much and there is still so much to learn. It's what called my into the dark room and kept me there for hours on end. When I no longer had access to a dark room my passion took a backseat but never disappeared. This site really has helped to draw it back out into my everyday life in a way that keeps me excited about photography. I don't know if I would feel the same if I had gone to Flickr but who cares?! It's the journey that keeps us coming back every day. :-)
Actually I started because I was into photography and wanted an excuse to get better. I needed a distraction and I already had the equipment so it gave me something to do and an excuse to do it every day. I have never taken this project so seriously that I felt the need to take a photo every day and post it. Some days things get in the way so I decided to use a shot I was really proud of or that I liked when that happened....been a pretty stress free project going about it that way and it has led to some shots I would have never attempted otherwise.
I started because a friend suggested the site and I needed a distraction :)
Too much procrastination brought me to the realization that I need to start on this project. HAHA.
@grecican Hmmm... well there has been a spike in ass images here recently.
I started Christmas Day with the purpose of challenging myself to better develop my eye, to push myself creatively and to improve my photography skills as a by-product. And to see what others are creating to help keep me inspired. Thanks to all of you for that.
I follow The Photo School on facebook who recommended a few sites if anyone was thinking of a 365 project - I looked around and this seemed the best - I had NO idea about the community that is on here tho - I feel like I have a family from around the world - I am loving seeing where everyone lives and what they everyday - some of you are sooo lucky !! The reaction to my photos on here has been amazing and it's become quite an addiction !
I thought for sure I'd be taking a lot of photos of my toenails to get through days where I didn't have any kind of inspiration. I've now taken photos each day for 380 consecutive days and nary a toenail photo in the bunch.