365 Project: Week 3 & Week 4

365: Week 1 & Week 2

This week, I finished reading Gerald Lund's book The Undaunted about the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition. So I included a photo of Jim & Anna Decker and family, who are spotlighted in the book. They are my great-great-grandparents. Their oldest child, Lillian, second from the right in the back row, is Grandpa Wood's mother. Lund calls her little Anna in the book but I have only heard her called Lillian. She was four when her sister, Lena Deseret, was born under their wagon at Fifty Mile Springs before they headed down the chute at Hole-in-the-Rock.
I'm off to a great start. Come join me. This promises to be a fun way to journal. Take a few photos every day so you can choose one as your POTD. Scrap them onto a page at the end of the week. By week 52, you will have a beautiful book ready for publication that will be a priceless history of the year. Don't you wish you had books like that of your parents and grandparents? Then create some for your children! It's not too late to get started now. And don't forget to blog them each week. For inspiration, register a username and password on DesignerDigitals.com and join the DD ladies' group on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/groups/30dd/. Upload your POTD in 5x7 format. Posting to their group is a great backup for your POTDs and a good source of ideas for photos.

11 Tips to Succeed with a Photo365 Project

1. Maintain A Heightened Awareness

Observe things that you might otherwise let go by without a second glance.

2. Always Have Your Camera With You

Don’t feel self conscious. Don’t get lazy.

3. There Is No Time Like the Present

Never say, ‘I’ll take a photo of that later” or “I’ll take a photo of that on my way back.” Conditions are seldom ever exactly the same twice in a day.

4. Train Your Eye To See Light

Force yourself to take photos in all different lighting environments. It will help make you a stronger photographer.

5. Experiment! Don’t Stay In Your Comfort Zone

Try new camera settings and subject matters.

6. Make Use of Weekly Themes

Some sample themes are a particular location, a color, portraits of family & friends, dinners, traditions, etc. Online groups often suggest a theme of the week such as ‘Good Morning’ which could be the first thing you see in the morning, you in the mirror just after waking up, a sunrise, what you see out your breakfast window. This Flickr group has Fence Friday. Take a look.

7. Plan Ahead & Write Down Ideas

Look forward to upcoming events and think creatively of possible shots.

8. Edit & Post-Process Every Week

In order to avoid backlogs, try to edit & post-process your photos daily.

9. Add Notes to Your Photos

When posting daily photos online, add notes of camera settings, anecdotal stories, and what worked or didn't.

10. Have Fun

The destination is often far less interesting than the journey. Enjoy discovering your world and not just the prize-winning photo.

11. Start Today

The best thing about a Photo365 / Photo-A-Day project is you can start ANY day of the year.