The End of my 365 Project - January 24 -31

The end.  I have completed my 365.   I woke up this morning not having to pick up my camera and take a picture.  I have to say it feels a little lonely.  This project of mine has given me so much.  I am a better photographer, a better wife, mother and friend.  I have grown in ways that I didn't believe were possible from the single act of picking up my camera and documenting my life. 

January 24 - Obscurity - The prompt for today was obscurity, and boy was it tough.  How do you go about looking for something obscure to photograph?  I tossed around with a few ideas and decided that I was going to look for shadows to photograph.  I liked the way that the shadow of my mum plant played on the sparkling, blueish snow. 

January 25 - The Magic Machine - Can you remember a time when the top of the line computer was the Commodore 64?  Nowadays, computers are as much as a household fixture as the telephone.  We rely on them to keep us in touch with out family and friends.  Today's prompt asked us to capture an image of our magic machines.

January 26 - A Beautiful Mess - More often than not, most photographers overt their lenses from the mess of everyday life.  Today in the Picture Winter class, Tracey asked us to see our messes in a new light - with gratitude.  I went to Josh's room.  When I paused and looked at it, I saw him.  A Thomas blanket, lego, baskets of stuffies, pokemon posters all tell a story of a sweet, innocent boy. A blessing in my life. 

January 27 - Give Yourself A Hand - Hands can show as much emotion as faces.  An angry fist, a gentle caress, the middle finger, the peace sign all display emotion.  I started thinking about hands, and mine in particular.  When I was a kid I sucked my fingers, and rubbed the satin binding of my blanket.  Truth be known, I probably would still be sucking my fingers if my jaw hadn't been wired shut for eight weeks when I was fourteen.  Anyways, the finger sucking stopped but the blanket rubbing did not. I can't explain it, but when I rub my blanket I feel the stress melt away.  I have worn through many blankets.  My yellow one, the blue one, the pink and white with flowers, the gold one, another gold one, another blue one.  Currently I have three blanket on the go.  The white one on my bed, the beige one in the family room and a traveller, a crib sized yellow one. 

January 28 - Details of Winter - For the Picture Winter prompt we were sent out looking for details of winter.  I don't mean to be pessimistic but, at the end of January I am just about sick and tired of looking for the details and beauty of winter.  I did manage to get this shot of a seed pod from my Rose of Sharon bush that I "stole" from a friend's garden.  There. Did it.  Now I'm going in to have a hot chocolate and sit by the fireplace and read a few chapters. 

January 29 - Your Name In Lights - I don't have a popular or trendy name.  I can remember having four items with my name on them.  Two key chains that my sister had custom made for me, pens and pencils that my mom ordered with my name from Regal, and the labels that were ironed in my undies when I went to camp.  When you see your name or someone calls you by name you feel special.   I don't hear my name often.  My husband calls me hon, my kids call me mom.  If you ask The Little Man what Mommy's real name is he will tell you Hon.  I went looking for something with my name on it today.  The first thing I photographed was my name on the first page of my baby book.  The second thing I photographed was this letter from my Grandma.  When I read it I can almost hear her voice.  My favorite part was when she wrote, "- like old times, I miss you gy guys."  I miss you too Grandma. 

January 30 - Glimmers of Hope - Boy I needed this prompt today.  I needed something to look forward to.  When I was out looking for glimmers of hope, the sun was shining and it felt so good.  I took two pictures.  One of the buds on the poplar trees out back.  Gosh, it surprises me that this tree just wont give up.  Half dead, and yet still producing buds.  The second is an image of melted ice.  Today the sun was warm enough to melt the ice.  Even though we are in the midst of a winter storm warning, I have hope.  The days are getting longer, the buds are beginning to show, and puddles are melting in the sun.  I edited both pictures by warming them up.

January 31 - One Little Word - What is your word for 2011?  What do you want to focus on in the year ahead.  Mine is thrive.  This past year I have matured.  Now, I want to thrive, grow, blossom.  I want to make steady progress, flourish and prosper.  I want to realize goals despite or because of circumstances.  In thriving, I know that I will find peace, joy, happiness, love, acceptance and so much more. 

the end.

Project 365 January 10 - 16

January 10 - Balance -  Today's Picture Winter prompt explored the idea of balance.  My personal opinion is that balance is a myth.  When I strive for balance, I feel off centered and wobbly.  Instead of balance, my goal is to prioritize my life.  I try to give my full attention to what is most important, and then move on.  What if I have two or more areas of my life that need priority?  I still need to choose what, at the moment do I need to focus on, what is more important,  because spreading myself too thin just burns me out. 



January 11 - Heartwarming - Hearts are a universal symbol of love.  Today's Picture Winter prompt asked us to shoot a photo that warms your heart.  Okay, time for another confession.  This picture was actually taken the day before....but just the day before.  The Kid found this strawberry in the basket.  Of course I had to capture it before she shared it with the Little Man. 

January 12 - Signs of Life - caution this next picture/story may cause some viewers to weep (Mom) viewer discretion is advised - Sometimes in the winter life feels dormant.  Even in the middle of winter, greater things are working in ways unseen.  Today's prompt had us looking for the magic of life.  Of hope.  Searching for signs of life.  This Christmas cactus was my grandmother's.  When she passed away, I asked if I could have it.  I wanted something that would continue to grow and thrive - just like my love for my grandma. 

January 13 - Controlled Chaos #1 - The challenge of any Mom's life is to control the chaos.  Most days after school, our house is the hang out.  This doesn't bother me.  Truth be known, I kind of like it.  However, what does drive me up the wall is the front hallway after six kids take off their winter wear, drop their backpacks and head downstairs to play video games.  My stress level melts away a little more with each pair of boots I line up.  All about (barely) controlled chaos.

Controlled Chaos #2 - Today's prompt had us looking for controlled chaos in our lives.  I have been working hard on studying for my GED, and today I worked on algebra.  I realized that algebra is all about  controlling chaos.  If you have a system - or formula, than even the most tricky problems have a solution. 

January 14 - Beyond the Chill - Winter Berries - The challenge today was to move beyond the frost and seek the beauty that exists just beyond it - for it is there.  I knew that I wanted to shoot the berries that grow on the chain link fence in the backyard. They keep their bold red colour, warning of their poisonous nature all winter long. I included fence post to give the picture some interest.  I added noise to further blur the background, and pull your eye to the bright red.

January 15 - Cooling It - Evoking a feeling from a picture isn't always easy.  The right colour, cast in a picture, can help to elicit the mood.  Warm golds bring out autumn's harvest, fresh greens speak of spring's new beginnings and cool blue-greens and purples make a picture feel frosty.  Today we explored how "cool" we could be - adding photo editing effects to cool down our images.  The first shot I took was out my car window.  I liked the way the snow had melted to water droplets on the window, but you could still see the snow outside.  I wasn't sure if this abstract image was the kind that Tracey was prompting us for - and so I was super excited when she commented on my photo. 

Below, was my second attempt at cooling down an image. It was taken at night, with the floodlights casting a warm glow on Ireland House.  A pretty picture, but it too lacked a "cool" winter mood.  I converted the image to black and white, and cooled down the colour temperature.  I was happy with the results, but was surprised that it was the first image that the forum preferred.  I suppose it goes to show you that you shouldn't  second guess yourself.

January 16 - Wrapped up -The challenge today was to consider ways you can evoke some kind of emotion in a picture incorporating a towel, or towels. Tracey encouraged us to share a feeling of being taken care of.  I remembered how I loved bathing my babies, and wrapping them up in a fluffy towel.  They were so small, sweet and fragile.  I wanted to symbolize this feeling.  What is more fragile than eggs?  I used three eggs, one to symbolize each of my kids.  An all white picture is tough.  Getting the different shades of white, without making the whole picture a dingy grey.  I am proud of the way it turned out. 

365 Project January 4 - 9

January 4 - A Little Sunshine - Searching for a little colour-therapy today, I cut into the pineapple that was sitting on the counter.  The yellow center reminded me of the sun.  The juicy fruit reminded me of summer days at the beach.

January 5 - Intended for Everyday Use - Okay, so I don't do laundry everyday.  I could, but I don't.  The Picture Winter prompt for today encouraged us to look for items that make our everyday lives better.   If laundry is my nemesis, than my washing machine is my best ally.

January 6 - Cracked Open - "There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in." — Leonard Cohen.  

January 6 - Hidden Beauty -  I went looking for the hidden beauty of winter today.  I found this little chickadee hiding in the cedar trees.  I think that birds and toddlers have to be that hardest subject to photograph.  So, I get my picture, upload and edit it, then I realize that the prompt from Picture Winter asked for Quiet Beauty, not hidden beauty.  Oh well, I submitted it anyway. 

January 8 - Texture Seekers -When I go shopping in the winter I have to take off my gloves.  I need to shop with my hands, and feel all the different textures of the fabrics. You could say that I am a texture junkie.  I love the chunky texture of this yarn when it has been knit.  When Picture Winter asked for us to photograph texture, I knew that this unfinished project was what I wanted to capture.  Don't you want to just touch it too?

January 9 - Bundled Up - I bought myself new slippers the other day.  I always seem to have cold feet, hands.  Actually my nose and bum are also generally colder than the rest of my body as well. 

365 Project December 28 - January 3

I'm just a little sad that I am getting near the end of my 365.  Actually the project was going to be 52 weeks.  I took a picture the first two weeks (January 6th and 12th.) I realized pretty early on that it was going to be easier for me to be committed to taking a picture every day, rather than once a week.  It was too convenient for me to put off capturing an image tomorrow.   To help keep the momentum going into the home stretch I started Project Winter.  Project Winter is an online class taught by Tracey Clark the founder of the Shutter Sister Website.  I am very excited to be involved with this project. 

December 28 - Long and Lean - Hubby bought me these jeans for Christmas, but they didn't fit!  Too Big - yippee!  That's right Long and Lean baby!

December 29 - New Hiding Spot - We used our Christmas money to buy a new couch for the basement.  This meant that we had two couches to find a new home for.  The big red couch from Ikea, was pushed up against the wall.  The tiny little space in between wall and couch became the perfect new hiding spot for the Little Man. 

December 30 - Morning Frost - I woke up to a world covered in frost.  The beauty of it left me awe struck.  Try as I might, I don't think that the emotion I felt is captured in these images. 

December 31 - Weekly Self Portrait - His Shirt - Today marks our 20th anniversary.  Not our wedding anniversary, but the day that we first started dating.   This shirt was the first gift that I gave him.  Twenty years, I can't believe it.  Here's to twenty more - love ya babe. 

January 1 - A New Year - I wanted to show the new year in numbers for my 365.  It was a lucky find, to see that the numbers on the dart board would work.  One of my hopes/goals for 2011, is that my heart and mind are open to see my lucky finds. 



January 2 - A Breath of Fresh Air - (Project Winter #2 - I started a day late) - The kids and I went for a winter walk today.  It felt really good.  I didn't realize how cooped up we all felt until The Little Man remarked on the way there, "You know Mom, it's not just the trailer I like about camping, it's the fun of being outside."

January 3 - All The Possibilities - ( Project Winter #3) - I actually took these pictures before I read the prompt from Tracey.  For me a sunrise reminds me of all the possibilities.  Morning is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings.  The problem?  I couldn't decide on which image I liked better.  The first shows a brighter sky, with more shades of blue.  The second is a little under exposed, but I like the silhouettes of the bare branches against the backdrop of sky and clouds.  What do you think?  Either way, I need to clean my lens.