Resolution Number Four: Photos

When I left high school, I went pretty much straight into a Media Arts degree in Journalism with a heavy photography minor (there wasn't actual minors, I was just taking all photography electives) as I had already mapped out my career path of cutting edge photojournalist (National Geographic and/or Rolling Stone here I come! Two magazines I would have no interest working for now, ha. Oh, 18yr old self). I really loved the photography aspect, and the writing aspect...but soon came to a realisation that as a journalist you don't go straight onto writing feature articles and opinion eds, or travelling to war zones and the like. Not that I felt working my way up was beneath me, not at all, but I'm actually a really shy person so the idea of having to go up to people and shoot questions at them for sound bites absolutely terrified me. Perhaps something I should have thought of beforehand? Ha, oh well.

Anyway, photography has continued to be one of my favourite things to do, but I feel like over the years I've gotten a little lazy with it. Or like reading, this past year I have struggled to make the amount time for it that I would like. Adele has this great post up over at her blog, all about comfort zones (she also designs and sells super sweet paper goods over here, worth checking out!) in respect to being self employed, that I totally identified with! I could also see how some of the excuses she talked about translated over into my photography and being creative in general. I'm constantly thinking about how the equipment I have isn't good enough (we have a crappy point and shoot digital, with a cracked screen that has a giant black spot on it), or how especially this last year I didn't have the time, or how expensive shooting film can become, etc, etc. But I forget the most important things like how much joy I get from doing it. How much I loved working in the darkroom so that I would stay in there for hours and not be able to see when I walked out into the sun. How thrilling it was to pick up a printed film, and that I would wait until I found a spot to sit down to look through them all. Were all my worries and insecurities (because lets call them what the are) really worth missing out on all that?

So, when Anabela mentioned she was taking part in 365 (a photo a day, for 365 days), and that it wasn't the one where you had to do a self portrait every day* (eep!) I decided to jump in and join her. Those up there are some of the shots from this week, and I have been really loving it. It makes me take my camera out of my bag, even when I'm busy, and document my life. I'm trying not to over think it, and just capture everyday moments (I can save my over thinking for my more serious photographic endeavours, ha). There are so many other great people taking part in it, too. Some that I already knew, and some that I've met since (Hello Jen!), and it is a really beautiful way to follow what they are up to, and what they see.

Would you like to take part? Maybe you have a photo that you've taken from each day since the 1st, or maybe you just want to start as of today. I'd love to know if you do so I can follow along!