Project 365 - The End

Jan 3, 2010

Do you ever go to bed with that terrible feeling that you've forgot to do something extremely important that day? That was exactly how I felt last night as I was lying in bed. Had I forgot to complete an assignment? Did I forget to hang tomorrows outfit up to dry? No. It was simply the first day in a year that I went an 24 hours without taking at least one photo.
As most of you are probably aware, last year I did a project known as "Project 365". The point of the project? Take a photo every single day for an entire year. At the end of the year, your photography skills are likely to have improved, and you'll have a great way to recall what you did on any particular day of that year. I can proudly say that although there were a few nights that I nearly forgot about my photo... I didn't miss a single day. Even when my beloved pink camera broke, I rushed to borrow one from my mom or brother, but I was persistent and determined to complete the project.
So, was it life changing? Not necessarily. Originally, it just sounded like a fun idea, and my photographer friends Ryan and Ron were doing it as well. I didn't know a thing about cameras or photography, but I figured what better way to learn. A year later, I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a photographer, but my photos definitely improved as the year went on (with the exception of frequent lazy days, where I'd generally take a photo of food, or of my puppy, Titan). In April, my camera broke, and despite my lack of knowledge, I had my heart set on a Nikon D60 DSLR camera. Ignoring the advice of those who told me to save my money and purchase something smaller and easier to use, I bought my camera (along with a Nikon D60 for Dummies book) and I've loved it since day 1. Friends got used to me carrying it around with me wherever I went, whether it was going to work, or to a restaurant, my camera never left my side.
In June, I started dating Ryan, who if you weren't already aware, is an amazingly talented photographer. I envied the way that he could take a photo of absolutely anything, and it would always look great. I begged him to teach me more, and when I was patient enough to pay attention and listen, I did learn a lot. He'd quiz me on white balance and aperture and words that were completely new to my vocabulary. Slowly but surely, I started to get the hang of it. Taking photos unexpectedly became my newest hobby.
Back in January, I expressed how I'd wished that I would have done the project a year earlier, while I was traveling and doing much more interesting things than staying in Red Deer, Canada. Looking back now, I'm so glad that I did it in 2009. Sure, a lot of my photos were random, boring, last minute shots taken shortly before midnight.... but for each photo I'd write a description. To read through them now would tell an amazing story of an incredible year... the good times, the bad times, new adventures, new experiences, the daily life of a girl in her early 20's.... and of course falling in love and landing my dream job. I should turn it into a book.
All of my photos can be found on my Flickr account (click the link on the side of this page), with the exception of the last few days, which I've yet to email to Ryan. Unfortunately, the United Arab Emirates blocks access to my beloved photo sharing site, so for the past 3 weeks Ryan has been uploading on my behalf.
As far as 2010 goes, I've been asked, even begged countless times to continue the project for another year. It was amazing how many people followed my photos for the entire year. When I was late uploading photos, people would ask for more, as if waiting for the next chapter of a book. I can't thank them enough, because on the days that I was frustrated with my lack of creativity and inspiration, reading the awesome comments made it so worthwhile. Unfortunately, I've decided not to continue Project 365 in 2010. As I'm sure you can understand, my life is so busy these days and will only get busier when I start flying in a few weeks. Some days I'll spend the entire day prepping for flights and actually working the flights, which leaves little time to worry about taking a photo. Not to mention, time zones across the world will constantly confuse me when it comes to what day the photo was actually taken on.
However, I have decided to try Project 52 instead... which is, you guessed it... a photo each week for a year. It will still give me the chance to take a lot of photos, but it will be a lot less demanding and time consuming than Project 365. Stay tuned, 2010 is going to be a great year for photos!

4 comments:

Tleppihs Nayr said...

It will be I can't wait for the stories aboutnyour meetups with Ryan!

Jill said...

Krysta!!

I love looking at your photos for your project 365 and was very inspired to do my own! So I started it on Jan 1!! YAY!! I hope to learn more and more with my first DSLR Camera as well. Maybe I will need to meet Ryan and have him show me some tricks to the camera as well! Look forward to your new project 52!! Im sure it will be just as awesome!!!

Amber Cavers said...

I've been watching for your final 365 pics, but haven't seen them yet. I'm glad your doing 52 this year, it will be neat to see all the places you will go!

I have started Project 365 now aswell. You will feel better when you see mine, I predict it will be 50% food!

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