Project 52 Intro

Back in November I took my second Golden Girls photography workshop. A little after that, the girls started a 12 week photo challenge in their workshop alumni Facebook group. I participated here and there, but found that having photos on a memory card instead of my phone delays their posting. Nonetheless, I was inspired to do my own photo project in 2016!

The first challenge was being able to have access to my camera at all times. I was hoping that if I carried my camera with me EVERYWHERE, I would start to see more photo opportunities and develop my perceptive photographer's eye. For Christmas, I asked for a purse that was designed to both carry a camera and be fashionable. My sisters bought it for me, but the only problem is it ended up being too small to be my everyday purse. I still plan on using it when I travel or go on photo adventures though. (My boyfriend is excited that I don't have to use my camera messenger bag anymore which he's convinced screams "tourist!") [Update: A couple weeks ago, I bought another normal purse that is big enough to hold my camera and the majority of what I usually carry with me. The camera still takes up a lot of space but at least I still have everything else I need.]

The second challenge was to find a project that I actually liked. I figured I wasn't ready for a Project 365 so I decided to start with a Project 52. Many of the ones I found were pretty specific on what to shoot each week, but I didn't like the idea of being locked down to one picture every week. (Looking back now, I understand how that's part of the challenge.) I ended up finding one that simply had 52 different topics. I liked that it was open-ended and that I could work my way through it however I wanted.

[Update: A few months in, I've realized that having so many topics and not one to focus on for that week has made it challenging. I ended up creating a note in Google Keep that has the photo above in it. Then I can access it quickly on my phone and even use the app itself to X out the box for the shots I've taken. 

I try to look it over as often as I can so that I know what shots to look out for as I go about my days. I also set the week numbers to display on my Google Calendars so that I can make sure I'm keeping up. I wish I could say I've taken one a week, but that would be lying. Usually, I end up snapping 3-4 when I'm going somewhere or doing something that will give me the chance to knock out some shots. I need to just choose a shot at the beginning of the week and make it happen.]

No matter what, I'm excited to complete this project and I'm hopeful that I'll develop a little more as a photographer while documenting this upcoming year.