Saturday, January 7, 2012

Project 52 - 2011 in Review and New Project 52

Looking back on my Project 52, a photo a week, I feel that it was successful, encouraging, challenging and had fun.  I began the project to bring something creative into my life.  My mother past away about a year prior to me making the decision to start the project.  I felt that I was ready to begin something for myself.

I pulled out my camera and re-acquaint myself with it.  I began a list of places I wanted to shoot.  I signed up with a flickr group to keep me accountable to posting and see what others are doing.  I was able to look at this as something that was mine.  The best laid plans of mice and men...  I had a few set backs.  A personal tragety, seven months into my project, my father past on, eighteen months after my mother.   It was and still is difficult to live here without them after ten years.  The technical calamities began when my back up Hard drive died.  Then my computer, a six year old iBook, stopped working.  My iPhone wouldn't hold a charge. The technology stuff was hard because my photos were stored in the back up hard drive and computer.  I had no place to store my photos.  I started using my iPhone to take and upload photos.  When my iPhone stopped holding a charge. All of this happened within a two month period, it became more and more difficult to continue the weekly photo shoots and the upload.

But I persevered.  I missed shooting and submitting about 11 weeks overall.  That works out to about 80% completion.  That reminds me of a quote that I use often, "80% of success is showing up."  I don't know who the quote is attributed, to but it's a good one.  It reminds me that so much of success is being in the place of the best opportunity or being in a place where you can complete a task.  It says that if you are in the right place and make an effort, you can be successful.  So, I accomplished.

I feel accomplished even without seeing that I completed 80% of the project.  I feel accomplished because I enjoyed looking at the world through the eyes of a photographer.  I see things with a different eye.  I am continuing the Project 52 this year again because I wish to continue to develop my eye.

Here is my first installment for Project 52 - 2012, Week 1.  Week 1's theme is New.  I had been shooting before I knew the theme, so I submitted this one. This is the opposite of New, but I'm looking and shooting.  I have joined another group, FOCUS 52.  It is a smaller group and I hope to get and give more feedback.  I hope you all will continue to follow me.  Check out my shoot on my flickr site.

3 comments:

Jan said...

That's a whole lot of hard for one year.
Here's to a better 2012!

Thanks for linking up on the focus52 blog. Glad you're here!

Paula said...

What a great post, and wow, what a year. I've had one pretty much like it, but we just keep going, don't we? Congratulations on all that you accomplished!

Kym's Blog said...

Thank you both for the encouraging words and the welcome to the group. A good 2012 to us all.