It is now a new year with new
resolution dedications | endeavors. I am currently working on Project 365+1 (leap year) and Project Life. I figure they both go hand in hand. Last year I attempted both but fell off the wagon due to illness. Now I am healthy (and getting healthier) and will get this goal completed. I have been told a habit is formed in 20 days. I am not three days into it and so far very successful.
One of the main problems I had with taking a photo everyday was coming up with ideas. Late last year I found Katrina Kennedy's
Capture Your 365. She comes up with photo prompts for everyday of the year and ideas how to capture them. You can even sign up for her daily email. So no more excuses. I even made up a 'Subway' style watermark for this year.
Day 1 (01:01) - PHOTOGRAPH 2012
a street address | written down | calendar
This was easy. Just snapped a photo of my calendar. It was getting really late in the day when I took this so I altered this photo a bit. The color of the wall was distracting and I removed the color from the photo. It still did not look right so I turned it into a pencil sketch and then worked with the light/white balance.
Day 2 (01:02) - PHOTOGRAPH ring it in
tradition | looking forward | resolutions
This one I had to think about most of the day. I do not like the idea of resolutions but I had promised myself that I was going to take more time this year to get creative. My room is such a mess but I do have a stand set up with all my basic tools. I took this photo to remind me to get back to the basics of creating. I am looking forward to this.
Day 3 (01:03) - PHOTOGRAPH a fresh perspective
a view | an outlook | a fruit or vegetable
I had taken a photo out of my window of all the snow we received yesterday but I was not that thrilled about it. I then started playing with the ISO and f stop on the camera along with the shutter speed and the aperture. I took this photo at dusk using an ISO 1600, f/4, 1/6s, 60 mm. It looks like morning. It was this crisp and bright straight from the camera. I now have a new outlook on the camera. Plus it is a really great photo of Nathan.
I decided to also tie in my daily photos with
Project Life. Becky Higgins has come up with an easy way to document your daily life. I have been inspired by this concept for some time but never did anything with it. Last year I won a kit at a local crop and started working on the album. It comes with journaling and title cards along with divided page protectors. I worked on it for about a week. I took out the cards and wrote down something about the photo I took. My problem : I never printed my photos. I am terrible about printing my photos.
The solution to my problem came in an email from
Jessica Sprague. Her and Becky Higgins teamed up and developed Project Life into a digital/hybrid scrapbookers dream. All the elements are now available in a digital format along with templates of all the different layout styles. The many different templates will fit my photos best. I do not always take photos that are horizontal (which was a problem last year). I decided to use the Clementine kit after much agonizing over the selection. I also got the Turquoise kit to be used for a different project. So far I have completed the cover page and am working daily on the layout for week 1 (to be posted when completed).
So far I am sticking to the basic format that has been developed but I can see myself adding brushes and more embellishments once I get my format and workflow down. I may just switch everything to an 8 1/2 x 11 format so that I can print these or I may keep them as 12 x 12 and have them bound into a book or printed at the end of the year.
My next project is Stacy Julian's Twelve workshop from
Big Picture Classes. It officially starts tomorrow but the set up has been going on for a bit. I just need to get caught up today and get everything ready. The idea of the class is to create twelve layouts a month for twelve months. Sounds crazy I know, but this will keep me on track for my promise to myself to be more creative. More to come soon.
Finally this year I plan to get healthy again. 2011 was a rough year physically and emotionally. I plan to get my health back. Last spring I had a hysterectomy due to endometriosis and adenomyosis. The pain started late in 2010 and kept continuing. To make a long story short, I sat on the couch for nine months and put on about 35 pounds. I also lost a very dear friend to breast cancer in July. I still miss her terribly.
Now I plan to not diet but to get up and move more through walks, cleaning my house and maybe some exercise. A diet is just something to fall of off so I am not going to diet but to eat healthier. A total lifestyle change for me.
I wish you all the best in your endeavors for the new year.
