About That Photo Challenge

So, yes, the 365 day photo challenge continues or should I say is still creeping along? Today is Day 256 which means there are only (do the math) 109 days remaining.  When we started out there were about 10 of us regularly pinning our daily shots to our shared Pinterest board -   http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/ It was fun while it lasted. Then we slowly began losing folks. Now there are only three of us still at it and two of us are related. Perhaps there is some stick-to-it-iveness in the DNA, Deb Cleveland. 

Photo by Deb Cleveland

People drifted away because they got busy, got injured, got distracted, got bored. One person told me that it didn't feel right just taking a picture every day for no reason other than to post it. (You know who you are, Maureen Hopkins)  Another simply said, "Photography is hard." Some, I suspect, quit because they missed a day or two and thought the photography gods had been offended enough to kick them out. Yes, those were the purists who felt they had somehow failed the challenge. Silly people, I thought the same thing until I missed my first day. I lost three days around the time my mother passed away but I'm back at it.

I love taking at least one photo a day to share. Pardon the pun but it keeps me focused. Focused on things beyond my day to day routine. It keeps me framing and seeing little slices of my world in a different way every day. It also makes me try harder to be a better photographer. It just works for me but I understand why it isn't for everyone. 

I know I should just leave the rest of you alone, but I can't. Maintaining the board this year has made me eager to see what other folks have focused on, framed and chosen to share. I miss your photos, People. I really do. Yeah, even some of the blurry ones taken in low light. So I challenge you to come back if you were in and then were out. I challenge you to join in if you missed all the fun so far. There are still over 100 days left for great picture taking and I want to see yours. 

Photo by Pamela Hodenberg

Here's that link again - http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/ Email me if you need an invitation to join in.

The Photo Challenge Goes On

Well, here we are 143 days into our 365 Day Photo Challenge and I haven't missed a day yet . However, there's a reason those people in the know use the word "challenge" rather than project or undertaking. This is difficult. To take and upload a photo every single day requires time and effort. It has to (and I hate "have to's") be done regardless of available time, motivation, or the weather. No wonder we've lost some folks. Some folks? Hell, we have lost most folks, but a faithful few still carry on and others come and go. 

I started this post back in March when I realized that most of the eager photographers who originally signed on were no longer pinning. My intent then was to encourage everyone to keep on keeping on or to come back to the board with no questions asked. I never followed through with that. I mean, what was there to say? We all have busy lives and differing levels of enthusiasm. We all also have many interests, passions, and ways to spend our all too scarce slices of time. 

I love to read, but I would probably start and no be able to complete a "Read a Book a Week" challenge. I want to blog about all kinds of things but I haven't blogged since January. Yeah, I can't even blog once a month. I faithfully follow the Red Sox, but I don't watch every single game. You see how it goes? 

So I'm not complaining one bit that our numbers are down. I'm just having fun and really enjoying seeing what other people do.  Keep giving us the cat shots, the tree studies, the beach scenes, the selfies, and the other odds and ends that make up your days. I like seeing what you see and thank you for sharing with us.

Here's the link to our shared  365 Day Photo Challenge board on Pinterest  -

http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/

Photo by Maureen Hopkins

The 365 Day Photo Challenge for 2014 Is On

I'm really excited that so many people want to participate in our 365 Day Photo Challenge. We have 12 who have accepted and can now pin to our shared board -  http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/  I've heard from a couple more who want to join in but they haven't done the Pinterest thing yet. Apparently, I can't invite anyone who is not following the board. If you know anyone who is waiting for an invitation, let me know. The official start date is, of course, January 1st so I want to do all I can to help people get set up.

Yesterday my niece Kendra asked if I was ready for 365 cat pictures. Hopefully she was kidding, but maybe we need some guidelines. Your cats, your dogs, your kids, your dinners and yourselves are all fine subjects. If you want to shoot a different photo of your awesome cat or your awesome self every day, feel free. Just try to be creative and give it your best shot. Yes, I actually wrote that. Sorry. 

The goal is one photo per person per day so please don't give us two or three. Feel free to tell us a little something about your photograph when you upload and pin it. If you want to comment on someone else's pin, do so kindly. We are all trying our best to share something good and positive feedback is always appreciated. If you miss a day, just come back the next. If you're worried that your picture sucks, it probably doesn't. Most importantly, keep your camera with you and have fun.

Did someone say dogs? 

Take a Photo a Day in 2014

Happy New Year!  It's time to welcome in 2014. What's on you list of resolutions? Do you still make resolutions? If you're like me, you've made and failed at a fair number of them through the years. The old standards involve losing weight and getting more exercise which are very good things to work at. Yikes! I plan to do the second annual obstacle 5k for Second Chances Foundation (http://aimeescause.org/events/) this year. Time to hit the gym. But I have an additional resolution  in mind, the 365 Day Photo Challenge.  

Yes, I am going to take a picture a day every day in 2014. Why you ask? Well, my original purpose was simply to get better at photography. The experts recommend the P.A.D. thing to folks like me who love taking pictures and want to learn and experiment with new techniques. You can't do that unless you are out and about with your camera, so the key is to get out there every day. 

The idea appealed to me so I started reading up on 365 day photo projects. I was, of course, skeptical after struggling with the 25 Days of Christmas Photo Challenge. (See my two previous posts if you missed all that fun). Interestingly, I soon I discovered that there is much more to this thing than getting good. A photo challenge gets us out doing things and meeting people. It keeps us thinking and creating. It provides an opportunity to really focus on the day to day and perhaps see our lives through different lenses. It provides a way of sharing our shots with others. Here's the link to my Pinterest 365 Day Photo Challenge board  - http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/

I'm sharing the link because any of those reasons should be good enough to get us going. But, wait, there's even more. Where were you this time last year? When did you change your hair style? What did your dining room look like before you remodeled? What was the weather like when your cousin came from Texas? When did you transplant those peonies? When did you son get so tall? How much of 2013 do you really remember?

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take a look back at the days that made up your year? A picture a day records one of those small moments in time that make up your life. I want my very own 2014 photo journal. Don't you? 

What do you need? Just a camera and a way to save and backup your shots. It doesn't matter whether you have a fancy dSLR, a nifty purse sized point and shoot, or just your cell phone. All you need to do is keep a camera with you and use it at least once every day. How hard can that be?  If you want to share your year with us, follow my board on Pinterest and I'll send you an invite. 

Try a Photo Challenge (Or Not) Part II

So now you all know about "The 25 Days of Christmas Photo Challenge" and how I haven't been doing particularly well with it. Yes, of course, my sister is better at this Christmas thing than I, but another problem has been the timing of the various themes. Day 6 was "Friends" and we had our friends over on Day 5. Even if we had other friends, we would never have had people over two days in a row, so I missed that day.  Day 16 was "Wrapping". Who even has the shopping done by December 16th? You can't wrap what you haven't bought. Day 17 was "Parties". Who parties on a Tuesday? I missed both of those days. Yesterday, Day 18, was "Sweaters". You guessed it. No picture.

Frustrated I looked back and discovered that this photo challenge was originally created and pinned for the 2012 holiday season. Would that explain the timing? No, not really. "Parties" would have fallen on a Monday rather than a Wednesday. Again, unless you're under 25, you probably don't party much on either Monday or Tuesday. 

Another problem is the squiggly, scripty font the creator used. Here it is again if you missed it yesterday. 

http://www.lindsayramstetterphotography.com/blog/2012/11/get-into-the-holiday-spirit-with-a-photo-challenge

On Day 12 I sent Deb a text which said, "Unless someone named Carol stops by this afternoon, I won't be getting a "Christmas Carol" picture." She responded, "I though it said Christmas Cards".  And so it did. Thank goodness I had gotten one card in the mail that day. Oh, yeah, here are the results from Day 12. Can you guess which offering is mine and which was submitted by my sister, Mrs. Claus?

Today is "Christmas Past" and I have an idea. Tomorrow is "Favorite Ornament" and I have at grand total of four so I should easily be able to choose a favorite. Sunday, the day of our family Christmas party, is "Elves" so I hope a couple of them show up. The challenge continues for six more days. Wish me luck, Guys. I really need it.

Try a Photo Challenge (Or Not)

       My sister Debi is a pinner. She found Pinterest and made it her own long before I ever stumbled and fumbled around with it. She has many beautiful boards full of very clever things.  In fact I thought you had to be clever and crafty to be a part of Pinterest so I steered clear of it. I stayed away until I figured out I could use it for photography stuff. Now I love it.  I particularly like to follow photographers and photography tips and that's where I found this "25 Days of Christmas Photo Challenge."

 http://www.lindsayramstetterphotography.com/blog/2012/11/get-into-the-holiday-spirit-with-a-photo-challenge

       Yep, a photo challenge, one of those “get your camera out every day" and make a picture of the next thing on the list things that are all the rage these days. I'd wanted to try one and a 25 day commitment sounded a lot less daunting that one for 365. It seemed fairly simple. Take a picture for each day's theme and share it. How hard could it be?

       So I decided to go for it and I invited my sister to join in. Actually, I made a rather broad public invitation on Facebook and no one but my sister accepted. We started a day late (but not a dollar short) and our first task for Day 2 was to photograph "Making Memories".  Now that's something wide open to artistic interpretation. See how these things work?  But the results that day gave me my first inkling of just how much trouble I was in. I took a picture of my Epson scanner; my sister took a shot of a lovely Advent calendar like the ones she always had for her kids when they were small. Sigh.  Round 1 clearly went to Deb and I knew I had to step up my game.

       Now you might be thinking that something like this shouldn't be a competition. But you'd be wrong. Call it a fun little activity, even a bonding opportunity if you like, but we're talking about my sister here and my baby sister at that. Surely you've heard of sibling rivalry? I'm the one with a slight edge when it comes to cameras and gear, but she loves Christmas. She decorates. She bakes.  She is the mistress of all things Christmas. And this is a Christmas photo challenge.  Day 3 was "Scents of the Season". Debi has Christmas mugs. I have never had any such thing. See what I'm up against? Here's what we ended up with - 

By the way, my cookies came from Shaw's. Day 4 was "The Tree". She has trees. Raise your hand if you think I do. My tree picture was taken at Shaw's. Thank goodness Shaw's was selling these mediocre little trees for $9.99. 

And so it has continued. Nearly every afternoon since we started I've gone somewhere with my camera trying to find a wreath or some lights or even a snowman. My wreath picture came from a jewelry store display. Debi's came from her own front door. 

There's more. There's much more to tell and many more pictures to take. It's Day 18 and I haven't given up, but I have to find some sweaters. Anyone have any ugly Christmas sweaters? Message me.

TO BE CONTINUED