A Photo a Day, Round Two

My intention is simple. I plan to take a photo every day. Attempting to be a part of the more formal "Project 365" groups that live on Flickr, I tried something like this in 2010. At first, I enjoyed the creative outlet and the challenge of coming up with something new every day. I made it into May before dropping off completely because, frankly, I put too much pressure on myself. Unless I had that perfect, artistic, expertly edited photo, I didn't want to post anything.

I felt like a failure when the pictures were of my nightstand, or of the food I ate that day. Part of this was because - honestly - my life isn't that interesting. Part of this was because Chicago in the winter + lack of a good indoor flash makes it hard to capture a quality photo for 365 days. But mostly, it was because I had set impossibly high standards for myself. You can read about this more on my regular blog, twentysomething. For my "resolution", I decided I'd again take a picture a day, this time with much lower expectations.

Firstly, I can [and will mostly] use my iPhone. While I love my Canon DSLR, I fail at goals like these because it's simply too bulky to carry around when I'm just heading to work and back on a daily basis. And, full disclosure, I feel awkward carrying around a huge camera to take pictures of lampposts and my neighbors' mailboxes. Overcoming those blockers are a part of my big-picture "resolutions." For this project, though, I know myself, and I want to set myself up for success. The iPhone 4S has a fantastic point and shoot camera, and after three moths I already have more than 500 photos. I think it's time I shared them with you.

Secondly, there is no "boring" shot. Sometimes, all I have to take a picture of that day is the bus. Or my alarm clock. Or my bed at the end of the day when all I want is to crawl into it. But this time, that's okay.

My goal at the end of this project, whether it last for a year, six months, or for the rest of my life [wouldn't that be awesome!], is to have a history of what my life is like today, as a young twenty-something in one of the greatest cities in the world. I anticipate a lot of changes in my life this year, and I am record them in one place, as a simple photo every day.

I hope you'll join me!