Photography Projects 2014

My 365, A Year in Song and Project: Gratitude - January 2014

Last year I started taking part in a few photography projects, including 'Project Life 365' and Clickin Moms' 'cmglimpse'.  These operate by providing daily prompts (words or phrases) to inspire a photograph linked to the prompt.  I really enjoyed the push to take some personal photos every day and the encouragement to see the world around me in a different, creative way, even though some days were harder than others.  There's also a great sense of community as you see the submissions from other photographers incorporating their ideas and styles, and the chance to be featured by the project as one of their favourites for that prompt.

So, I was definitely up for a regular photo project this year and there were many options available as the year began, but a few sparked my interest the most.  Feeling very inspired, I selected 3 to begin.

My 365

As 2013 came to a close, Project Life made it clear that they weren't going to continue into 2014, so some in the Project Life community started my_365 for this year.  I was in and January has been a great start.  I can't remember any days when I was particularly stuck, I haven't missed a day and I've been featured twice! (I think!).  Here are January's photos - 

A Year in Song - 52 Week Project

The second project that caught my attention was with The Photographer Within, who decided to do 'A Year in Song' by providing a weekly prompt of a song lyric.  Even if it's not music that I'm a fan of, the idea of representing lyrics in photos definitely appeals to me and having a week to think, plan and shoot seemed like a good idea.  These are January's photos with the lyric underneath - 

Week 1 - ""Turn the clock to zero, honey, we're starting up a brand new day" from 'Brand New Day' by Sting

Week 2 - "And when you smile the whole world stops and stares for a while" from 'Just The Way You Are' by Bruno Mars

Week 3 - "It's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me" from 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake

Week 4 - "Black as night, black as coal" from 'Paint it Black' by The Rolling Stones

Project: Gratitude

Finally, I came across a community of photographers who wanted to join a regular project without the constraints of different prompts or how often posts were needed - Project: Gratitude.  The idea was set up by Jennfier Tonetti-Spellman from Jellybean Pictures and it's to just record anything that you are grateful for, at whatever pace you want.  This struck a chord with me as a big part of taking photos for me is the recording of a moment, a time in my life, to capture a part of my life and my kids that I want to look back on fondly in the future.  Here are the photos that I've shared this month - 

Grateful for friendly and inquisitive squirrels

Grateful for early sunsets in the winter to enjoy with the kids before their bedtime 

Grateful that she can find comfort in unlikely places

Grateful for her love of creating and her need to display her 'work' around the house

Grateful for their shared love of books

Grateful for warm baths

Grateful that she is so keen to learn, that reading, writing and asking questions comes so naturally and is something she truly enjoys, and that her school and teachers are so supportive and encouraging. She's not alone. I'm sure that there are many kids her age who feel the same and it is wonderful!

And that about wraps things up for this month.  I sometimes wonder whether I've taken on too many projects for the year.  Once I've committed to something, I tend to feel like I've let myself down if I don't stick to it.  But no problems yet.  I love the regular inspiration that I get from them and the prospect of looking back on the year with the completed projects full of photos that I adore.  We'll see if I can keep it going!

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