Project 365

Project 365 Gallery

The idea behind "Project 365" is simple: commit to making at least one photograph a day for a full year. The intent is to improve your photography by making it a daily activity and by slowing down to observe the photo opportunities that surround you in daily life. There are many variations and sub-projects possible - Google "Project 365" for more information.

I became aware of the Project when I joined the Mid-Michigan Photography Club in January 2010. A number of the members had their own Project underway at the time, including the club president who encouraged us to make the commitment. I hesitated for a while, unsure of where I'd find the time. Then, in a blinding flash of the obvious, I realized that my recent retirement had given me the time (the idea takes some getting used to...) and that this would be an excellent way to renew my creative energy.

I picked May 1, 2010 as a start date, mostly because I finally committed to the project in April and wanted to start on a month boundary. I posted each day's photo here, sorted most recent first. As the project stared, I didn't have a specific theme in mind. What emerged most strongly was an interest in abstract and creative images.

Sometimes It Just All Turns Out

View in: Project 365

Welcome! Starting today, this blog replaces the old website "Journal" page. I like the idea of a journal, but it's very difficult to manage one without the tools a full-featured blog provides. A blog also encourages and facilitates participation and feed back from you - and I welcome that! The previous Journal entries (all one of them) have been re-posted below this one. Information on the website and blog services I use is at the bottom of this page.

I wanted an image of an old typewriter keyboard for this inaugural post, intending to contrast an old publishing technology with the new technology of a blog. I'm old enough to have used both - although the typewriter was a bit more recent model than pictured here! However, having no such image in my portfolio and no old typewriter at hand, I decided to shoot a close-up of a group of ball-point pens instead. I know, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

This morning Marsha and I went to the Railroad Days Festival in Durand, Michigan - and part of a historical display in the old train station there was the ancient Underwood you see above. Just sitting there, waiting for me, all that time.

Although the typewriter is the "subject matter" in this image, the subject itself is "age and the passage of time". To create that feeling, I started with the Adobe Lightroom "Ancient Light" preset and followed up with a few tweaks of my own. The result was just what I originally wanted.

Sometimes it just all turns out.

Grand Opening!

View in: Sunrise/Sunset

[Originally posted December 31, 2009 in the website "Journal".]

Today is the official "opening" of this website. It's still under construction - and always will be in one way or another - but it's time to open the doors to visitors. That's a bit scary, since I've not shown much of my work over the years. Today is also the first day of my retirement after 40 years in Information Technology. All sorts of new beginnings...

To mark the occasion, I've chosen a sunrise. It's one of my favorite images and, of course, has a story:

I was on my way to work one early winter morning in 1995 when I came upon this scene at an intersection a few blocks from home. Fortunate to have my camera with me, I quickly pulled over, rolled down the car window, composed and shot hand-held, braced against the window sill, with the engine still running. Within in a few minutes the light shifted and the colors were gone. Although I drove by the intersection often for at least another year, I never saw another sunrise quite like this one. Some years later I passed that way again to find that the tree framing the scene had been severely storm-damaged. I like this image for its intense color and for the reminder that my photography can preserve once-in-a-lifetime moments such as this.