PROJECT 52
This year I participated in a Project 52 and received a weekly prompt of something to photograph. Sometimes I’d have to play a little catch-up when I couldn’t find or didn’t have access to what I wanted to photograph for the weekly prompt. Sometimes I’d have to settle for a photograph I wasn’t particularly pleased with but it met the challenge. In the final analysis it was a #win for me. I achieved the 52 photo projects in a year and it inspired me to think creatively.
Here’s a collage of the final results:
Here are a few of my favorites with a bit of commentary.
I picked up this whimsical vase at the gift shop at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. I thought it was a perfect fit for the “colorful” challenge.
Two of the prompts called for my LensBaby Circular Fisheye, “underneath” and “transport”:
“Underneath” was taken from my driveway looking up into the night sky.
For “transport” I took a photograph of the view from our 4-wheeler. One of my husband’s first purchases when we began our move to the country was this four-wheeler. He thought I’d enjoy using it. I thought it was a waste of money. I’d just walk anywhere I wanted to go. Then, in January, plantar fasciitis hit and I couldn’t walk anywhere 🙁 I had to wear a boot for months (it is a rather persistent case!). So I learned to use and appreciate the 4-wheeler. Without it I would not have been able to get back and forth to my vegetable garden (located near the flag you see on the right) nor the mailbox (located further up the hill). While this is not an award-winning photograph by any means, it is very meaningful to me!
One of the highlights of the year was meeting Mallory at a fund-raising event I did for the Alabama Animal Alliance Spay & Neuter Clinic. I soon called Mallory’s person and asked if I could do a photo session for her in the studio. The goal was to get a print to enter into the Professional Photographer’s Association International Print Competition. We got a beautiful print of Mallory which was entered and merited, helping me achieve my goal of enough print competition merits to earn a Masters of Photography Degree from PPA that will be awarded in January of 2020.
The “left behind” prompt proved to be a challenge. I couldn’t think of anything except the left behind book series from years ago. With inspiration from other members of the Project 52 group I decided this would be a good left behind subject. We see these everywhere in abandoned fields in the country. I ended up with an image I really loved from this challenge.
I really didn’t want to move to the country, so I had certain “conditions” that had to be met before I would pack up. One of them was a screened back porch. I just love sitting out here in the evenings under the fan with the wind chimes playing a soothing tune. It was a natural for the “in the evenings” prompt. It was taken with one of the Lensbaby lenses for a dream-like effect.
When the “lost” prompt came up I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph — something that hurt my heart to lose. This is one of the earrings my husband got for me on our first Christmas as husband and wife. Unfortunately, I lost one of them just a few years after I got them. I’ve saved the other planning to have it made into a necklace. Ironically, when I went to get this one to photograph I couldn’t find it either!!! I didn’t recall seeing it after we moved. I searched for weeks for this little earring. I finally found it. So it was doubly lost for a while!!
In September this year my husband brought home 2 feral cats he’d been taking care of at work. I was afraid it wouldn’t go well since they were already a couple of years old. Thankfully, I was wrong. We carefully read and followed Jackson Galaxy’s advice for introducing new cats to each other and it worked beautiful. We still have a few flare-ups but I really couldn’t be more pleased with how quickly they adjusted to being in a home environment. They became the subject of two photos — “at home” and “shadows.”
One of the big #wins for me this year was participating in a workshop on color. Who’d have guessed that after 14-15 years of photography I would be inspired by seeing color and exploring composition in new ways. I wanted to document that in this photo for the “inspired by” prompt. I have taken several courses by Denise Love of 2 Lil’ Owls Studio and have loved every one of them. She is a fantastic teacher and has really helped me maintain an enthusiasm for photography. I highly recommend her!!
This may be my favorite Project 52 photo of the year. It’s just a quick iPhone snap, but it was taken the day we “opened” the playhouse to the two youngest granddaughters. This is a playhouse my dad built for me when I was a little girl. We moved it before my mom sold their house and repaired it for the two oldest granddaughters. They got too old to play in it so it has been closed up for several years. Now the two youngest can enjoy it when they come visit us. I’m sure my dad could not have imagined that his great grandchildren would one day play in this little house. I used it for the “something special” prompt.
Most of the images for the Project 52 are just quick snaps — nothing award-winning. However, I found it a very beneficial project. It always inspired me to think, and that’s a good thing 🙂
Janet Broughton of Definitely Dreaming is starting a new Project 52 for 2020 with an option for a Project 12 for those who may want to have a monthly challenge. Here are details on the project and a link to join the Facebook Group: 2020 Photography Project – Definitely Dreaming