On my way... - Project 365

I have recently gained quite a bit of insight into why I have such a personal passion for photography. Sure, I grew up with it and I love looking back at old photos of my family and generations gone by. And sure, I have a bit of an OCD personality but really, can that truely explain how absolutely obsessed I am with photography? Somehow, I don't think so. I think that the reason why I love photography so much is partly due to the way my brain works. Some people recall things by receiving visual clues, others via auditory input and still others by smells. I think my memory recall is different that that even. I think I recall memories by remembering where I was. I came about this realization while having a conversation recently with my hubby. Every time he would say, "don't you remember saying that?"and I answered with, "where were we when I said that?". As soon as he told me where we had been when the conversation took place, the entire memory (smells, emotions, words said, what direction I was looking in, etc...) came flooding back to me. And it was from the recognition of how odd this was that I had my epiphany. I mean, why would it matter where I was?? But it did, and I discovered that's how my brain is wired. In order for me to have complete memory recall, I need to remember where I was. And what better way to record a history of where things took place than with photography?! So I think that's where my obsession blossomed from in part.

On that note, I would like to make 2011 a year to remember and as such, I am embarking on my own personal 365 Project. A 365 Project, for those that are interested, is one where you take a photo each day for a year, for 365 days. The theme for my personal 365 Project is going to be "Simply Love" (what better theme than that to start just before Valentine's Day :) ? Each day, I am going to take a picture of something I love and that can be something as insignificant and simple as the way snowflakes fall out of the sky. There is so much I am grateful for and so much of this "simple" life of mine that I love and I want to document that to remember myself for years to come and hopefully for others that come after me as well.

This 365 Project is not about taking the most awesome photos ever (although, I am hoping that a positive side-effect will be an improvement in my photography as practice makes perfect...) and I'm going to allow myself to use whatever tool available to take these photos, be it iPhone, "happy snap" camera, or dSLR. I'm also not going to stress too much about missing a day here or there, I'll just tack on a few more days at the end so that I end up with 365 days of memories (nobody ever said they had to be 365 consecutive days now, did they?). When possible, I will try and blog these photos of Simply Love. I would also love to put everything together in a simple scrapbook at the end. 365 pages. Each page just a photo of something I simply love and a small, handwritten description of how it is simply love. I might throw a bit of ephemera in here and there when the mood strikes me, but again, I don't want to stress too much about getting too complicated (as with most people, stress is not something I simply love, so why make it a part of this project?).

So, that's my Simply Love project for 2011. Anyone want to join in? A 365 Project is a great way to hone your photography skills, whether you are a MWAC (Mom with a camera), DWAC, hobbyist, semi-pro, pro, happy snapper or just a slightly crazy person like me that loves photography. It's not about being perfect or having the perfect images using the fancy schmansy equipment or scrapbooking it all with perfectly co-ordinating colours and a Cricut (mind you, if that makes you happy and doesn't stress you out, I say totally go for it!!). It also doesn't matter what day you start, it can be any day. It can even be today! I'd love to have you join my in this project with your own 365 Project. Make up your own theme or join me in Simply Love. Either way, enjoy the journey of the next 365 days and remember to simply love.

Simply Love Day 2.5 - I Simply Love the way my little man looks in the fabulous new winter jacket he got for Christmas and I simply love that I was able to actually get all his snowgear on (including jacket, snow pants, boots, hat AND mitts) and get him outside and he was still happy!!

Cheers!

lil' mama photog