Four years ago I did Project 365, where I took a picture every day for a year. Time was going by too fast and I wanted a way to help me remember it. Writing every day intimidated me so I settled on pictures, using the logic that if a picture is worth a thousand words, by the end of the year I’d have 365,000 words in my photos.

That project created a documentary of a year of my life, caught one image and one day at a time. It helps me remember small, special moments I might have otherwise forgotten. How happy the flowers my friends sent me on my first day at my current job, and how they made me less nervous about my decision to change jobs. I remember how the sun looked on the ocean when I went for a walk and coffee with my dad, and how fun it was to get caught up in the hockey season when the LA Kings went to the Stanley Cup.

The photos aren’t all peonies, sunlight and hockey pucks though. There are several of my boyfriend at the time who I would like to delete. Weirdly the integrity of the 365 photos are important to me, even if there are photos and days that I would prefer to forget. There are also the days I brushed off my reminder and went about my day, forgetting the project. On those nights in bed almost asleep I would think about my day and jolt out of bed shouting, “My photo!” Then I would grab my phone and roam around my condo on a mission to find something interesting, or at least “artistic” as quickly as possible. Only once a picture with the day’s date was safely on my phone could I fall asleep.

The Challenge

Here I am now, years later, looking to recapture that spark of creativity. I’m going back to the beginning, with the project that made me start looking at the world differently, through the lens of my camera/phone.

The February Challenge is my own Project 29 (leap year). I will be taking a picture each day for every day of the year.

If I had been smarter I would have made the shortest month of the year a challenge I won’t enjoy, like sleeping, or stretching, but since I am kicking off February with a week-long vacation in Hawaii, I can’t waste valuable vacation time in Hawaii sleeping, not when it can be enjoyed, and documented.

Challenge Requirements:

• Take a picture a day.
• For inspiration and to learn, I need to find a minimum of three websites/resources for inspiration and tips.

 

After the complexity and time of January’s challenge, this one is so easy! I can’t wait to see what February looks like!