Things I have learned from my FAILED 365 project

You might be wondering, what is a 365 project?  This is where you take a photograph every single day of the year.  This may seem daunting, but it keeps you pushing for creative photos every day.  And even though I totally failed this year I produced more photos than I ever have previously! It pushed me to the max! I ended up with about 276 pictures.  Obviously, I missed a couple months there around August.  Whoops!  The point is I stuck with it.  I’d miss several days and then I’d pick up my camera to create something.  And you know what? I absolutely treasure these moments I captured.  I can look back at how little my kids were just a year ago.  Or I can remember exactly where I was that day.  I have tiny details about what happened on that day that I have documented.  Like what day the COVID lockdowns started for our state, or who won the super bowl, or that the California fires made the sunsets extra hazy- even in Columbus, Indiana! I even have self-portraits so my kids can see photos where their mom was actually in front of the camera.  I plan to do this every year, even if I fail miserably.  I know that I will still be producing more work, honing my techniques, and staying as creative as possible.      

Stick with it!

A 365 project requires discipline and perseverance. I have learned that if you plan a little, things will be easier. Have a day set aside at least once a week to import your photos and do your editing. If you have a busy day planned it might be easier to get your photo done in the morning, so you do not have to think about it the rest of the day.  It becomes easier with time as it starts to be a habit.  You will find yourself thinking of photography every day, and looking for good light, and good moments.  

Sometimes it requires a flat lay.

This was my go-to idea when I had no creative ideas and the day was ending. It happened to be something I wanted to improve upon, and I found it easy to search around the house and find things to make a flat lay out of. It was also handy for when it was less than pretty outside. If it were raining or just cold and brown outside with a grey sky, I would always do a flat lay. Consider what your flat lay might be? What will be your go to when you have no more creativity left or you just can’t take one more picture of that brown winter outside. Maybe taking a photo on your phone was the best you could do that day. That is ok! Make sure to put it in your 365-project folder! That way you can legitimately count it.

Keep your camera within reach.

If you have easy access to it then when you see that perfect light or that perfect scene it is easy to grab and get that photo in for the day. I leave my bag open and all my lenses in the same area so I can grab it easily. At the same time, make sure you keep an extra battery charged up and ready to go.

Do not forget the spirit of the project.

  It is not so much about getting a worthy picture every day. If you can create that, then by all means, please do! However, this project is about keeping photography at the forefront of your mind. It is about working and growing every day.  So, if you miss a day (ahem…or several), that’s ok! Pick it up the next day and start again the next day. Attempting this down to the letter will overwhelm you. Take it one day at a time, and don’t get too legalistic.  

Print your photos.

I am preaching to myself here, as I am guilty of this.  This year I printed all of my photos in a little book.  And I love it! I look at it often, and I have it as a tiny coffee table book.  I have written excerpts from what I remember on some of the days.  I can also see how my photography has evolved over time.  Your photos are meant to be enjoyed! Not rotting away on a hard drive.  Luckily, places like Chat books make it really easy to keep prints in your hands and not on the cloud. I am a firm believer that prints have so much value not only as personalized artwork, but beautiful displays of your story! (Again, I am as guilty as anyone on this.  So, we MUST do better!!) 

Keep in a constant state of learning.

So, in conclusion, even though I completely failed I have learned so much through this project.  It kept me creatively accountable and helped me to artfully document my own family!  So many changes take place in just a year.  Make sure to slow down and enjoy it. I highly encourage everyone to take up a personal project like this. Time is fleeting. Document your family well. And if you can’t do it yourself consider it a worthy investment to hire your local photographer.

Thanks for reading!    

How to Give a Critique

Wow. Let’s just say if you go on the internet at all you will be bombarded by people improperly giving critique.  Critiquing can be so helpful and really aid you in growing as a creator.  It is absolutely necessary to put your work in front of those you trust to gain a new perspective on your work. I know this might be a sensitive topic for some so please allow me to gently offer some thoughts and rules to giving someone a critique.

1. Don’t give one unless the creator asks for one.

I feel like this is so obvious, but some people feel entitled to give their opinion without anyone actually asking for it.  If you are guilty of this it is completely understandable.  Once you’ve learned a new skill yourself, you want so desperately to pass it on to others.  So perhaps your critique comes from a good place.  However, you have the power as a critic to destroy that joy someone gets from creating.  Consider that with the weight it deserves.  Think of when you were just starting out, and how you were just trying to discover how things worked. Think of the fun you had from just the creative process!  Now think of a time when you shared your creation, and someone ripped it apart. How did you feel? Were you completely defeated? Was that critique offered taken in a constructive and helpful way or did you just want to give up.  It is so easy to dehumanize someone, especially on the internet. Remember that your words have power!

2.  The Feedback Sandwich

Look and think about what you want to say and check the tone in which you deliver this feedback.  Point out the positive things that you think were executed well.  If you can’t come up with anything positive, it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.  Most of the time you will be able to come up with something positive to say to encourage the creator.  Remember, you want to build them up, not tear them down.  Once you’ve offered some things you think they’ve executed well, then offer specific things they could have improved upon. Making it specific will give the creator something tangible to work on.  Improvement is actually possible at this point and you as the critic aren’t just being hateful.  Next, add something positive again and encourage them to keep working to be even better at their craft.  This will help your feedback to be well received and valued.

3. Check Your Motives

This is really a summary of the other two points.  It goes back to- are you being asked for a critique and is it your goal to help the other person or not?  It’s easy to be prideful when giving a critique.  It’s easy to elevate yourself over this other person who is asking you for your opinion.  It’s easy to tear someone else down to make yourself feel better.  Giving a critique should be helpful and not harmful.  If it is not your intent to be helpful, then it is best to refrain from offering your opinion.   

A Note About Receiving A Critique:

Now when you receive a critique it is easy to be hurt.  This is especially true if your expectations are not met. We as creators put our heart and soul into our art.  Before you react to your critique give it some time.  Just sit with it for a while.  Ask yourself why you are hurt? Was it personal?  Are you so emotionally attached to what you created that you cannot stand back from it and receive a critique?  If you cannot be objective, then you need to step away from it for a while.  Breaks are OK! The first few times you receive a critique are hard, but you do get used to it over time.  And both giving and receiving critique will help you hone your craft! So, get out there and find a group you trust.  Before you know it, you will be improving by leaps and bounds.

I hope you find this helpful!  I think there are some solid principles in here that you can apply to whatever your hobby (or your friend’s hobbies) might be.  Thanks for reading!       

How to Can Peaches

If you didn’t already know, my family and I try our hands at gardening every year.  Some years are great, and other years we hardly get anything out of the garden.  We usually always have green beans. In addition to our garden we have a few fruit bearing trees. We have 2 cherry trees, and a couple apple trees, and we have 2 peach trees. Recently our tiny 3-year-old peach trees put on the most fruit we have ever seen in our lives.  They are contender peach trees.  Normally they put on just a few small flavorful peaches, however this year they went nuts!  We had piles of peaches! We ate some, gave some away, made peach preserves out of some and froze some.  It seemed all that effort hardly made a dent in the supply of peaches we had! 

So, I decided to can (or preserve) some.  We usually can something every year.  (Usually green beans).  So, this year canning peaches was a little different.  All together I canned about 14 quarts of peaches.  Everyone kind of has their own way of canning.  I just use the Ball Blue book of Preserving.

I used the raw pack method.  First you peel the peaches, and cut into halves or quarters, and pit. Then you’re supposed to treat the peaches to prevent darkening or browning.  To do this you add about 2 TBS of lemon juice concentrate for every 8-10 peaches and ½ teaspoon of sugar.  We had pretty small peaches, so it was closer to 10 for us, or about 4 cups worth. (FYI, the lemon juice, and peaches together smell awesome, or at least I think so!)  Next is packing the peaches into clean jars and making the syrup.  I used a medium syrup which was 3 & 1/4 Cups of sugar and 5 Cups of water.  You mix it together and heat it up until the sugar is dissolved.  Then ladle it over the peaches leaving about ½ inch head space.  If that is confusing refer to the diagram: here.  Remove the air bubbles.  I do this by shoving a wooden spoon in the jar all the way to the bottom. It is an important step, even though it doesn’t seem like it at the time.  Your jars will have trouble sealing if you skip this step.  Next clean the rim of the jars and place the lids and rings on them.  (Some lids require that you boil them.  The sure fit lids by Ball say to just wash and rinse them in warm water). The book says to process pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes in a boiling- water canner.  I did this for two rounds, and then we still had peaches left over. Ha!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this small detour from photography.