The year is almost over. I know we still have over a month before 2009 hits us, but the holiday season seems to make these last weeks fly by fast. Blink and it’s over.
So I propose that you start gearing up for the new year by thinking about a personal photography project for 2009.
Why start thinking about it now?
Because photography projects, especially the personal ones, tend to need planning and retrospect. For example, the 365 project may sound great and all, but if you spend most of the day commuting to work then rushing home to sanity five days a week, you may not want to over commit on a project like that.
Let’s take a look at some photography projects you can choose from to make 2009 your most productive year as a photographer.
365 Project
This one’s the grandaddy of ‘em all if you ask me. Take a picture everyday for a year and share it. There are many ways to tweak this to suit your goals. If you just need motivation to get your camera out then you just take a picture of something everyday no matter what. Want to get extreme? Try taking a portrait everyday and you’ll get over your shyness to approach strangers. Make it personal. Try the 365 self portrait project. The real key is the sharing part. You can start a photoblog or share it on Flickr, SmugMug, or Zooomr.
52 Project
Out of the same mold as the 365 project, the 52 project has participants capturing and sharing one image a week. This may work out better for you if you’re of the so busy you don’t have time to breathe lifestyle. You can, of course, tailor this to suit your style of photography. 52 portraits, black and whites, landscapes, or your hometown. Be creative. That’s the idea behind this after all. Something to think about… there are 52 cards in a full deck. I’m just saying. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to share!
30 Viewpoints
The idea here is to pick an object, any object, and photograph it everyday for a month from different angles and in different settings. This is the kind of project that will push your creative juices beyond their limits. You’ll learn to see light differently and angles you didn’t even know existed. Similar to the 365 Project this one is everyday, but changing objects every month will help keep you recharged throughout the year.
My World/Your World
Teaming up with other photographers is a great way to keep yourself motivated. If someone is relying on you to produce something you are less likely to fail. Try teaming up with someone across the pond, country, or state and make a commitment to photograph something everyday or once a week and you both share it on a mutual blog as a diptych. Two views from two photographers leading different lives being displayed right next to each other for the world to see. I love it. By the way, this is a great way to get back in touch with an old friend or classmate.
100 Prints
This project arguably requires the most discipline, time, and money. It’s also probably the most advanced and hopefully the most rewarding. The idea that digital photographers in this day and age do not make photographic prints isn’t new. We don’t mind viewing our images on computer screens and filling up hard drives. But this project proposes that you create and produce 100 prints over the course of a year. This is the one I’ll be doing and I got this idea from Brooks Jensen of Lenswork fame. Make a print approximately every 3 days and you’ll end up with 100 prints at the end of the year. Brilliant.
As you may have noticed the key to all of these projects is consistency and sharing. Consistency means that you’ll be pushed to get that camera out and create images, even when you don’t feel like it. Sharing the images will help to ensure that your project goes through to the end.
Will you start a personal photography project? Let us know in the comments section below and don’t forget to link to your website or photosharing page!
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I’m just about to head off and pick up my new large format camera, and inthe new year I plan to teach myself C41 home development. I guess that counts as a new year project?