Since it’s resolution season... I wanted to share a few things from my 365 this year (not all photography related). I took a picture every day, but edited as I was able, and only edited pictures I liked best (still behind on that by the way, but whatever). I started this project with the primary goal of “improving my photography.” To me, that primarily meant nailing the technical aspects & creating consistent edits I was proud of. I feel pretty good about my progress in those areas. I met and exceeded some meaningful goals. But the year has left me with a lot of questions. Who do I shoot for? Is it me & my kids or some mysterious (less meaningful) “other.” What am I trying to say through my photographs? What inspires me and why? Am I pushing myself as hard creatively as I could? And ultimately, if I spend so much time & effort on this, WHY? What am I ultimately trying to say & produce? Is it worth it?
That’s a lot of questions. Some I have basic answers to, but kind of like the start of the project last year, I need to apply focus & consistency to flesh those answers out & apply them until they become me.
This is all a really boring way of considering what New Years resolutions are and why we have them. I think there are two parts to every resolution: can you work diligently to establish the habit? And what is it all ultimately for?
Photography tends to be a microcosm of my life that teaches me stuff worth learning about every other aspect of who I am. One of the most powerful things I learned this year was that I CAN, through diligent, tiny steps, achieve my goals! Even hard ones! It was seriously very empowering! Now this year I want to look deeper into my why, my authenticity, and my ultimate purpose/legacy.
This concludes all my New Years goals & thoughts you never asked for 😜😊
(Also: I love Lydie’s braids. 💛)
