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Project 365

Embark on a photographic journey through an entire year

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Today, I think back over my 365 Project and find moments where I felt truly alive. I use that as my guide for the new adventures I'll begin in this New Year. I also look back and find moments of difficulty, where I pushed through it anyway. I know I'll carry that perseverance with me always.

There was a particular moment in the middle of Penn Station—after airports and planes, taxis and luggage, subways and trains—when the cluster overwhelmed me. There were too many directions, all of them unknown, yet vaguely familiar. I spun for a minute, balancing my tears on the edge of a subway platform. I don't want to forget that. That sheer second right before I found strength, I walked directly into the center of the overwhelm and came out the other side stronger from the experience.

The only way around it is through it.

When approaching this project, I asked myself about my intention. What is real, truthful or honest from today that makes it different from yesterday and tomorrow? What I learned from shooting every day is that even on bad days, even when the cat coughs up hairballs and the fridge is empty and I've run out of gas—each and every day there's at least one thing to treasure. It's all perspective! Some days are snow cones and sun flare. Some days I document the gray hair and broken transmission. This 365 Project isn't viewed through a pair of rose-colored glasses. This is life for real, and it's beautiful in all its honesty.

I love my 365 Project. It keeps me afloat, makes me accountable for showing up and doing something creative each and every day. I see it as a beautiful way to find gratitude in our daily lives. There's importance in seeing what we do with each day we're given, even if it feels mundane. Through this project I've found that sometimes the most ordinary things can be extraordinary, like the simple act of driving home as the darkness falls and life settles into night.

This photographic project is different from any other. This is diving deep and staring life right in the face. I feel like I'm an active participant once again in my life. Now, I seek out beauty to remember. And not just to document it, but to live it. These are the moments to cherish. Real life.

Will this be the year for you to do the same? It's a photo-a-day project—a guaranteed way of improving your photography. You'll discover photographers on the same path as you. And, as you start to see with new perspectives, you'll find your photographic eye, build your portfolio and walk away from the experience with something beautiful and worthwhile.

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