2008 In Pictorial Review

Nothing earth-shattering here, but I did manage to almost meet my 2008 New Year's Resolution of taking a daily photo - there were two days, July 31 and November 30, that I totally forgot! If interested, you can watch the year's review slideshow or look at the pictures here.



My goal was to learn more about my camera and photography in general. I didn't do as much camera experimentation as I'd hoped. Yes, there were days that I was able to explore and to plan a shoot, but there were more days when I either just plain documented or worse, I felt the pressure of needing to take an image (any image!) before the day's end. On the other hand, I didn't expect to gain so much in

• viewing another perspective - the camera lens can be deceptive for both positive and negative,
• slowing down at least one moment a day to visually focus on my environment - yes, there is a world beyond the 'rat race' and we have to claim it or it may escape,
• exposing latent aspects to some photographs - the digital process is so much different than the old film processing, but there's still the potential for surprise in the product,
• thinking about my choice of a daily selection - again, the process of focus and prioritization and the metacognition of such was revealing, and
  
• journaling every day - sometimes the photo description was rather pedestrian, but often there was deeper meaning.

I will try again in 2009 - not necessarily as a quest to meet the goal, but more for the pleasure I did enjoy this past year. With the advent of additional 365/2009 Flickr groups (EdTech 365/2009, 365Random, Project365) and Photoblogs (i.e., Karin's Daily Photo, Martha's 365 Challenge, PhotoJourney2009), I look forward to seeing what others in the community will add to the experience! Additionally, I hope to stretch my potential photography skills - practice makes perfect, right? ;)

Lagniappe: The Picnik editing tool integrated with Flickr is indeed a lifesaver! Those shots that are a bit too blurry can still be saved with a transformation via contrast tool and/or effects which still warrant the photos as interesting.