Surviving Project 365

The beginning of the year brings hopes, aspirations, resolutions and PROJECT 365. Here's some helpful tips to help you get through your project 365 a bit easier

What is project 365?
Project365 is originally the goal of taking a photo a day for a year [totalling in 365 photos]
BUT; you can do it with anything
write something every day
do a sketch/drawing a day
make a craft a day

With that possible question cleared up, many of us set forth on New Years day with the ambition of completing this project, but ideas do grow slim, creativity fades, time just simply doesn't allow it, ambition and excitement over the project grows weary... simply put; interest gets lost along the way here and there.

Thus, this year, armed with your fresh new, Project 365 Survival Guide, you are ready to start your project and FINISH!


Why do it?
There are many reasons to do it; the main two being
* to improve your art
*to keep a diary of your life


ALWAYS, always, always take your tools on you!
This is a pretty basic concept, but an extremely useful one. Keep your tools on you; your camera, pen & paper, pencil & sketchbook, tablet, whatever. This will be the most helpful advice I can give you.

Ever see something and think "I wish I had my camera?"
Or have inspiration to write hit you at the bank?
Maybe you see something while you're waiting somewhere that you want to draw?

Since you are now going to be doing it every day it's going to be a lot easier to have your tools with you wherever inspiration may strike.
Plus; this will fit into your daily schedule a whole lot better than setting time aside each day to accomplish your work.

If you forget your camera; use your phone camera. It may not be the best quality but it will be a photo regardless which will work if you don't find another opportunity that day.
Same goes for writing or drawing; you have a notepad on your phone and you can take a photo of whatever you want to draw.
Your phone will probably be extremely helpful in your project!


Have a goal & support
What's the point in doing a project this extreme without a goal? So you have a large collection of photo sitting around on your harddrive? Some do this to improve their skills and create a chart or meme [day 1, day 25, day 50, day 75...etc.]
Personally I did mine with the goal of turning it into a book. That way I can look at it sitting on my coffee table one day and say "hey, that was an interesting year".

I've heard of some people who say things like "for every month I get to..." and treat yourself to something. If you work better short term with a reward at the end go for it. At day 100 I bought myself something I had wanted and did the same following that.

Also; tell your friends and family what you're doing. It's hard to stay excited about something if you're the only one that knows about it and how hard you're working. Let them be your cheerleaders. Even if they aren't interested in your art most of the time they will still support your goal, and they probably wouldn't object to a quick overview every once in a while!


Don't wait until last minute!
Imagine this... it's 11:54pm and you remember you haven't done your project today. It's dark, it's almost over and you're potentially tired. Take something earlier in the day, if you find something better later then awesome, if you don't at least you have something to fall back on.
At least you won't end up with the case of in 6 minutes all you can find are your dirty socks, broken hair ties and a bag of stale chips.

Plans & Back-up Plans
I'm not talking Monday - this, Tuesday - that, Wednesday - this; that would make this incredibly tedious.
If you're a photographer get to know the area around you, plan some mini-trips, get a plan of things/places you can do/go to get different things. Do you really want to take a photo of your grandmas garden everyday? It gets old.

So; you're sitting there and your daily project is finished but: OMG You have a brilliant idea! Write it down! Seriously; write down all your ideas in a notebook, a memo on your phone, whatever. Just keep a list because there will be days you're not inspired and when those days come oh look, you have ideas!
[another suggestion is try the 100 theme challenge, you can complete two challenges at once!]
You can also join groups on dA that offer prompts, online groups, blogs, tweeters(?) that offer daily/weekly/monthly prompts


Experiment
Project365 is the perfect chance for you to experiment and try new things. You're in this for a year, so why not have fun with it? It is your perfect chance to try/learn new techniques, perfect old ones and work on something different you wouldn't normally do.


This is 365 pieces, NOT 365 masterpieces
This is a tough one for a lot of people, you're not going to get a perfect artwork everyday! Don't scrap everything because you didn't get a great piece for the day. One thing you'll notice through the project is the improvement you've made. What took you all day in the beginning may only take you a short time now.
Also you get to learn new things like mentioned above, if it's not perfect, oh well. You're learning! And by learning, you are really improving.


Promote your project
Let people follow your project. Create a folder in your gallery, make an album on Facebook, create a blog, a flickr account, etc. Let the world see what you're doing. Not only does this open the chance to share your project and perhaps get some feedback, it also keeps an organization of your project.


Be Organized
This isn't the most important, but it is very helpful. Create a specific folder titled 'project 365' and put your work for the project in there. It makes it easier to keep track of where you are and see your improvement than having them scattered about your computer. If you have a special folder for art, you can always move the photos into there later.


Other Stuff
    * Don't have time for project 365? try a 52 week challenge. A 52 week challenge is a less intense version of project 365. Instead of a project a week for a year
    * Pick a date that works for YOU - sure Jan. 1 is quite memorable, but, so is your birthday. Christmas when you got your new gear, ect. I started mine April 1. Spring reminds me of a 'fresh start'.
    * ENJOY THE RIDE! - this isn't supposed to be a chore, it's a fun project involving something you love. This is your project, your rules, your art!

Merry Christmas

If Only For A Second

IF ONLY FOR A SECOND
20 cancer patients participated in a unique makeover experience.
They were invited to a studio. Their hair and makeup were completely redone.

During the transformation, they were asked to keep their eyes shut.
A photographer then immortalized the moment they opened their eyes.

This discovery allowed them to forget their illness, IF ONLY FOR A SECOND.

This is seriously one of the most beautiful and amazing things I've seen. Definitely grab some tissue!

Magic

 

 My daughter, Izzy.

She wanted to wear this to school today, 

we settled for a photo shoot and changed into a tshirt and jeans.

Photography: A Love Story

Good Morning Isabella I

Falling in Love
     I was about eleven years old when I got my first camera. It was instant love, my first love. I took it everywhere with me. Every flower in sight was shot, my friends became models. My dog became an endangered animal in the Sahara that was to be the epitome of my photographic lifetime. Being a  photographer quickly became my dream.

The Truth is Often Disappointing
    One day my father took me for ice cream with a side of let's talk about actuality. Simply put; he told me photography was a wonderful hobby and he was glad I found an interest in something. Then came the harsh reality; it takes a lot to become a professional photographer. Most people only ever do it as a hobby; only a select few ever make it a career.

Putting it Down
    I can’t tell you if it was the disappointment of learning my dream job wasn’t likely to happen or just a phase where I moved onto something new and amazing. I’m going to assume it was somewhere between the two, I sat down the camera and moved on. We saw each other from time to time but the infatuation, passion and desire were all drained.  It was over between us.

Moving On
    Putting down the camera didn’t kill my desire for art and creativity. I fell into a sort of adoration with a green Jackson; my guitar and writing music. When I was 13 I worked all summer to save for my dream guitar and more music lessons. I stayed up at night; my fingers bled and calloused.
    My porch became a stage, my friends were rockstars and the trees in my yard were our ever loving fans. After a few months came what is now referred to as the talk of reality and disappointing honesty happened again.

Finding deviantART
    I got my first deviantART account when I was 14 in 2005. I found it while looking for inspiring visual artwork to write off of for my 9th grade creative writing class. I looked through it and it seemed like a good place for my writing (which had become my forte at that point). I was in awe at the visual artworks. It all seemed so unfathomable to me. Drawing had always been something I wasn’t talented in. Photomanipulation seemed absolutely unreal to me. Pretty quickly though; I found myself drawn to the photography. It amazed me; one of the first photographers I can remember finding equally amazing and inspiring was kkart.

New Beginnings & Old Friends
     About 9 years later: June 22, 2009: it was 5:24 am; I was driving to the
hospital to have my daughter. The sun was just beginning to touch the sky,

Good Morning Isabella IV

turning it to a bright pink. I pulled over at the rest stop and took nine photos of the sun peeking above the water in the straits. Then I carried on with my day, and had my beautiful daughter, Isabella Rose.

    Within a few weeks after having her and taking those photos I found myself falling in love again. Slowly I began taking my camera with me when I’d go for walks with my daughter. I craved it all over again.

My First d-SLR
    Finally in 2011 I got my first d-SLR. I had saved anything I could for 5 months and put it towards it.
The funny (and painful) thing was; it took me about 3 months to get comfortable even holding it. I was so afraid of breaking it, but as soon as I gathered the courage it quickly became my favorite possession.

Dreams Come True… [kinda]

    Within the past few years I’ve learned that all those things I found unbelievable are fully believable. I am still far from the most amazing photographer; but I am far better than I was when I was eleven. Or twenty-one. kkarts photos still leave me in a slightly more than envious awe, as do many other photographers.

     Yet still… I’ve started my own little business doing portraits, weddings, etc. and selling my prints. It’s far from a career but I’m still doing it. I’ve both succeeded and failed in the world of photography. I’ve been rejected and praised. I’m growing, learning and I'm in love again.

EDIT: I got a Daily Deviation on this on deviantART!!! You can see it on this deviation

I've Loved Flowers That Have Faded

…because some dreams linger long after you wake up. 

maybe you’re my dream.

can we live in this haze forever? 

“someday love, you’re going to have to wake up.”

truer words have never been spoken.

i’m awake.

^{…and ’ve never cared much for mornings…}

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients

3 tbsp. butter OR margarine
1 pkg. (10 oz., about 40) marshmallows OR c. mini marshmallows
6 cups rice krispie cereal 

24 tootsie rolls [approx.]

Green frosting & piping bag [or you can buy a can of decorating cake icing] 

        [if you make your own frosting from white, add green coloring until desired shade]

Red & yellow food coloring [or orange]

Directions

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add rice krispie cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Add in red and yellow [or orange] food coloring until desired orange shade
4. Allow to cool slightly, yet still moldable. Roll into approx. 2 inch balls and set on wax paper

5. Push tootsie rolls into the top of each ball [or pumpkin]

6. Decorate around tootsie rolls with leaves [and vines, optional]

7. Allow to cool fully

Rivertown Rainbow Run

We recently had our first Rivertown Rainbow Run to raise money to provide wheelchair accessible swings at local parks.

You can see more of the photos in this Facebook Set

selective color tutorial - GIMP

I don't write a lot of tutorials, mostly because my descriptions are often confusing; but I notice a lot on Facebook people wanting to do selective color on photos of their children and such; so here is an actual tutorial for you. I posted it quite a while ago on my dA page, but it works for the latest updates of GIMP as well.
If you don't have GIMP it is free to download and while it's not photoshop it is a decent equivalent of it.

Some photos I've done using this method:

Cameras & Children

       It can quite easily be said spending some quality one-on-one time with each of your children is an important part of both parenting and growing up. I like to take each of my kids out individually from time to time to let us bond and have some time together without distractions or interruptions from the other little ones.
       My 7 year old son is entering his first photo contest; over the past year or so he has shown a keen interest in photography [momma's little guy!? I'd say so!] so we decided a little camera adventure down by the lake would be an awesome idea, and we had a lot of fun!
       Here are some of the things we found while out

[these are my photos from our trip, he took some great ones too!]

Update: he won the photo contest! His entry was similar to mine of the ducklings on the log. He actually crawled down the rocks off the dock to get closer to them, it was well captured! Proud mama here!