After being in such a stunning place for the past few days, I was struggling with motivation for today’s 366 now that I am back in Kansas. I got this in my head and decided to go with it, and it ended up turning out much, much better than I had hoped.
And I am all caught up now, which I was not expecting to happen today!
I thoroughly enjoy a glass of wine every once in a while. Unfortunately because of my ulcer I can’t drink alcohol, and so I have been drinking sparkling juice to have something vaguely similar occasionally.
Also, my lighting based self hates this; it could be so much better with not too many tweaks. But I was too lazy to use anything but a flashlight, and I was too lazy to get my tripod out of my car so that I could have a fully proper exposure.
Spur of the moment self-portrait therapy. Also, I realized that I am so pale that my arm is a perfect reflector.
I had an extra long day of classes, and the sun was pretty much down by the time I finished dinner. I wanted to shoot my raspberries before I ate them, but had to get creative with lighting since it was dark.
I brought out the flash for the first time in a while tonight. Nothing major, still on camera and bounced it off somewhere (I can’t remember for this particular shot).
I was stuck in bed all day yesterday with an awful stomach virus, so I just got around to last week’s picture today.
The end! I honestly cannot believe that I have actually completed this project. When I started it I thought that I would for sure quit at some point, since I never seem to be able to finish any project I start. But, here I am, 100% done.
This is not at all the picture I originally had in my head, other than the words that I used, and the tinfoil. I wanted an evening shot, but my day got very busy and by the time I was free I had no light left. Luckily Elliot it amazing, and when I got frustrated because I didn’t know what to do with the letters in order to get something interesting, he pulled back the blinds, and got out his flashlights. So, just like last night, a long exposure, lit by two flashlights. And, I can’t decide if the actual tinfoil is in focus or not, so try to ignore that (even though it should be great for my last picture…).
This project has been such an…adventure. It consumed my life many days, and wore me out a lot. It pushed me, and tested my photography skills and creativity. I would like to say that I have improved, but honestly I am not sure, and I don’t know if I will be able to judge that myself. I will say that my ability to spot things to photograph has improved, and I have gotten a lot more comfortable taking pictures everywhere.
I have had a few people ask me what I will do now. Since I had put my 52 week project on the back burner during my 365, I am now going to focus on that, and return to doing a self-portrait once a week until I finish. It is going to be so strange to not take a picture every day I feel, since it is just habit now. But, I want to finish my 52 week project as it should be done, and not have any extra pressure besides that (and student teaching..). Once I finish that project, I may start-up another 365, we shall see. If I do start another 365 I will be setting up more rules for myself, such as specific assignments for each week, in order to push myself even more. But, I will tackle that when I get to it.
For now, thank you so much to all of you who have stuck around and encouraged me during this project. I so appreciate all of you!!
My original plan for a picture somewhat fell through tonight (mostly because of my laziness), and I had no clue, or really any desire to take a picture. Which frustrated me since it is the second to last day. I was sitting in my living room and my eye spotted the fantastic record player that my new roommate, Elizabeth, brought with her when she moved in. I had originally wanted to do some light painting with it, and had a very specific idea in my head, but due to various reasons that didn’t work out. But, this is still a long exposure, and is lit with just an LED flashlight.
One. More. Day.
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