Project 365, Week 8

Did I miss a week? Should I be on 9????

Here you go.

February 14, 2009 is in previous post...I got confused!

February 15, 2009 February 16, 2009

February 17, 2009

February 18, 2009

February 19, 2009

February 20, 2009

As I look at this week, I realize that I really haven't changed much as a photographer. That's disappointing. My goal this week is to work on point-of-view. Change it up a little, you know? Perhaps if I give myself a goal every now and then, I really will improve.

How was your week?

Hosted by Kimberly

Project 365, Week 5

Not much to say about this week other than BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. I seemed to have a slant thing going on this week!

Here are my pictures of the week.

January 24, 2009

January 25, 2009

January 26, 2009

January 27, 2009

January 28, 2009

January 29, 2009

January 30, 2009

Hosted by Kimberly

Project 365, Week 4

After some public grumbling last week and some very sweet suggestions, I FINALLY figured out how to get more than 4 pictures in a single post! Thank you, bloggy friends, for helping me! It only took me nearly two years to figure out something so basic.

Here is Week 4 of P365. Some of you asked where some of the images came from last week. I'm not too private on here, but I do want to maintain some anonymity, so I avoided your questions. I'm sorry about that. Please understand that I'll give away as much information as possible without sacrificing the privacy of my family.

On another note, Becky Higgins suggested handing over the camera and letting other family members take pictures for P365. YIKES! I'm not very good at handing over the camera. I'll be putting my pictures in a journal, so I need to let someone else show their perspective on this life we are creating together.

So....here you are. Week 4 in the life of the Benson family.

January 17, 2009

January 18, 2009

January 19, 2009

January 20, 2009

January 21, 2009

January 22, 2009

January 23, 2009

Hosted by Kimberly

Project 365, Week 3 (I)

Whew. Again, as I look back over the pictures from this week, I'm AMAZED at how full our days can be. This was a busy week.

On another note, I remember one time Maggie mentioned that she tries so hard not to repeat a MBS and a Project 365 picture. There is absolutely no way I can make that same promise. There are some days I take 50 pictures and some days I'm doing good to take one or two. I will do my best not to repeat a P365 picture with MBS (or a meme as is the case this week), but no promises, okay?

Blogger and I can't seem to work out posting 7 pictures on the same entry. I beat him up a little; he beat me up a little. I'll just have to continue to do two posts every week.

I'm trying out some new things this week. I love taking pictures and I want to get better at doing it. If I'm going to document my family's life this way, I want some fun images showing how we really are. There are going to be some BIG goof-ups along the way (ahem...January 10), but it will be a fun process. I also noticed how often other people are in our pictures. I really, really want to honor the privacy of our friends. So, friends, if you see a picture on this blog and you want it removed, PLEASE just let me know. I'll remove it immediately.

Here goes P365, Week 3.

January 10, 2009

Jauary 11, 2009

January 12, 2009

January 13, 2009

Hosted by Kimberly

Project 365, Week 3 (II)

January 14, 2009

January 15, 2009

January 16, 2009

Project 365, venting

File this post under "and other stuff"

Well, I'm not sure I'll be able to get the Project 365 kit. I'm okay with that, really. I was looking forward to using it to showcase all my pictures. But I can live without it. REALLY. I.CAN.LIVE.WITHOUT.THIS.KIT.

So, when we were in the big city Tuesday, we went to my favorite scrapbook store. Did I mention it is my FAVORITE scrapbook store? Well, it is. My most favorite, actually.

And I found a sweet journal with 15o pages in it. The dimensions said 6x9. I thought that would be good. I'd get 300 pages (front and back). It does have a spiral, but I figured I could trim the pictures a smidgen to fit on the pages. I know, I know...I'll have 365 pictures. I thought I could do a few pages with double pictures or make some flaps, etc, etc, etc. Because I'm that good, you know.

Hahaha.

I ASSUMED the pages were blank.

They are not. They are lined.

Okay, okay. I took a deep breath. I can deal with this.

So last night, I spent several hours decorating the cover.

Tonight I was going to decorate a few pages, get them ready for the pictures, etc. So I got out my handy, dandy ruler. Only to find that the measurements are NOT 6x9. More like somewhere around 5.675 by almost 9.

Still not panicking yet.

I turned my ruler around and tried again. Only the numbers don't really make sense when you read them backwards. So I reverted to the correct way to use the ruler and tried a third time.

Still not 6 x 9.

Now I've got myself a real dilemma. I REALLY like this journal. And I've decorated the cover.

I just wish I'd decorated it for another purpose.

I could still use this journal. Even though it has lines and even though it's not quite what I wanted. I did spend $15 on it and I don't want to waste my money. Probably my biggest problem is that I tend to fill my frame with my image so I don't have lots of cropping room to crop my pictures to a smaller size.

I'm not opposed to creating more of an altered book type of project.

It's just not quite how I'd envisioned this playing out, ya know? I thought I'd have this cool little book with blank snow colored pages filled with my pictures and my words.

I could turn it so that it is almost 9 x 5.5ish. Not to play devil's advocate, but my cover doesn't really go with that orientation.

So I've learned a lesson here. An important lesson.

My plan stinks. I jumped in feet first, thinking I had everything under control. I don't have anything under control.

I thought I knew where I was (am) going to take this whole Project 365 thing, but the truth of the matter is I have no idea what each day will unfold.

Just like this empty journal that is not what I thought it was, this year, this project holds so much potential that I can not even fathom. I have no idea what is coming. What will happen. What will fill the pages of this journal.

So, despite that fact that it is not exactly what I wanted, I'm going to go with it. I will use it. I will alter it and allow it to alter me.

I will trust.

Trust the process.

Trust that this will work out.

Trust that I do not have to be in control because the One who controls is more powerful, more wonderful, more extraordinary than I could begin to imagine.

Trust.

Project 365, Week 2 (II)

January 7, 2009



January 8, 2009


January 10, 2009

Project 365, Week 1

I'm attempting Project 365 again this year, mostly due to the really cool scrapbook kit that Creating Keepsakes (Becky Higgins) has created. I was online at 11:00 am Saturday to order my kit, but they were so slammed that their server crashed. It was sold out before I was able to order it. I'm going to be watching to see when I can get it and I'll post the information for you then.


I missed Monday (where was my mind???), so I'm going to do Tuesday-Friday for you now. Next week will have an entire week.


December 30, 2008





December 31, 2008

January 1, 2009 (HATE using the flash!!!!)

January 2, 2009

Okay, I must do a little editorial for this picture. Just because the story is SO funny (NOT!). Thursday morning, M found some of my nail polish and asked what it was. I told her and then painted her toenails after we did her "beauty parlor." (aka: sponge bath on the kitchen counter) It was a dream come true for me--painting my little girl's toenails...how much more "girl mommy" does it get than that? Fast forward to Friday morning. M woke up and we were snuggling in my bed. She got out of bed and found some linen spray on my dresser. She wanted to wear it like perfume, but I presuaded her to try some body splash instead. I THOUGHT all was well and I was safe to take a shower. As I was getting out of the shower, I smelled the overwhelming smell of nail polish. Oh, how my heart did pound. I rushed, dripping wet, into my bedroom, only to discover M completely covered in nail polish. She'd found my nail polish stash in the same basket with the sprays. This picture does NOT do justise to the job she did. I'm sure she started out trying to paint her toes, as all of her prettily polished toes were covered in burgandy nail polish. There was polish on her hands, on her face, near her nose. Since she can't have a bath, she was SCRUBBED from almost head to toes with cotton balls and polish remover. She kept saying, "This stinks, Mommy." Yeah, well, sorry kid.

365 Project

Math at school: lots of manipulatives as students are learning to subtract with and without regrouping!

Another image of the letters on my overhead. That was such a fun project.

A tad bit unusual. M was so cute in her car seat one afternoon. I couldn't resist trying to take a picture in the little mirror I have to look at her. She likes to play "peek-a-boo" in the mirror. She'll look all around and wait until she catches my eye in the mirror. "Mommy! Pee-a-boo!"

These aren't dated because I don't remember exactly which day I took these pictures. I know I only posted six this week, but I took LOTS of pictures at school this week that reveal a little bit too much about my class that I feel might violate the privacy of my students. I'm just a too uncomfortable posting them on this semi-anonymous blog. I hope you understand that.

I'm not sure I want to give myself a challenge this week. I want to continue working on composition and becoming a more artistic photographer. Hm...maybe I'll give myself an easy challenge: take a picture of the every day things this week. The things we do every day: feeding the dog, brushing our teeth, cooking dinner. One little problem I'm noticing is that when I post pictures during the week, I don't want to repost the same images for 365 Project. While I DEFINITELY took more than 7 pictures this week, I only like a few from the same situation or setting. I think I'll also try taking only ONE picture of each every day thing I want to post...that really increases the challenge. I have to purposefully capture the image I want. Oh, yes...that will be my challenge: to take ONE picture each day of our every day life and post those--terrible, great, artistic, boring. I can take other pictures, but only ONE for 365 Project.

365 Project

Sunday, January 20. Really worked on composition and getting an unusual angle. I zoomed in close and got close to the table to take this image. I like this.

Monday, January 21. Got down LOW on the floor to get this image. I like the perspective. If I had my druthers, I'd unclutter the background so M and her best buddy, Noah, were more prominent. The other thing that works in this image is the light coming through the window. Not normally something I like, but I do like it in this picture.

Tuesday, January 22. I like the shallow DOF in this image. Again, zoomed in close, got rid of some distracting background. I'm learning how much I can zoom and still get my camera to respond. Also, M was eating noodles for the first time. Had to capture that on digital film for posterity.

365 Project--Things I Love

I learned many things about myself as a photographer this week.

1.) I need to work on composing my shots. I need to be more thoughtful and conscientious as frame my pictures.

2.) I want to be more artistic with my shots. I've been trying to become more aware of what types of pictures I take. I find that I'm too predictable. There is very little that is unusual about my images. I want to improve that.

3.) Not every shot I post has to be great for this project. I took some pretty crummy pictures this week. THAT'S OKAY. This is NOT MBS. This is just a project...a project about growing. For the perfectionist in me, this is an important realization.

So, my challenge for myself this week is to:
Work on composition and talk about that with each picture next week.
Try to take a few artistic shots. Make something ordinary become extraordinary. Push myself.
Give up the idea of perfection. Slow down.

M playing poker with her daddy on a SUNDAY afternoon. Sometimes we're heathens. I love my girl and I love that her tongue hangs out of her mouth when she concentrates. We share that trait.

I did take this picture...we finished reading it in class Thursday and had a wonderful Narnia party Friday afternoon, snacks, movie, discussion. It was THRILLING to share with my second graders. I have some GREAT pictures from it, but can't share, as I'm sure you understand.

Shopping. I actually love the Hobby Lobby more, but didn't go there this week, so Michael's had to suffice.

I love the idea that cupcakes represent. We celebrated my best friend's child's 4th birthday today. He wanted green cupcakes with yellow icing and RED cherries. I love celebration, I love him.

How did your 365 Project go?