My 365 Project

To say that I would do anything for a photograph would be a gross overstatement. But I would push the envelope so to speak.

It’s been several times now that I’ve been asked, “What are you doing?” as I stand with camera ready to capture scenes of barns, farms, homesteads, and animals.

 

A red barn in the valley

 

And I swear that the gunshot that was fired when David and I were in a field taking pictures of geese, was to warn us to get off of their land.

 

I think I was on a farmer’s land when I took this photo.

 

Also I cannot think of any other reason why the truck opposite me at the intersection yesterday would wait through two red lights while I dawdled and took a picture of a passing train, other than the driver thought I had the right of way and, in thinking that, lost his opportunity to go.  Eileen said he didn’t look too mad, so perhaps I am imagining things and he simply didn’t know how to press on the gas pedal when he saw that I wasn’t going to take my turn.

 

I was sitting in the truck at a signal light between the tracks and the highway when I took this picture.

 

The girls have become accustomed to me telling them to watch for approaching cars as I stop on rural roads and shoot out the window.

I don’t think I’ve become a public menace, but I have become a mommy nuisance.

I am asked “Are you taking your camera?”

“Yes.”

Groan. Sigh. “Do you have to stop and take so many pictures?”

Eileen, especially, scowls and avoids these jaunts when I grab the camera and say I’m going out for my 365.

I’m participating in an online, daily, photo journal called the 365project. I take a picture a day, post it on their site and by the end of the year I will have a picture diary of 2012. Hopefully the Mayan Calendar simply ends, and we all don’t get vaporized off of the planet before December 31st. That would be a bummer because I would be so close to completing the project.

Anyways, I love taking photographs and am always doing so, but taking a picture a day can be harder than you think.  For example, the weather may not cooperate and may be overcast. On days like that, I’ve learned it’s best to shoot in black and white with shutter priority and a high ISO. Tattered and worn facades and other stuff look great photographed like this.

 

I took this picture on a cloudy day.

 

And when it’s raining and I stay indoors, shooting with existing light is a challenge. That’s when I just want to dig into my files and pull out a good one. When inspiration isn’t there, I still play by the rules of taking a picture and posting it on the same day.

Then there is the flip side of this. I have a super day with terrific shots, but I must pick only one for the project. Sometimes that can be tough. I usually know immediately what my favorite is, but once in a while the peanut gallery will put in their 2 cents, making it even tougher to decide.

All in all, the project is fun! I’m learning new things about photography and stretching my imagination. I’m meeting new people and sharing with a group of great photographers. The right side of my brain is getting an extra workout and I’m adding to my portfolio, which is good.

I just hope that before it’s all over, I don’t wind up being mentioned in the “Law Enforcement Roundup” in the newspaper described as “a suspicious woman was seen taking photographs of horses on Lower Valley Road. She was gone before we arrived.”

 

One of the pretty horses

 

However, I suppose that’s better than being there when they arrive. Happy picture taking!

Click here to join the 365 Project or here to see my project.


Marlene

 

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