365 Sevens, a Different Kind of Animal

As you may know, last year I did a photography Project 365, where I posted a photo a day.  It was such a fun project, and it reminded me to see the beauty that is all around us every day.  I love it.

This year, to change it up a bit, I decided to do something a little bit different.  Instead of just the posting the best photo I take every day, I decided to do a series of seven photos each week.  Each series will be centered around an idea or a photographic technique or a subject. 

The reason I did this was because I thought it would force me to stretch.  It would give me more options and offer a different kind of challenge.  I wanted to get better at photography.

I’ve only done two series of seven so far, and it’s a different kind of animal.  Unfortunately, so far, I feel like the quality of what I post has decreased a little. I often take the series of seven in one sitting, but the problem is I don’t come up with as many great photos as I do when I take them day to day as I did last year.  So I need to push myself to continue to take more and better photos so the ones I do post are exponentially better.

Also, there’s how I take photos.  Like I said, I tend to take the Sevens in one sitting.  Logistically, it’s easier.  But then I haven’t been taking photos of great things as I come across them, and so I’m missing photos.  But if I do take them, what kind of variable are there? Which group will they belong to?  I think the best approach is to take a series when I think of it but also to take the individual ones and see what groupings show up.  Make is organic.

And another thing I want to do is to get better at Photoshop and also to use it more creatively.  So some of what I’m going to do this year should be a little more wild.  Last year, I went for strictly realism (though it was the realism of my perception, not strictly what the camera captured).  This year, I want to flex my artistic muscles and see what I can come up.  I should learn some new techniques and up my skill level.

The first photo I’ve pushed myself on is the one posted above of the moon.  I played with aperture and shutter speed to achieve this photo.  I have taken a course on it, but it didn’t sink in quite well enough, so the above photo was strictly trial and error.  But if I keep at it, it’ll get better.

And the one I post today, if it turns out, is going to be the start of a real departure.  Wish me luck!