{"id":34,"date":"2016-09-17T17:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hannesfritz.de\/blog\/?p=34"},"modified":"2020-08-07T17:14:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T15:14:27","slug":"project-365-a-look-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hannesfritz.de\/blog\/2016\/project-365-a-look-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 365: A look back"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year long photographic journey is over. I took one photo every day for the last 366 days in a project I initially thought wouldn\u2019t last that long. Sit back, relax and review the last year with me.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

A look back<\/h2>\n

It all started as a rather inconsiderate, spontaneous idea: take a picture every day for the next year, write a blog post about it to put some pressure on myself and start. A day later I plunged into unknown waters. I want to take a look back on the goals, challenges, experiences and lessons learned throughout the project.<\/p>\n

I mentioned five reasons<\/a> for doing this project:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Challenge<\/li>\n
  2. Learning to see<\/li>\n
  3. Creating<\/li>\n
  4. The best camera is the one that\u2019s with you<\/li>\n
  5. Diary<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Challenge<\/h3>\n

    It was a challenge, no doubt and no sugarcoating. Often I struggled to find that photo of the day, especially with a busy schedule, while sick or remembering to take one before midnight. On these days another challenge was to throw away perfectionism and snap a photo \u2013 even if that means that the subject is a spoon in the tea or bathroom tiles.<\/p>\n

    Having completed this challenge is a really satisfying feeling and looking back the better photos outweigh the bad ones.<\/p>\n

    Interestingly taking a photo a day quickly became a routine without external reminders, which also leads to the next point: observing.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Waiting – Day 107\/365<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Learning to see<\/h3>\n

    This was the coolest part: being more aware of my surroundings. Familiar places had to be rediscovered and I was in a constant search for a good picture. Sharpening my sense and photographic eye over the course of a year helped a lot.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Weather Side – Day 230\/365<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Creating<\/h3>\n

    The project scope was small enough to fit into a daily routine. And creating something every day felt good. After taking the photos retouching and cropping had to be done and I shifted these tasks to weekends. So my initial plan to also post a photo every day failed.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Polygons – Day 263\/365<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Best Camera<\/h3>\n

    My initial statement about the bad camera quality of the smartphone shifted after I got a new one. Nonetheless did I bring my DSLR with me more than I thought. See below for full statistics.<\/p>\n

    In hindsight I prefer a camera with a bigger sensor and good glass because the image quality is still much better than from a smartphone, especially in low light situations or after cropping. Almost everybody has a camera available all the time, so just capture the moment or memory with it.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Weathered – Day 255\/365<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Diary<\/h3>\n

    The \u201ediary\u201c really got abstract most of the time, but even if I only snapped a detail I still remember the place if I am near it. I have all the photos set as a screensaver for my Apple TV and while they slowly fly by I am instantaneously reminded of the exact setting and what the surrounding was like. Photos that are taken consciously have gotten a lot more meaning for me than holding the shutter button with 8 fps.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Bavaria – Day 315\/365<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Statistics<\/h2>\n

    As I was counting down the last 10 or 20 days I realised that this year did have an extra day. So my Project 365 became Project 366. For more hard facts have a look at this graphs (each number is the amount of photos taken):<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Project365: Statistics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    I was surprised that the split between DSLR and iPhone was almost exactly 50\/50.<\/p>\n

    Closing thoughts<\/h2>\n

    In the end I\u2019m surprised and proud of myself \u2013 at the same time I\u2019m also really glad the project is done. Not having to take a picture every day really took a lot of pressure from me. I\u2019m relieved and can enjoy my surroundings even more: when seeing a nice place or subject I just appreciate it instead of searching for the best angle, thinking about postprocessing, etc.<\/p>\n

    More lessons I learned:<\/b><\/p>\n