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On January 1, 2011, I began a photographic journey through the year that we in the photography world like to call a "Project 365". There are many different variations, but basically the idea is that you photograph and publish one photo for every single day of the year. This particular project did have one twist: All photos were to be taken with an iPhone. You can read the "official" rules (which I completely made up on January 1) here.
Click here to see the full collection
I took on the project after being inspired by Chase Jarvis' iPhone photo stream and his idea that "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You." I could not agree more with him. Inspiration in photography can strike you at anytime, whether you you stumble upon a scene or pattern that is visually compelling, or even when you are inspired by seeing someone else's photograph or other art. And if the only camera you have is your camera phone, then why not make the best of it?
After completing the project, I took some time to reflect back upon it, and think about what I've learned and how I've benefited from it. For me, one of the intentions of the project was to act as an exercise in seeing creatively. It certainly helped me in that regard. Since I was responsible for making a (hopefully) quality photo every single day with only my iPhone, I had to have my eyes open all the time for ideas. I also learned that sometimes the creative juices are just NOT flowing. Some days I really put some time and effort into the photo, and other days I just, well, mailed it in. There were also plenty of days where I was disappointed that I didn't think to take a photograph at time's where I had terrific opportunities to get a great photo for the day. For example, I was standing just 3 miles from the final launch of Endeavour on May 16 with a GREAT opportunity to make a killer photo of the day, and this is what I walked away with. A photo of the countdown clock, 14:30 after liftoff. I tried to convince myself at the time that it could be construed as symbolizing that my "15 minutes" of fame from the Waterway to Orbit photo were coming to a close, but really it was just a lame missed opportunity forced photo. :-)
I've certainly learned a lot about "iPhoneography" over the past year and I used plenty of photography apps throughout the year for the project. Some of my favorites were Photogene, TiltShiftGen, Instagram, Hipstamatic, CameraBag, Camera+ and InterCam. Sometimes I would fall behind posting the photos by 10 or so days, and ExifWizard was invaluable for helping me keep my days in order. I have heard plenty of people say that camera phones are beginning to advance to the point where they can be your primary camera. The iPhone is fun, but I don't think I'm ready to trade in my DSLR yet. There were plenty of times where I would have loved have quickly dialed in my aperture or shutter speed or ISO without resorting to trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to trick the phone into certain settings. I also missed the optical zoom capabilities of a traditional camera, shooting in raw, and more control of light. FWIW, these flashlights work as fantastic constant lights when shooting w/ a camera phone.
I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the year, and see some of the stats and patterns that developed from the Project 365 project, so below is a look at my "2011 iPhone Photo a Day: Project 365" - By The Numbers:
| [To view the photos, click the corresponding numbers to the right.] | |
| Photos taken at or near my home: | 136 |
| Photos taken at or near my place of work: | 47 |
| Photos with me: | 10 |
| Photos with Jenn: | 11 |
| Photos with Abbie: | 38 |
| Photos with Nicholas: | 39 |
| Photos with Christian: | 30 |
| Photos with ALL 5 of us: | 01 |
| Photos with our dogs: | 05 |
| Photos with other animals: | 09 |
| Photos with the moon: | 03 |
| Photos with food or drink: | 43 |
| Photos with bridges: | 22 |
| Photos with computer or TV Screens: | 14 |
| Photos with God's Rays: | 04 |
| Photos with Sunrises: | 03 |
| Photos with Sunsets: | 13 |
| Photos taken outside the Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra area: | 30 |
| Photos taken from the drivers seat: | 29 |
| Photos taken at a sporting event or venue: | 20 |
| Photos referencing Star Wars: | 04 |
| Photos referencing Toy Story: | 05 |
| Photos referencing BOTH Star Wars AND Toy Story: | 01 |
| Photos referencing Limp Bizkit lyrics: | 03 |
| Photos with members of Limp Bizkit: | 01 |
| Photos using Hipstamatic: | 37 |
| Photos using Instagram: | 46 |
| Photos taken with an iPhone 3g: | 166 |
| Photos taken with an iPhone 3gs: | 04 |
| Photos taken with an iPhone 4: | 118 |
| Photos taken with an iPhone 4s: | 77 |
| Top 11 words used in captions: [I suppose it's appropriate for a photography project that the top noun is "Light"] | |
| 1. the | 39 |
| t2. light | 14 |
| t2. a | 14 |
| t2. it | 14 |
| 5. of | 10 |
| t6. day | 09 |
| t6. in | 09 |
| 8. on | 07 |
| t9. eat | 06 |
| t9. to | 06 |
| t9. up | 06 |
| My Favorite Photos | |
| Your Favorite Photos [based on comments and likes] | |
| Photos not taken by me: [I missed 3 days, and rather than lying about it and posting a photo from a different day, I found other people that had taken a photo on that day. The photo with Christian that Jenn shot was wayy better than mine for that day and I just couldn't pass it up] |
04 |
| Earliest in the Day: | 12:29:22 am |
| Latest in the Day: | 11:59:54 pm |
I've been asked if I plan to continue the project for 2012. For now I think I'll just use my iPhone to make phone calls. And play Words With Friends of course! I'm glad I completed the project and I really had a great time putting it all together, but I'm also glad it's complete. Good luck to anyone who attempts a Project 365 in the future, it is certainly worth trying at least once!
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