Tuesday, January 04, 2011

3 days

That is how long it has been since I took a photo.

I KNOW!

How is that possible?  I keep looking at my camera as if I have forgotten something. There is a certain relief at not needing to take photos but there is also a certain unsettled feeling at not taking at least one a day. Something seems missing.

And I wonder just what the heck I am going to scrap without taking nearly 4000 photos a year. Without the daily photos I would have only taken 1500 photos last year.

Which is practically none at all when you think about it.

Everyone is starting 365 projects or 52 projects and I feel their excitement & start thinking “ah what the heck? what’s one more year?”

Then I remember September & October of last year.

It’s totally an ego thing but having completed 3 years of a photo a day I don’t think I could live with myself if I started a fourth & failed to finish it. And I don’t think anyone else could live with me while I forced myself to finish it.

I have my list of topics for a 12x12 project. Though I am starting with more than 12. Given my experience last year I know many topics will fall by the wayside out of boredom or lack of feasiblity. I hope at least 12 stick it out, more is ok, less would sound odd.

“You did a 9x12 project??? What’s THAT??”

My starting topics are:

me

DH

the boys

what I had for lunch

my book stack

the dinosaurs

the clone troopers

Legos

macro shots

groceries

cats & dog

beverages

things I bake

my manicure (or lack of)

what is in my purse

what is in my sink

I’m guessing beverages will be the first to be dropped. There are only so many photos of the same 2 brands of hard cider and 2 wines you can take before getting unutterably bored with it. Though this could be a good reason to try more wines. 

Cats & dogs also did not make it last year because really, how many shots of cats on sofas do you need? There are currently 4 permanent cats and 2-3 visiting cats, plus the dog, so there is 8 shots. Obviously I need a few more cats. Not grey though, 4 of the 7 cats are grey, 2 are black and one is black & grey striped. What I need is a white cat & an orange cat & possibly a calico or marmalade cat for variety.

What is in my sink could be problematic for my marriage. See, DH does the dishes. On his own schedule, not daily.  And I suspect that seeing a collection of photos of the sink full of various dirty dishes might be taken as negative commentary on his dish washing. It’s not. I’ve accepted the sink/dish situation as the price I pay for not having to do the dishes and I don’t mind

The rule in our house is if you feel the need to have something done a certain way or in a certain time frame – do it yourself. So it was either accept that dishes can sit for up to 3 days before making it to the dishwasher, or do the dishes myself.

I HATE doing the dishes, so I just periodically buy more silverware & bowls to make up for the lack of clean ones.

My kids each have two dozen pairs of socks for similar reasons.

hhmmm…maybe I’ll add ‘places I find balled up socks’ to that list.

16 comments:

SciFi Dad said...

I'm always tempted to mess with my camera and my Star Wars (3.75" and minifig) characters after seeing some of your posts, so I hope you continue to use them as subjects.

Elizabeth said...

I did Project 365 for the first time in 2010. I didn't do too bad overall. I'm totally behind on scrapbooking though. My BFF and I were getting together monthly to crop but fell behind over the summer. Our goal this year is to start up again and stick with it. We get so much accomplished that way.

Andrea Chamberlain said...

Maybe I should do a 4 project. Four decent photos a year is do-able for me, I think.

Beverly said...

I think it's great that you are creating a new project and are "padding" the numbers because you are realistic. I like the 12x12 idea, I might would follow through on that, 365 has never appealed to me. When I read cats & dogs I thought yes then having one old, white cat thought hmmm might not be much variety there...maybe I could include my son's puppy :)

DawnMarch said...

I've started trying to take a photo a day this year, but if I don't make it, meh, I'm not going to let it bother me. I figure it's better to have something than nothing, even if it's not perfect!

Rinda1961 said...

Thank you for the morning chuckle! I'm totally with you on, if it drives you crazy and not me, fix it yourself. I love the what's in my purse idea. I also like what's in my jewelery box, but that's me. I don't have clones. I have rings and earrings and bracelets. Each with a story I will tell . . . someday.
Rinda

Losingbrownies said...

"The rule in our house is if you feel the need to have something done a certain way or in a certain time frame – do it yourself"

That is pretty much Gadget Guy's quote. I just let it be and nag until he does it.

scrapchick said...

Sounds like a good plan for layouts! I'm sure it feels very odd to not take photos after so long - you did amazing!

Bluecottonmemory said...

Or stages of sock deterioration! LOL Now the cat thing - have you thought of the ways to wear a cat? Wrapped around the neck? Under the arm? By the fur on the back of the neck? In the Christmas Tree? Drinking from the toilet because they just like that water better than the stuff in the bowl? Or pawing to get inside when it's freeeeezzzzzzing cold outside! I like all the places a cat can nap - I think there's a book there! LOL Best of luck on your new photo year!

Comfy Mom said...

Oh they will still be regular features. I pretty much can't avoid them.

Comfy Mom said...

4 is a good starting point. Given my track record it would only take me 21 shots to get 4 good ones

Comfy Mom said...

My biggest cat problem is that if I don't name them immediately after taking them I can't tell 3 of them apart in the photos.

Comfy Mom said...

That would be a very interesting project

Comfy Mom said...

I occasionally bang the dishes around in his hearing as a hint but I don't say anything. Just passive aggressive dish thumping.

Comfy Mom said...

Those are good ideas

Darcy said...

This is an awesome idea for a year in the life project!