Prying open my third eye.
Near the end of 2013 I decided to challenge myself to take at least one photo every day for an entire year. It didn’t matter what the photo was – it could be anything from a simple snapshot to a highly edited piece of digital artwork that began as a photo, just as long as I created one image each day. There were only two rules that I set for myself.
The first rule was that my daily photo had to be captured with the camera that is built into my phone. I thought that this one single limitation would be enough to provide a challenge as well as help keep my daily image somewhat spontaneous. I wasn’t wrong.
Working within the limits of a camera that is built into a phone does prove to be a challenge, it frequently forces me to approach my original ideas from an entirely different perspective on pretty much every level of composition, lighting and editing.
The second rule that I set for myself was that every photo must have a title or a caption. I’ve always felt that giving something the title “untitled” is essentially the same as calling it “unfinished”. At the very least I will write a description in a very point blank sense as long as it suits the photo, but ideally I always try to write my titles or captions in a fashion that adds another level of depth to the image.
I liked the idea of my daily images being spontaneous or random, but you can’t force spontaneity. There were plenty of days where I would have ideas already in mind, and there were many days where something would randomly catch my eye and I would would just know that’s “it”. On the other hand there were also many days where I wouldn’t have any ideas at all or randomly have found “it”, but some of my favorite images were the result of working against the clock during the final hours of days like those.
At the time of this writing we are well into 2015 and I still haven’t stopped creating a daily image. It’s going to be a hard habit to break, looking for that “thing” to catch my eye, being forced by that daily deadline to create something from nothing, or simply sharing a personal snapshot from my life has really just become a daily ritual. I do it for me / Share it with you.
Thanks for reading / Looking!
There are good ideas / and then there are good ideas.
Blissfully Squalid
Patience / Balance
Organized / Disorganized
The pilot light of your imagination.
Instant coffee is made of tiny evil skull crystals.
Only you have the key.
No duplicates exist.
Frozen / Melting
Infinity / SWAK
Nap Time
Bled Dry
Everything Reflects itself / Everything reflects itself
Look within / Stay focused.
March Blues
Ups & Downs
LOVE is not deaf.
Appreciate everything.
Hold tight / Don't let go
Down / Town
Chain / Linked
You can't see the future when your back is to the light.
Silhouette Mandala
2.4.6. Eight.
$400 Car Wash
Smoke + Wine
Clear mind.
Never sit with your back to a train.
Keeping a close eye on her ducklngs.
Everything stems from something.
Burnt out / Burnt In
Minneapolis and the Mississippi.
Dizzy / Spun in circles
Sour Grapes
Chandelier squared
Slide out of your mind.
Idleness brings want.
No
Open Up
Sunflower fractals
You could have seen it coming from a mile away / It still would have hit you anyway.
Little chickadee
Gills
My dad let me use him as my subject for some creative photography tonight He's a good sport. This was our favorite. / Creepy
Giving way / Holding up
Planted firm / dancing in the breeze.
Sunset view from my office on a rainy day.
These golden leaves are priceless
Haunted flames
Photoshoot in the Wells Fargo center.
Steep
World / Peace
Meow / Meow / Meow
Truth
This man is a genius.
Go out on a limb - that’s where the fruit is. - Bob Ross
Marshall enjoyed playing in the fresh fluffy snow today while I was shoveling.
Grow
Impediments are as thick as they are transparent / Keep moving forward.
Cha-ching!
A balancing act of circumstances and goals.
As the drama unfolds.
Respect yourself as you would the earth, Respect the earth as you would yourself / There is only one of each.
Soaking up the summer sun / Looking like a stained glass window.
Walk around in circles / Walk around in circles
The alter ego of my alter ego. #1 The sharp shooter.
It's not a political statement / Or is it
The alter ego of my alter ego #2. The dirty rock star.