Project 365: Intro

This morning I had an amazing internet moment. One of the ladies I follow on Twitter posted about joining several online Project 365s. I've never heard of these groups before today. Occasionally I see a blogger posting daily photos as their own private project, but never before have I heard of these collaborative groups on Flickr and elsewhere on the web.

It was a perfect storm of readiness for inspiration to hit hard:

1. It is January 1st and I'm a sucker for a yearlong project that starts on such a neat and clean date.

2. I've been starting to worry a bit about how I will maintain my blog after Little Pea's arrival in May.

3. It was just beginning to dawn on me this morning how big of a year 2010 is really going to be for our family. I have experimented with various methods of documenting our lives, but most take up a lot of time and effort. 

Honestly, my first thought upon discovery was: "God Bless the Internet." I'm continually amazed by the creativity people are so open to sharing online and the unique and clever ways they are bending these social marketing sites to fit amazingly inspiring projects like this.

I believe that art is meant to be shared. That's why we have museums, right? I also believe that you don't need an art degree or have your work shown in galleries to be considered a creative person. I love photography and the shots that have impressed me the most over the last year were taken by amateur photographers trying to capture their love of a certain subject: crafting, children, nature, family, home. 

Looking through the galleries on Flickr and on the numerous blogs I follow has both inspired and pushed me to improve my own creative skills in a way I've never experienced before. Add to that the lovely commentary I've found all over and especially here on my own blog. That feedback gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling and is a source of encouragement where I might otherwise feel like I was creating in a bubble. 

So I have decided to join the Project 365 group over on Flickr. I haven't figured out all the rules I plan to apply to my own version of this project just yet but one thing I know is that I will definitely be sharing them here. I'm looking forward to the challenge and everything I hope to learn about my camera. I'm especially looking forward to December 31 when I can look back at my gallery of work and see the changes in our lives all in one spot. 

If any of you would like to join the project, please leave a comment on this post. I would love to follow you through this year as well. 

With that, here is the first photo of 2010: