Perhaps it was all of the sleep that I managed to get in over the holidays, or maybe it is just the time of year, but I’m suddenly feeling the need to write, to photograph, to be creative. I’ve been knitting like crazy (3 hats and 2 scarfs in the last week!), and I’m really missing the feel of my camera in my hands.
When I think over the last year or so I realize how little focus I have had on my photography. I had a blast at Shutterfest, my first photography conference, last April. I came home energized and full of ideas and things that I couldn’t wait to try. Then life happened and my focus went back to just getting through the daily grind while photography took a back seat. I took plenty of photos, great ones even, but I don’t feel like I improved much.
One of my biggest regrets over the last year is not taking the time to just photograph the every day. Sure, I have lots of dark, blurry, iphone camera shots, but I don’t have a lot of great photos that really tell the story of our lives this past year. I’ve gotten lazy about taking my big camera out to capture those moments. When I scroll through my Facebook and Instagram feeds I find myself feeling envious of the great photos that are being taken during the simple moments by my friends. I think how precious those memories will be some day when they look back at the timeline of their lives. I realized even more how much I have missed documenting when I looked back at some old photos of my own this week. The curls on my toddler daughter’s head (that are now as straight as can be), photos of Zach learning to walk, playing with a caterpillar in the front yard. I don’t want to miss those moments.
As I watched Caleb play today, in the amazing early afternoon sun shining through our living room window, I realized how much I am missing of these days (even though I spend more time with him than I was able to with either of the other kids). I decided then that I wanted to commit to capturing more of his childhood. I’ve been thinking about starting a new photo project this year to help keep me focused on improving my skills, but a 365 project is too daunting to take on right now. I’ve been thinking about a selfie project, but I would probably never complete that either. However, a project featuring one of my favorite subjects might just be doable. So, I decided today that I will attempt a “Project 52”, posting one photo a week (at least) of Caleb and his shenanigans.
I’m going to call it “Tuesdays With Caleb” as Tuesdays are one of the days that we get to spend together every week – just the two of us. I’m super creative with the titling, see?
Today I took five minutes out just to shoot him playing. I love that he went and got his little toy camera out and was taking some shots of me as well. I will most likely post a few of my favorites here and at least one shot on Instagram/FB each week, on Tuesday even, if I can keep up. Hopefully, this will help me hold myself accountable as well as help me practice and improve my skills as the year goes by.
