I completed my very first 365 project in 2013. I had just bought a new camera, and decided it would be a good way to explore all the settings, learn to shoot in manual mode, and help me find my “style”. Little did I know it would really become much more than that. 

When 2014 rolled around, it seemed only natural to keep at it. I posted the images, along with a few words, on my blog each night before heading to bed. I found the practice meaningful and kept at it for another three years. And then mid-way through 2018 I stopped. 

Looking back now, I am really not sure what prompted me to stop. There is no clue in those last few day that things were not right; that my daily muse and I were on the verge of breaking up. But that we did, and for the next year or so my camera sat a bit idle. 

There were times I missed it and so I would jump back in, starting and stopping several times. I tried out different formats, sharing on IG instead of blogging it, making lists, or noting gratitude. But something was missing, it felt forced, and I could not find the ease that had been part of the practice for so many years. 

Mid December, with 2020 just around the corner, a close friend encouraged me to write some sort of creative manifesto. It was there, in those last few weeks of 2019, between the scribbled lines and pages of my journal, that I uncovered just how important this daily practice is for me. So with a few tweaks, I am back at it for another year. 

What I love most about shooting daily is the unsung moments of each day; a sweet photo of the dog, or maybe what I am making for dinner. Moments of the seasons unfolding, or a photo of one of my kids, or my husband. Glimpses of me in a window or a mirror, or what I am currently reading. I understand that for me, it is those unsung moments that string together a life. 

I guess you could say I finally found my “style”. 

How about you, do you have a project you just can’t give up? 

Xo, Cathy