I’ve done 365 projects before, at least once successfully and then many times with varying success. After several starts and stops, I finally gave up on even trying. But I have missed the process of aiming to take at least one decent photo a day and of going through my day’s photos and picking just one to represent it. When I have been able to stick to daily projects, I’ve learned and experimented and pushed myself. I’ve ended up with photos of family, friends, places, and moments that I’ve treasured. I love being able to look back at those records of past years.

I have really wanted to try another 365, but I have been worried if I did it the same old way, I would rack up another “failure.” I would lose even more confidence in my ability to finish projects. I have also been working hard at spending less time on my phone and online, and I knew posting a photo a day would be in direct competition with this goal.

I am, however, consistent about keeping a paper journal. Over the past five years I’ve written thousands of morning pages (three stream-of-consciousness pages every morning as prescribed by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way). I don’t save these, so I can’t use them as a record, but they are proof to me that I can be consistent on paper.

Just some of my thousands of morning pages, ready for the recycling bin:

So my project for this year is a daily photo on paper. I’m calling it either my “analog 365” or my “plog” (paper log). I am just eleven days in and perhaps it’s too soon to write about it, but I am already in a flow though and feeling like this is working. I’m starting with a goal of a month, already pretty sure it will go at least 100 days, but I’m hoping for a full year.

I am printing photos on my mini zink printer and sticking them into a journal. It is record of my daily life. Each page includes one photo and a record of things like the weather, events, what I’m reading, what we’re watching, what we had for dinner. Another goal for this year is to use my actual cameras (digital and film) more and my phone camera less. So for this project I have to take at least one photo a day with a dedicated camera. I can still use a photo taken on my phone as the day’s photo, if that’s the photo I like best.

I am already seeing how doing my one-a-day project in a paper journal is making my goal of spending less time on my phone and online more possible. I think I have a social media addiction, so not getting on once a day is good for me.

Some other photography goals I have in mind for 2025 are to shoot more film and to get better at developing and scanning that film. I also have some non-photography creative goals that may eventually merge with this journal.

What about you? Do you have photography-related projects or goals or intentions for this year?

~Deirdre