elisabethspace
The End 365/365
When I started the 365 Days project, I wanted something new, something different, on which to focus, but I also wanted, mainly wanted, to maintain my own accountability to myself. One year ago, after an extended rough emotional patch, I felt like a train wreck. Knowing I was categorically incapable of keeping a daily journal or diary, I thought the notion of taking a self-portrait every day, accompanied by some kind of description, would be a fine substitute. Heck, how much time could snapping a quick picture and typing a few words take, right??
Wow. Um...WOW! I had no CLUE how much time snapping a quick picture and typing a few words could take. Flickr has become one of my beloved timesucks, my guiltiest pleasure. I've become utterly addicted to keeping up with my contacts' lives through their postings, through their heartfelt words, through their antics. And through their artistry. I realize now that I hadn't truly appreciated the depth and breadth of photography and its post-processing until I was knee-deep in the lovely muck of Flickrland.
Unlike so many other people who've completed their 365, I haven't stumbled upon a life epiphany of self-discovery. I haven't heard the angels sing. Life itself has taught me who I am. These photos have simply given me another vehicle to remember that life. I love the fact that I can now look back at the past year and have a record of every day of my life. For me, the 365 project has become my diary. I've been surrounded by its charming silliness and gnawing responsibility for 365 days and, hell, I'm feeling some rather serious pride for sticking it out and completing the task. Some people are of the opinion that art shouldn't have to be explained, but as I certainly don't qualify this pic as art, I'll just say that this image is me coated, literally, in my identity of Flickr As Diary via journal pages I wrote when I was 15 years old.
This project has also exposed me to expansive world of Photoshop. Prior to my self-portraits, I had only ever altered photos of jewelry that I make to sell of the Etsy.com site... take shot in macro setting, crop, brighten, add shadow and you're done! Voila. Tres simple. I can't say that my photography itself has improved greatly, but I certainly think I've discovered a world of editing skills that might actually serve me well in the future. Plus, god, it's SO fun to jack around and alter pictures! It's kinda like magic, isn't it? Before this venture, I thought of editing as almost cheating, but I've definitely changed my view on that. It's another form of art.
Life takes you where she's going to take you. The ending of my 365 project is coming at the perfect time as I'm about to start getting my house ready to sell. The next chapter in my life has me relocating to Seattle and to my JBJ, two concepts I couldn't have foreseen a year ago. Getting a chance to share our lives with each other here at a more sane pace, as opposed to having to do it every single day, sounds pretty damn good to me, Flickr.
xoxo
I'm so content right now. :)
The End 365/365
When I started the 365 Days project, I wanted something new, something different, on which to focus, but I also wanted, mainly wanted, to maintain my own accountability to myself. One year ago, after an extended rough emotional patch, I felt like a train wreck. Knowing I was categorically incapable of keeping a daily journal or diary, I thought the notion of taking a self-portrait every day, accompanied by some kind of description, would be a fine substitute. Heck, how much time could snapping a quick picture and typing a few words take, right??
Wow. Um...WOW! I had no CLUE how much time snapping a quick picture and typing a few words could take. Flickr has become one of my beloved timesucks, my guiltiest pleasure. I've become utterly addicted to keeping up with my contacts' lives through their postings, through their heartfelt words, through their antics. And through their artistry. I realize now that I hadn't truly appreciated the depth and breadth of photography and its post-processing until I was knee-deep in the lovely muck of Flickrland.
Unlike so many other people who've completed their 365, I haven't stumbled upon a life epiphany of self-discovery. I haven't heard the angels sing. Life itself has taught me who I am. These photos have simply given me another vehicle to remember that life. I love the fact that I can now look back at the past year and have a record of every day of my life. For me, the 365 project has become my diary. I've been surrounded by its charming silliness and gnawing responsibility for 365 days and, hell, I'm feeling some rather serious pride for sticking it out and completing the task. Some people are of the opinion that art shouldn't have to be explained, but as I certainly don't qualify this pic as art, I'll just say that this image is me coated, literally, in my identity of Flickr As Diary via journal pages I wrote when I was 15 years old.
This project has also exposed me to expansive world of Photoshop. Prior to my self-portraits, I had only ever altered photos of jewelry that I make to sell of the Etsy.com site... take shot in macro setting, crop, brighten, add shadow and you're done! Voila. Tres simple. I can't say that my photography itself has improved greatly, but I certainly think I've discovered a world of editing skills that might actually serve me well in the future. Plus, god, it's SO fun to jack around and alter pictures! It's kinda like magic, isn't it? Before this venture, I thought of editing as almost cheating, but I've definitely changed my view on that. It's another form of art.
Life takes you where she's going to take you. The ending of my 365 project is coming at the perfect time as I'm about to start getting my house ready to sell. The next chapter in my life has me relocating to Seattle and to my JBJ, two concepts I couldn't have foreseen a year ago. Getting a chance to share our lives with each other here at a more sane pace, as opposed to having to do it every single day, sounds pretty damn good to me, Flickr.
xoxo
I'm so content right now. :)