March Self-Portrait Project | Days 22-31

Oh, March! What a month to end up doing a project like this. If there's one word that defined March for me it was this: Endure! It's interesting for me to look back at the photos I took as the month unfolded and how I inadvertently channeled my feelings into these photos. Does this happen in every photo I take, or just the ones that reflect (or, perhaps more appropriately, define) me? I don't know.

One thing I know for sure is that I have been desperate for spring for so many reasons, and now that March is over, spring is inevitable (even with inches of snow slowly melting away). Thank goodness! It makes me think of one of my favorite quotes from Emerson:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

There are good things afoot, friends! Happy April!!

See the rest of this project here and here.

March Self-Portrait Project | Days 11-21

I wanted to do this project for a couple of reasons. One of them is I'm always taking photos of my kids, and sometimes it feels a little repetitive, especially when winter is dragging along and we have been stuck in the house for too long doing the same exact thing every day. I feel maxed out. I want to go outside and run around, or go for a walk around the neighborhood hunting for blossoms. No such luck this month.

The other reason is I want to learn more about posing and connecting with my subjects as I'm photographing them. But here's the big revelation of self portraits (are you ready?!): since I can't be both behind and in front of the camera, I'm not learning a thing about how to direct and connect with my subject! It's a lot of guessing and checking, but not connecting. I need to photograph someone else to do that! (And, don't worry, I will be soon!)

But! I am learning a ton about conceiving an idea and figuring out how to execute it. I'm learning how one thing leads to another and suddenly I am doing something totally different than I expected, but it's working! I'm also trying to push myself creatively so these photos don't feel and look the same, which is a real challenge. I have no idea how anyone can do a year of self portraits. It's really hard!

So, without anymore of me chatting away about all this, how about some photos? Here's the second leg of this project -- see you at the end of the month with the rest!

March Self Portrait Project | Days 1-10

On the first day of March, I packed up my kiddos for a little adventure and on the way saw the perfect backdrop for my first self-portrait, a dilapidated old brick building with hazy (and some broken) windows. I knew on the way home I'd stop there, and I did. I did my best to focus the camera, placed it on top of the car, pushed the shutter, and ran to my post, all while the kids were in the car, exhausted and begging me to take them home, and people were driving by giving me weird looks. I took three photos and gave up (as you'll see, none of them made the cut), and realized I have a lot to learn.

Which, of course, is a large part of why I wanted to do this project. Turning the camera around on yourself is whole other ball of wax, and ten days in I've already learned a lot. Like taking my portrait with no little people around (aka. the photo bombers!). 

I'm enjoying the process of creating a vision and trying to execute it. Some things work, others don't. Sometimes, like the last photo, something totally different than what I planned happens and it's wonderful, a happy accident. So I'm trying to have a sense of humor about it.