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The Photo A Day Challenge

thank you! Yeah its going to be good i just hope i keep up with it. id be happy with one a week, but basicly i am going to try!
 
So far so good here. I haven't developed my last few rolls to see what I got though! I'm hoping to do that and update my blog on Friday before the 4-H kids come over for their first film camera/darkroom lesson. I'll be sending them out into the world with some b&w film and some of my cameras. I'm hoping I'll get interest from at least one of them. I've gathered up several 35mm slr cameras and lenses so they can check out a kit. All were free to less than $30 so if something happens I'm not out much. I do need to get out and get a shot for today. It is getting easier to get shots even on days when I work. I think it is just getting more natural to have a camera with me. Today I went to town without a camera and it just felt wrong! I do need to get a small easy 35mm though. Something that I can use for quick shots that is auto. I'll have to check out the 2nd hand stores.
 
I'm finding this both more challenging and more rewarding than I had anticipated.

Where I live it is quite common for rain to be forecast for two weeks straight. That means pretty much non-stop, along with barely six hours of usable light each day due to the ever-present clouds. So the weekday logistics of this exercise are daunting. But I'm still in. And longer days are coming.

No fancy blogs for me. Instead, if interested please look here for a simple slideshow with only some basic navigation buttons. Uncluttered and effective, I hope.

Ken
 
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David William White said:
Just terrific, Ken. On day 15, is that the menu?
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Thanks, David.

Nah... Not the menu. The patrons! It's a small feedstore for livestock and household pets.

I was born and raised in a big city (Los Angeles, California). But even after living in a rural area now for over twenty years, I still find these small town scenes facinating. This one just made me smile when I first saw it.

Ken
 

Great stuff Ken, I really enjoyed those!

Kathy
 
Technically speaking at least, I'm still in ! This proved easier after I relaxed the rules and allowed myself several exposures a day, and went back to my favourite baby : the Rolleiflex.

It's way harder than expected, to mix family life, work, and Photography. The very interesting thing is that it turns me into an "image searching machine", so it may have good effects in the long term. It also forced me to start some still lives (lifes ???) for the days when it is absolutely not possible to go grab a picture outside (which is my absolute favourite). May be the "kitchen shots" will bring some images I like ?

Due to some external causes (my kid being sick and the hectic night this created) no film is developed yet, so I'll wait the end of the week for some vacation and development of the batch.
 
Thanks very much, Kathy and Rob.

Certainly none of these are masterpieces. But I'm hoping that as they string together over time, in aggregate they will begin to give some sense of what it's like in my little part of the world. And be worth the time for at least a passing glance or two by everyone as well. I'm very curious to see what direction this project takes. A year is a long time.

Interesting to note also is the fact that this is my first ever use of a rangefinder. Picked up a little Canonet GIII QL17 from a fellow APUGer ('davela') on the recommendation of a friend who also owns one. Turns out that every feature on this 30+ year old camera works as if it were brand new. Not a single point of failure. (Many thanks, Dave.)

I've often read posts by RFers about how different working with these types of cameras is from using an SLR. Wow! I do think I'm beginning to understand.

It's a much different feeling for me than when I'm carrying around my Nikon F2 and several large lenses in a Domke bag. The entire Canonet kit (camera, small flash, incident meter, cap, hoods, filters, film and tiny voice recorder for note-taking) snuggly fits inside a tiny "digital" camera bag that I can almost wrap my entire hand around.

I'll be honest here. This does not bode well for my pocketbook down the road. Now just how much does a Bessa R3M go for these days...

Ken
 
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WooHooo! Enlarger lamps should be here today! I will be able to print all of my images for the last couple of weeks tonight!! I really miss being in the darkroom. I have made it so far. At least one shot a day. Some days I've went through a roll of film. Some days I only shoot one or two shots. I really feel like I'm getting more consistent. It seems natural to have a camera with me at all times. This challenge is really helping me. Not all of my shots are great. Not all of them are something I want to hang on my wall but they are all a learning experience. Thanks for suggesting this challenge.
 
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I'm still in, and good to see others, but I'm feeling the strain, especially with other work I've got to do. I've learned quite a bit about continuous workflow, however. In my portrait work, everything was done in batches with downtime between, with the luxury of looking at contact sheets and thinking about how to treat the prints. This exercise is something else entirely...it's a completely different way of working, and although I've come up with some keepers, most of the negatives I'll probably never return to again for a more considered print.
 
lorirfrommontana said:
I'm updated through the 2nd of February.
Click to expand...

Only had time for a quick glance, but my recent favorites?

Jan 24: A wall in the garage. Very well balanced composition.
Jan 25: More snow and ice! Had those guys 6+ feet long here last year.
Jan 27: Jane painting her room! Sponaneous with a great smile.

Nicely done.

Ken
 
I realize it's tough to keep it going, but try and press on. Themes seem to make it easier as well.... and store up a bunch of still life props for a rainy day.

-rob
 
Rob Skeoch said:
...and store up a bunch of still life props for a rainy day.
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Would need to buy a warehouse to store up 300+ days worth of props...

Ken
 
Or a fish... :rolleyes:

Ken
 
I ran out of 'interesting' still life props about a week ago. It didn't stop me from shooting them anyway... ;-)
 
I'm starting to feel better about this exercise. Some project ideas are emerging; things I didn't foresee.

One interesting tidbit: I'm still on my first jug of D-76! I've developed almost everything, something like 40 short-rolls and a bunch of sheet film, in the same gallon I mixed up at the beginning of the year.
 
It's funny. I used to stress about getting a photo in every day. Now it is just something I do. They are not always what I thought they were going to be but it is all a learning experience. I so far have made it but ran out of short rolls and can't afford to shoot a long roll everyday so I'm only updating my blog every week or 2. I do need to get some more bulk film for this exercise!
 
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