My book is almost done!

It has been a whole month since I completed my project 365. I haven't touched my camera since January 1st. But I still have been working with my pictures. 

By the 29th of January I had finished the layout of the 112 page book, written all of the text and the cover design is complete.My final book will be published via blurb. It is a 30cm square layout. I am going to use their Pro Pearl paper. I am really excited to get the final result in my hands. Only a few things left to do; my proof-reader will go through all of the text and make sure it reads well (as soon as she is done writing report cards), one more pass with fresh eyes to ensure the layout is perfect, and then send it off to the printers. 

 

This image is the entire book in one image. 

Now it is time to get back to my camera work.

Working on My Book

After a year of posting almost every day, this past week has been dead silent. Project 365 is over and I am now working on other projects. To start with I am trying to compile my years worth of images into a book.

I have decided on a 12x12 book published via Blurb. I started out with a  four side per week layout, but decided that I wanted a book with fewer pages. I am now working on a two side per week layout that should work well.

I do find it a challenge to get a layout I like and using the aspect ratios of the photos.

I hope to publish by the end of January.

Project365 366: One Year Later

During 2011 in did "Project 365". I took a photo a day, every single day, and sometimes a hundred photos to get one keeper. I organized my work into weekly self assignments. The project was very successful. Not only did I take a picture everyday, but I also posted it to this blog, usually within a day of taking the image. According to Google Analytics I had 1400 unique visitors over the year. My audience was global; Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Germany, France, Mexico, Indonesia, and Italy were my top ten countries. With visitors from 74 countries in total. For a good part of the year the images were cross-posted to Facebook (until they turned off the RSS syndication feature) and also on Google+ . So from a shear numbers perspective, I am under counting. Although numbers are interesting, they are not my measure of success.

Note: If you were a regular visitor and would like to put a tip in the jar, click on one of the advertisements on the blog. Thanks. 

Why did I do "Project 365"? The basic goal was to improve my photography. Without a doubt I have achieved that goal. It may not be obvious by flipping through my years worth of imagery. In part because you can't see what I threw away! I found the structure of a theme useful in order to force me to stretch just that much more. I avoided the "easy out" of taken a picture of my toes before I went to bed. I also used it as an opportunity to focus on and improve some techniques. For example while working on my black and white theme, you only saw one image per day, but I experimented with many. I also combined that with specific reading on various topics, such as Andrew Gibson's "The Magic of Black and White".

 

I have sure you have all heard of Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule . I certainly did put in 10,000 hours during my year. I didn't keep formal track, but I estimate somewhere between 500 and 1,000 hours invested. David duChemin wrote an article entitled 'Do The Work'.  He cited several quotes that I would like to repeat directly. 

 

“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” ~Emile Zola

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” ~ Picasso

“Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration, if inspiration is not discernible at the beginning.” ~ Igor Stravinsky

This whole concept of putting in the time behind the lens, and also the critical evaluation of your work - every day - is a key benefit of Project 365.

There are some limitations that come along with the rigours of daily production, at least for me. I was not able to spin a longer tale. Although the week's work did have some consistency to it, they did not form a cohesive story. Perhaps it can be done, if one were to make it a full time job, or had more established talents. 

Many have asked me, "Are you going to do it again?" My answers is maybe some year, but not 2012. I want to spend this year coming catching up on some of the great images I took in the past year, but didn't have time to deal with and also to work on the larger bodies of work. One such effort will be a book of the years worth of imagery.

I started Project 365 with a self-portrait and for day 366, that is the way I will end it. Happy New Year to all. 

Self Portrait 2012

1/4 f/2.8 70 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Project365 365: Three Hundred and Sixty Five!

Three Hundred and Sixty Five! I did it. Not a single day missed, but as I was reviewing my images for the year I almost thought I missed day 293. I had misplaced the file. I am glad I found it because it was one of my favs.

I will provide more of a retrospective in the new year, until then Happy New year to all!


Three Hundred and Sixty Five!
,Ontario
1/30 f/4 35 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Color Efex Pro 4 - Polaroid Transfer and frames via Fotosketcher

Project365 364: Kaput Candle

Second last image of the year's Project 365. Both the candle and I share a common theme. We are both almost kaput.

Note: if you try something like this yourself, watch that you don't overheat your lens or get it smoky.


Kaput Candle

1/4 f/7.1 105 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Canon 500D macro filter. color Efex Pro 4 - tonal contrast detail extractor, glamour glow and borders

Project365 363: Wishbone

The wishbone is often the last remnants of a holiday meal. My personal challenge (or wish) with this photo was to see if I could make an interesting image with a bone as the featured item. I am stll contemplating what I could have done different or better. Afterwards I took a look on some photo sites to see what other might have done. The most interesting images I found were of multiple wishbones which made for some interesting patterns.


Wishbone

1" f/5 28 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
color Efex Pro 4 - tonal contrast and borders

Project365 190: The Business End

I am going though my entire years worth of Project 365 images and discovered that I didn't post one on day 190. What can I say, I was on holidays. My theme that week was descanso, meaning to relax. Although this bee was hard at work, I wasn't.


The Business End
Puerto Vallarta,Jalisco
1/200 f/9 105 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Color Efex Pro 4 - detail Extractor, centre brighten and borders

Project365 362: The End of The Day

Sunset at Lake Wilcox; I originally had a different concept for this image. I was thinking of the dead end road with the signage being the feature and the sunet as background interest but as played around with the scene I decided that the sign didn't work and instead I would feature snow capped rocks.


The End of The Day
Lake Wilcox, Richmond Hill,Ontario
1/5 f/7.1 28 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Color Efex Pro 4 - sky Light (x2) and borders

Project365 361: Running on Empty

Many people has asked me if I am going to continue with Project 365 into another year. My answer is 'no'. Just like the fuel in my tank, I feel like it is time for a change.


Running on Empty

1/10 f/2.8 190 mm
Canon EOS 40D, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Color Efex Pro 4 - film grain and borders