I’m starting to get back into the groove of the photo-a-day project for 2008.  When I first considered a project like this, I wasn’t sure how to realize the benefit of doing it, but after I completed my first one, I found the benefits.  Why would anyone want to force themselves to make a photo at least once a day for an entire year? 

Most photographers aren’t interested in raising the camera unless they see an immediate reward or great image resulting from the effort.  It’s almost as if we need to be able to visualize the finished image before we even make it.  We often don’t spend time exploring the harder-to-see ideas and themes that surround us.  This is where a project like the photo-a-day idea can help us learn to see.

On a day where we have plenty of time to think about the image of the day, it’s not as difficult.  On other days where we are too busy to be bothered with making a photo, we have to work a little harder to get an image.  There is one guarantee in this project theme.  There will be days where you simply take some mundane photo for the sole purpose of meeting your commitment.  Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with this.  Those days can also be the most rewarding in the end.  You may not produce a photo that you consider worthy of anything, but the simple fact is that you thought about it that day, as you will every day for the entire year.  You will occasionally find yourself looking at the clock at 10 or 11pm and wondering what to do with your camera.  Even if you don’t make a photo that you are happy with in the end, you did spend time thinking about what to do.  This is one of the main learning experiences in this type of project.  It’s not always about the images you produce.  It’s often about exercising the thought process instead.  Learning to think about photography in a creative way every day is one of the long-term benefits of this project.

Art Photography, Discussion