Create

365/1

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I am going to attempt a 365 project this year.

Let me rephrase that, I attempted a 365 project this year and already dropped the ball.

See what had happened was…

Inspired by Wesley Verhoeve of Process, I thought I’d shoot one roll of film a month, basically one frame a day using the same point and shoot film camera. The camera I choose was the Leica Mini Zoom. The film, Ilford HP5. The date to kickoff this project was January 1, 2024. The first day of the new year is when everyone starts their 365 right?

I packed my bags for LA where I’d be to ring in 2024, and witness Michigan defeat Alabama in the Rose Bowl. GO BLUE!!! Like every photo enthusiast, I bought way too many cameras. In the bag, went my Fuji X-Pro 3, Leica Mini Zoom (ya know the one for the 365 project) and Olympus Stylus MJU loaded with Kodak Portra 800.

All I needed was a battery for the Leica and I’d be all set to make my first frame on January 1st. Off to CVS I went in downtown LA to buy a CV 123 battery. I got to my hotel room, and wouldn’t you know it, I purchased the wrong battery. EPIC FAIL.

So much for shooting my first frame in LA on film for this project. I looked over at my two other cameras, the Fuji and Olympus and just shook my head in defeat. Why didn’t I just use what I had? Recently, I find myself debating the tools and loosing sight of what’s important…. the image. How I get there, who the fuck cares.

Anyway, all this to say is don’t let your tools stop you from creating. Use what you have, go forth and create.

Here’s the first frame of my 365 project, albeit four days late.

Do you have any personal creative goals this year?

8:45 Ferry

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The mist kisses my face as I board the 8:45 AM ferry, a sure sign that fall is knocking and summer doesn’t want to answer. Push off from the dock, the fog horn blows. Sailing into the gray the Seattle skyline emerges, my Americano almost gone now lukewarm. I lower the volume of my audiobook as the captain makes an announcement for drivers to “return to their cars.” I gather my things steel myself for a morning in the city. I look forward to the ferry ride back to the rock.

Stretch

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Street photography is not my jam anymore. I’m terrible at it, nor do I enjoy it like I used to. Not sure what changed. You definitely have to keep working at it, be out on the streets everyday, make it part of your routine. Almost like working out, going to gym, getting exercise and putting in the work.

Shoot for Selfie

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My photography motto has always been “shoot for self.” Photograph who and what you love. Love cats, photograph cats. Love cats and milk, photograph cats drinking milk from a saucer. Love yourself, make a selfie. Selfies get a bad rap, I blame Instagram. Selfies are a record in time, a record of yourself. Being that I’m the documentarian in the family, rarely are there photos of me.

So here I am.

Look at that pandemic ‘fro.



Snapshot

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Long live the snapshot. The photographic one night stand. Snapshots are about all I shoot these days. I let the photos come to me so to speak. Besides documenting my family, snapshots scratch the itch. I’ver never claimed to be a photographer, more of an enthusiast with an immense respect for the craft. I’m just a dad with a camera. Speaking of daddin’, I made this snap as I was walking to pickup my son from daycare. Pushing a stroller, stop, compose, press the shutter. Keep on trucking.

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