365::365 - Done!

Alright, so this is it! The end of my 365 project. What a ride it has been! I can't believe how fast the year has gone by. I never though I'd last more than the first couple of weeks and here I am, 52 weeks later and I've enjoyed every single day of it! It will be weird, not having to think of what I'd be taking on a daily basis, but I'm sure I'll get over it quickly!

OK so there were some days when I really couldn't be bothered, but those were the days that I pushed myself and tested my limits of my own creativity. I feel like I've gone from someone who might get a half decent photo every now and then to someone who can work out if a photo is going to be half decent before I even take it. My confidence in my own photography has grown hugely.

I am so glad that I found this project, and I am so happy about all of the support that I have gained. I have grew more confident in myself, especially in my photography. I had seen this idea floating around the internet, and I kept checking what others were posting, wondering why they would want to take a picture every single day while at the same time wondering if I could do it myself. After a couple of weeks (and some camera chaos), I took the plunge and immediately got the bug. I would find myself thinking about my photos during the day, working out what I could do, what might work, and what might make an interesting photo. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't but one thing is certain, it made me pick up a camera every single day and for that I will be forever grateful.

And so, I'd just like to take this chance to thank everyone who has supported me through my year in photography. I would never have been able to do this without you guys! I want to thank my family and friends, especially, who while they may not have really understood why I did this, they supported me nonetheless. Thank you all for helping me on my journey from day 1 to day 365. I have benefited from this project in so many ways, and I couldn't picture how my life would be without it.

THANK YOU!!

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One Foot in Front of the Other

So today while we were playing outside in the boiling heat, I decided to bring my camera. Just randomly, Madison decides to just walk away and not say anything. I snapped this picture just because of the walk she was doing, she is already walking like a model (one foot in front of the other :] ). I really like the vignette that I added to this portrait because it is really strong, but it did not just create that solid black area around the edge. I really like what the vignette especially did to the shadow from the lattice. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

PS: THE LAST DAY OF THIS 365 PROJECT IS TOMORROW!!!

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Blow... and Make a Wish!

So today the kids decided that they wanted to try and blow the seeds off of all the flowers that they could find. I quickly thought of this two picture idea, and I really liked how it ended up. I made this using picnik.com. I have never tried anything quite like this before, and I am glad that I got to do it before my 365 project ends. I also really like how vibrant the colors ended up. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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A Life of Its Own

So today I decided to take a picture of one of the flowers that is beginning to grow around our porch. I can't believe how fast everything is changing into Spring! I just love it! I can't wait until all of the dead trees come back to life. This photo was taken with my macro filter and I just love how close it lets me get to the smallest things. This flower was probably only about an inch in diameter, and I think it looks so much bigger! Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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“Beauty without virtue is like a flower without scent.”

So today I went to a photography scavenger hunt in New Haven. It was SO much fun, and one of my friends went with me. This was the picture for "Soft Texture", and I really liked how her hair was blowing in the wind. It allowed you to just see just enough of her face to see that she was about to smell the flower. These were just some of the colorful flowers that were in the park in New Haven. I am so glad that I went, and I am SO going to do it again next year! Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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The Grass is Greener

So today I just knew that I had to go outside and use the sun in a picture somehow. I wasn't going to take a picture directly of the sun, but obviously I used the sun to light up these plants. I will admit that I have never noticed these plants like this on our yard, but the sun really helped them stand out in my eyes. I didn't really have to edit this photo because the plants were actually THIS bright because of the sun. Well I hope you all had a great SUNNY day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Reaching Out to Each Other

So today after doing Maddie's hair, we were watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 when she saw the Froot Loops on the table. She wanted to get out of her chair so bad so that I could give her the cereal. I REALLY like how her hands are blurry in this picture, and how her face is completely clear in because it shows a creative use of DOF. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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"You can't score from the penalty box"

So today I went to a hockey game with my cousins, and hockey is actually one of the only sports that I truly enjoy watching. Even though we bought our tickets last minute, we ended up getting really good seats anyways. We were so close that we could actually touch the players in the penalty box, or even the announcer (not that we did!). I made this picture black and white because there were random colors around the photo that were too distracting, and did not let the eye focus on the picture in itself. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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The Gentleness of a Flood

So today I decided to take a picture of the trees with some fog behind them, but that didn't work out so well. As I was walking back into the house, I noticed a flower on the steps with really nice rain drops on it. I ran and grabbed my macro filter to shoot this flower and I didn't even have to move it. I actually didn't think that I would be able to get a clear shot this close to the flower, but I am very happy with the results. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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It Was a Piece of Cake!

So today was my dad's 53rd birthday! I can't believe that he is that age because he doesn't look that old AT ALL! This was the cake that he asked for: a chocolate cake with chocolate mouse filling, and chocolate frosting.. and this is what we gave him! The cake was very good, especially the frosting! This was a picture that I shot just before we starting singing, and I added a pretty strong vignette so it looked like it was really dark in the room with the candles really standing out. I also made the picture black and white because the colors of the cake were sort of distracting. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Just a Blur..

So today my mom told me that I just HAD to take a picture of this tree that has began blooming flowers. They are really small, and really pretty. I just knew that these flowers would make an awesome bokeh photo, and it did! I liked the offset flower composition, because it lets the eye draw itself into the background so that you know that there is more flowers back there. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face”

So today while driving home, I thought that the sun looked really cool against the road. It took about 20 pictures to get the composition framed up right, and I ended up really liking this one. I really like how the road looks, and how you can see the sun peeking through the trees. Even though I didn't take a picture with three exposures (which is what is normally used to make an HDR) I still added the HDR effect to this picture, and it actually helped make the road more prominent in the picture. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Stand Out in the Crowd

So today just before leaving Amy's house, I decided to snap a picture of one of the flowers that has already begun to bloom. I really like these flowers because they tell us that Spring is actually coming. I can't wait for the hot weather to come back.. I would rather sweat, than wear a sweatshirt! This flower was so low down to the ground that I couldn't be behind the viewfinder, so I had to set the lens to what I guessed would be good, and just 'blind shoot'. It took a couple tries, but the framing ended up coming out pretty good. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Brotherly Love

So today while I was outside with the kids I decided to bring them over to the swing in the front yard. I don't know why I never took a picture of them on this bench before because I just LOVE the look of it, especially with this color effect. All I did was ask Tyler to put his arm around Maddie and the expressions were just natural. I knew this picture would look good with this colored effect the second I took it. It really brings more emphasis to the expressions, and less on the colors of their clothing. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Spring is Among Us

So today after playing with the kids outside, I decided to do my 'photo walk' around the yard. I found this one little plant that has began to bloom. I was so into taking the picture that I didn't realize this bee buzzing around me, and I HATE bees! The second that I actually SAW the bee a literally fell on the floor out of fear! I did not take any more pictures of that flower, and I just walked away. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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“A weed is no more than a flower in disguise”

So today I decided to take a picture of these flowers that my mom got for Easter because they are finally starting to bloom. I moved the flowers into the sunlight because natural light is the way to go! I grabbed my macro filter, and got real close up. I really like how the only thing that is really in focus is the tips of the petals, and the colors of the flower really make the picture pop! Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Bubble to the Surface

So today I decided to bring the bubbles outside when I went out to play with the kids. I always have the mindset that I will spend only a certain time with my camera outside, and then spend the rest of the time playing around and having fun. This was a picture that I finally got after a multitude of failed, blurry pictures. I added a vignette to this photo because I felt that it would bring attention to the bubbles in the center, and I also felt that it would make the bubbles on the edge look a little cooler too! Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Flower Power

Happy Easter Everybody!

So today we went to my cousin's house to celebrate Easter with the family. They had an Eastern egg hunt, and the kids loved it! I just loved walking around taking pictures of them, especially Maddie in her pretty, flowery dress. She can pull off ANY outfit! When I uploaded this picture to the computer I added a de-vignette effect to make the picture feel a lot softer with the white around the edges. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Cover Up

So today I went to my sister's house to color easter eggs with the kids and it was a lot of fun. Before the sun went down I went outside to walk around the yard and take pictures of anything that caught my eye. This is a picture that I have always wanted to take, and I finally found the perfect place to take it. I had to kinda had to stand in a thorn bush to get this, but it was totally worth it! And the sepia effect was a happy accident. I was trying to push a different button, and I hit 'sepia' instead. Once it was in sepia, I brought down the saturation to give it a really nice effect. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Searching for Worms

So today I was sitting in the family room when I saw a bunch of birds walking around the yard eating worms. I decided to go and grab my telephoto lens so I could get real close up without go outside in my pajamas! LOL When I brought it onto the computer, I bumped up the saturation and vibrancy so that the green of the grass really popped out. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Sunlight Breaks Through Darkness

So today I was about to eat my dinner when I looked through the window and saw a perfect opportunity for another HDR image! I was probably standing there outside for about 10 minutes just snapping away at the sun, and eventually my eyes just started to tear up uncontrollably! I took like 10 different compositions, and this one was my favorite because of the light shining from the cloud in the center. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Bokeh Beads

So we have these bead necklaces lying around our house from a recent baby shower, and they somehow ended up on my desk. After a couple days, I finally decided to take a picture of them. I thought they would make a nice bokeh, but I never thought that they would come out like this! I really like how the beads flow from the front and slowly fade into the background. I used my macro filter so I could get really close to the beads. I barely edited this photo at all, because the colors all seemed fine and I didn't want to mess it up. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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An Angel of a Bokeh

So today I brought my telephoto lens upstairs with me while I was doing Maddie's hair. When I was done, I was just taking random shots around the kitchen, and I took this really simple shot of a crystal angel that has been in another one of my 365 shots! The photo seemed really plain, so I decided to add a layer of bokeh over the picture in photoshop. I am a lot happier with the result than I thought I would be. I feel that the bokeh adds a soft touch to the photo without taking away from the main subject in the picture. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Spinning Drops

So today was another rainy day.. and I really didn't like the fact that I couldn't play outside with the kids, although, I was crazy enough to go outside with my camera! I had to carry my umbrella, my camera, and I had to hold my macro filter against the lens (because I was silly enough to get the wrong size, and I don't have enough money to buy a stop down ring!). One of my favorite parts of a macro filter is that is makes awesome bokeh! Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Bringing it Back Old School!

So today while we were at the mall, I finally got my first pair of converse!! I used to think that these shoes looked so silly on people, but I have gotten so used to them that I actually started to like the low-cut ones. This photo was kind of hard to get because I couldn't find a set up that I liked, until I turned one of the shoes around to show the ALL STAR. I thought that the photo looked better in black and white because the shoes were in black and white anyways. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Carousel Gardens

So today I went to a psychic fair in this old, closed-down restaurant. I didn't think that it was the coolest thing, but my mom loves it! Now, the place REALLY didn't look this creepy, but considering why we were there I decided that this photo would look great with this certain effect. I also needed to add the clouds in separately because there was pretty much no clouds to begin with. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow. [Before & After picture below!]
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Feel Free to Stare

So today the kids were kinda bummed that we couldn't go outside and play because it was really raining hard outside. When I was walking down the hallway, I saw Madison just standing in the family room watching her movie on tv. I really liked the lighting behind her so I ran and grabbed my camera, and to my surprise, Madison had not moved! The only major editing I did to this photo was to add a vignette so that the light was more focused on the center of the picture. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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High-Profile Cat

So today I went outside to play with the kids and the cat came up to us to pet her. Madison just LOVES the cat, and runs to her the second she sees her. I switched the camera to monochromatic so that it would automatically take these pictures in black and white, and I just loved how they look! The black and white lets you focus on the subject instead of the colors and light. I didn't have to do much editing for this photo, other than bumping up the contrast a bit. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

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Who Holds the Keys?

So today I was so loaded with homework that I was working on it for almost SIX HOURS! I had homework in every subject, and I had to write two papers! To represent this I decided to take a picture of the thing that I used on almost all of my homework! For this picture I set up my black backdrop and placed my old keyboard on top of it. Then I brought over my FAVORITE light, set up with a 'snoot' so that the light would be directed on one area of the keyboard and not be spilled onto everything. Well I hope you all had a great day, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

PS: This was NOT an April Fools joke!

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