Exactly one year ago today, I began the most intensive personal photography project I’ve ever attempted – a Project 365. For all of 2012, I captured one image a day that reflected something about my life. Most photos involved my two little boys, since, well, my life basically revolves around them 🙂 Of course, there were times that I wasn’t with them (like my sister’s wedding in Mexico!) and days when I chose to capture a different subject in my life, but looking at the completed project makes me acutely aware of the depth of my love for my family.
I’m not gonna lie – some days this project was just plain hard. There were days when it rained all day, the kids (or I) were sick, and it got to be 5pm before I remembered to drag out the camera bag. But then there were others where photo ops seemed to throw themselves at me all day long! Our family vacations, daytrips, days when the boys were happy and the sun was shining…it was often hard to choose just one image!
I learned a lot in the past year, and the lessons were not always related to photography. I learned to slow down and look around. To notice the little things – pockets of beauty where I least expect to find them. I learned the importance of capturing memories for my boys, since life can change in the blink of an eye. It’s already a bit hard to look back at the first few images of 2012 and remember just how dramatically they’ve grown in the past year.
Although I won’t be doing a Project 365 for 2013, I will continue to bring my camera wherever I can. Watching my boys as they viewed this year’s slideshow for the first time was absolutely wonderful. They laughed, squealed, and smiled as they relived the memories of 2012. In fact, they’ve been talking about our adventures for the past hour, and we are already planning out an amazing 2013. THAT is my inspiration. I will continue to shoot with their giggles, happiness, and love in mind.
For those of you curious (and patient enough) to watch my culminating project of 2012, I present to you….
**The slideshow will take a minute or two to load (more if you are viewing on a mobile device), so turn on your speakers, sit back, and wait for the show to begin!
Cindy says: Sarah, I cant express how much I enjoyed watching the slide show. I watched it twice and I told David he couldn't jump in to view it half-way....he had to start at the very beginning. :-) You have a beautiful family and you and Simon really are blessed! I look forward to future editions of Project 365! It brought us a lot of joy! xo on 07.27.13 @ 12:56 pm