52 photos in 52 weeks ~ recap

I know that i say this alot, but i´ll say it again; how can time fly like this?! it seems a year can go by just like that *snapping fingers*. on january 1st this year, me and monika set out on a journey that seemed forever long: one photo every week for 52 weeks! we chose themes for the first couple of weeks and blogged about the project, to see if anyone else would like to join us. there sure were! we have a whopping 121 members in our flickr group! 

as with many longterm projects (at least this applies to me!) the glow has been superbright and some weeks i have been slacking. but that is ok! even if i have been late posting my photos to he flickr group, i have still taken them all and soon i´ll have 52 awesome photos sitting in my 52 in  2011 photo folder. i say awesome maybe not because they are technically great, but awesome in the sense that there is a thought and story behind them all. 

the active members in our flickr group have gone down, but that is also all ok. also, i know that both monika and i have a few "lurkers" :) welcome! we are very glad to have you! 

what have i learned through this project?

well, that inspiration come and go, that some weeks i knew exactly what i would photograph, other weeks were though. i learned that life gets in the way of creative projects and it has to do, naturally. but i have also learned to work my theme into my daily life somehow.

what i would change?

hm...what would i have liked to be different? maybe i could have worked better with blogposts to go with the theme each thursday as we added our photos to the group...it would also be cool to have more discussion around the themes etc.

i asked patti, (one of our members that have made it through the whole year!) to share her experience with you all. 

What have you learned through this project?
I have learned that a picture is not always as it seems. That one word can spark creativity in places where you never thought of before. 
As each week's prompt became available, I would immediately do a mental check of my next week's activities to see where or how I could capture the "word". Some were obvious, but I tried as often as possible to think outside the normal or obvious. My hubby fell victim, I mean became a willing participant, for a lot of my shots. 
I am exploring the world of photography more & more and this adventure helped me step outside of my normal boundaries on more than one occasion.

would you change anything?
Wow - I'm not sure that I would change anything. If changes were to be made it would be in my own personal processes of capturing the weekly prompt. I think having the prompt on Thursday's was great as it gave you time through the weekend to work on it, a time when you would be more likely to have your camera around, although I rarely go anywhere without mine.

what have you loved?
I love the shots from others.........and comments made on my own photos! I mean really, who doesn't love a little something-something type of praise? LOL!
Sometimes the perspective of others on a prompt made me stop & think, "why didn't I think of that?" 
I love having a weekly assignment. It keeps my mind moving in all directions and gives me a goal to achieve, while learning more about my camera and the type of shots I like taking.

This has been such a fun experience and I really hope that it continues in the same format or even with some new twists in 2012. I've tried the 365 Challenge before - but I get overwhelmed and then just plain bored because I feel pressured to capture something amazing everyday. 

thank you, patti! be sure to visit her photography website and her blog to read all the cool thoughts behind all her 52 photos! 

what i ♥´d:

to meet new people! i have learned that through a mutual project, may it be a class, blog or a photoproject, people open up and embrace diversity and i love that we have had such a positive wibe! 

and i love that i could suprise monika with  an album with (almost) all both of our 52 photos! 

(photo by monika!)

ok, so what is next?

both me and monika have had blogreaders and other friends ask if we could continue the 52 photos project. and we quickly decided that indeed there will be a 52 photos in 52 weeks 2.0 version starting on January 5th 2012! yay!

ofcourse the themes will be updated and monika has made a new blog button that you can grab and put on your blog!

new for 2012: 

every thursday we will announce a new theme in the flickr group discussion area. on the last thursday of each month i´ll have a recap blog post where i´ll share both my and some of your photos. (note: if you don´t want me to show your images on my public blog, please let me know asap!) and some fun things from time to time. we had a fun little giveaway furing 2011 and i am sure we´ll make something happen in 2012 too :)

i´ll leave you with the downloadable theme list from 2011! 

just so you can see them and perhaps use them for something else or what ever :)

thank you for this year!