Day 100…or The Last-Call, Whiskey-Soaked Plan That Didn’t Die

Somewhere, Three Cameras are Happy--This was my 100th Photo-A-Day/Project 365 post.

Day 100. Sure, in a 365 day year, day 100 is a bit of an arbitrary milestone. Yet we are creatures who seek order and even-ness, and as such the number 100 carries a significance. So it is with a smile and a click of the shutter that I am happy to say that on this 100th day of my Photo-A-Day/Project 365 endeavor I am still going strong.

When I began back on January 1st, there was a sense of exuberance, a feeling of promise and potential. Yet an unavoidable sense of doubt still lurked in the deep recesses of my head. You know the feeling: that it-sounds-fantastic-now-but-who-knows-what-the-morning-will-bring feeling. It’s the last-call, whiskey-soaked plan to finally take that road trip down route 66—tomorrow!—kind of idea that too often withers under the late morning light and is unceremoniously washed away with a gallon of coffee. It’s the foolhardy commitment to take a photo a day, every day, for a year.

Bar Shadows

Yet today, on day 100, that killjoy morning is nowhere in sight while someone else keeps buying the whiskey…leading me to think the dream isn’t going anywhere for quite some time. In other words, I’m firmly entrenched and I have every confidence the first 100 days are merely a preamble to the next 265.

Originally, when I started this, one of my goals was to stretch myself as a photographer. I wanted to look “for ways to explore my creativity, sharpen my eye, and define my aesthetic.” One hundred days into it, I feel I’ve begun to do just that. The best part is that a lot of the exploration and evolution of my aesthetic has come in surprising ways. I had no idea that toy cameras would play such a large part in my Project 365. Shooting with toy cameras has really given me a new perspective on my photography, in much the same way as shooting film compliments digital work. By shooting toys and eliminating many of the exposure and focusing decisions, the process of making a photograph is stripped down to subject, composition, and anticipation of the “toy camera effect” (vignetting, light leaks, etc.). This concentration on subject and composition has truly enhanced and complimented my “regular” photography.

Also when I started, I wanted to be able to open myself up to new photographic possibilities. I didn’t want to “end up with 300 photos of the dogs and 65 of the back yard.” Happily, I feel that hasn’t happened. Knowing that I don’t have to create a masterpiece each and every day is very liberating and frees me up to experiment with different subjects. Consequently, I don’t have all dog and backyard shots. Furthermore, I know that in order to keep this project interesting, I need to make interesting photographs (well, at least interesting to myself).

John At The Empty Bottle in Chicago

As I look back on these past 100 days (which, incidentally, have thoroughly whizzed by!), I am so glad that I started this project. I’ve made some photographs of which I am very proud. I’ve also made some which I don’t really care for at all. But that is the beauty of this exercise: produce, and the possibilities begin to open up. So pour me another whiskey and let’s howl at the moon because inspiration is here to stay.

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To read more about my on-going quest to make a photo-a-day, every day, in 2009–my Project 365–please take a moment to check out my post from December 30, 2008 appropriately titled, “Project 365” as well as my 50 day update, similarly appropriately titled, “50 Days? Already?.”