The goal of project 365 is simply enough. Take at least one picture every day for a full year. Some people use themes, such as self portraits or using a Homer miniature in each shot. But the purpose remains, one shot, every day. Preferably something good (which is debatable) but a one exposure none the less.

I decided to do my Project 365 with no particular theme in mind. A self portrait a day would have failed since taking self portraits is difficult with a subject such as myself. I like that I had no theme since I think my overall theme is my first full year with a dSLR. Sure, I had the 40D a month or so before the beginning of the year but I really didn't start using it or really understanding how to use it until I started 365. Project 365 also came about as a reason to use my new camera since it was a decent sized investment in my photography passion and I had to show, at least to myself, that it was a worthwhile one.

So here are some observations and tips I learned while doing 365. I strongly encourage you to try it. It's a great way to learn and explore.

• The beaten path. I have a fairly monotonous ride home. There are 3 turns in the 40 minute ride back to my neighborhood. For the most part, the roads I travel are by farmland which is beautiful on some days but dull most others. I'm not saying living in a city would make taking a picture a day much easier but it certainly wouldn't hurt.
• Have a fall back shot. At first I thought I would take a reflection of myself in the mirror by our door just in case I didn't see anything interesting that day. Later, I built a lightbox which became a nice backup in case I wasn't feeling that creative that day. Worse came to worse, I could always do a still-life picture.
• Project 365 forces you, at least it forced me, to explore. I would take drives down roads I had passed for years but never used. I would try building lightboxes, playing with light and smoke. In my need to do something different every day, I was forced to explore avenues I may have written off otherwise and I am much the better for it.
• Never bank on one shot. Likewise, never bank on someone or something to happen. I tried to always make sure I had two different types of shots before breathing a sigh of relief that that day was done. Even if I knew the first one was great (or good enough), I would take a second of something completely different just in case. And planning on getting a shot is fraught with peril. You never have the shot, till it's done so better have a backup plan.
• I won't belabor the point that I am infinitely more knowledgeable about my dSLR now than I was a year ago. I'm not an expert certainly. But would I have learned as much this year if I had not done 365? Probably not. This is in large part in being forced to do it every day. Like they say, practice makes perfect.
• Plan ahead. Much to the consternation of my wife, Project 365 also had me plan as many photo ops as I could swing. Think of ways to fill up the coming week because there will be days, when you're driving home from work and you just don't give a rip. Just also remember to leave some time for your loved ones.
• I found posting my shots to Flickr as a good way of motivating myself to continue. Sure, I didn't get many (or some days any) comments on all the pictures but I did have people comment on them with even one or two people asking me if I had stopped since they hadn't seen an update in a few days (I hadn't missed the days, just hadn't/couldn't post them to Flickr). Just another helpful motivation.

I'm sure there are more anecdotes I could relate about Project 365 but those are the ones I can think of right now. I am building a book of them on Blurb which is going to take some time in compiling. I am at page 115 or so. When it's done I really think I'm going to enjoy looking back through it.

Finally, one of more touching moments was coming home one night from Weehawken to see my Mom looking through the Flickr set. She had it on slideshow, had the lights off for some reason and had some light jazz playing. Dunno, but it seemed like she was watching some professional. I have a problem when looking at my shots of identifying where I took the shot. Of not being able to stand back and appreciate what I've done at times. But looking through my mother's eyes I was able to see I had done some neat stuff.

No, I'm not going to do it again next year. Maybe in 2010 but I'm tapped for one year. It's your turn now.

Be undeniably good. When people ask me how do you make it in show business or whatever, what I always tell them and nobody ever takes note of it 'cuz it's not the answer they wanted to hear -- what they want to hear is here's how you get an agent, here's how you write a script, here's how you do this -- but I always say, "Be so good they can't ignore you." If somebody's thinking, "How can I be really good?", people are going to come to you. It's much easier doing it that way than going to cocktail parties. - Steve Martin

Since, I am not about to ignore credit where it is due, the above was quoted by Chase Jarvis in explaining how do I 'make it' as a photographer.

This dovetails, to a certain extent, to a conversation Aaron and I were having a couple days ago about what separates the David Hobbys, the Chase Jarvis, the David Ziser from the rest of us poor schmoes like he and I? Have we already missed our chance to make it?

To the first question, Jarvis answers it. They are good. Undeniably good. Did a few more lucky breaks come there way than what came to us? Maybe. But even with or without those lucky breaks, they and others still would be well known names. They are incredibly creative and giving people whose work demands attention not because they promote it more than this summer's blockbuster but because it is so damn good, people will find it no matter where it is.

And this doesn't mean we are not good as well. We are talented and driven. If anything it is a challenge. A reason to get up in the morning. You and I need to go out and be as good if not better than they are. To contribute just as heavily and with as much quality as they do. They are not gods and there is no reason we can not achieve the same vaulted positions they have.

I feel jealous of Hobby and Jarvis, et al most mornings when reading their recent blog posts or watching one of their videos. But when I am truly honest with myself but I feel is pride. Pride in knowing that there are people out there doing good work simply because they like doing it. Pride in knowing that I can do the same. Will I ever command the same legions of fans that Strobist does? Maybe. Probably not. But it's the journey that's the most enjoyable, not the sycophantic applause that comes afterwards. At least, that's what I console myself with.

Like other fields, such as cooking, politics and such, photography blogs have created online celebrities that are great resources for aspiring and current photographers. But one thing I hope the internet cult of celebrity lacks is this idea that those celebrities live so very far away and we mere mortals do not deign to walk with them. That they are above us in every way.

Popularity and attention are warranted for people doing amazing work. If you do amazing work as well, you will be noticed.

Steve Martin said so. And he's a celebrity so it must be true.

David Hobby, aka Strobist, posted an article about photographers working for free. As usual, it was a well thought out idea on photographers pursuing projects that will help them as photographers but do them gratis. Also, as usual, given Hobby's large readership, it has had several responses. And then some.

Now, I am not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination. So my thoughts on the topic are from the point of view of a relative neophyte. I haven't had too many jobs yet and only a few I've been paid for. That said, here is my take on the topic.

The first knee jerk reaction to David's article is 'Oh noes, you're giving carte blanche to all those bottom feeding dSLR newbies to undercut us professional photographers. Boo hiss.'. Or something like that. Basically with the proliferation of good, relatively inexpensive photography equipment, everyone and their mother is a photographer with a good portion willing to work for peanuts or for free. This then devalues a professional photographer who has to work harder to get clients or who has to deal with the fallout from a client chosing a bottomfeeder and getting poor results. It's a valid argument but a bit too dramatic for my taste.

For example. I did not want to do a wedding without ever having covered one before. I knew I would feel guilty charging someone money for something I was learning to do. I knew, that if I was looking for my wedding photographer, a process I did not more than a year before, I would feel incredible cheated by someone like myself without any prior experience. Luckily, I was able to connect with Aaron Spicer, a fantastic wedding photographer and good friend, who allowed me to tag along on several of his weddings. I plan on doing this for a good deal of time or as long as Aaron let's me, to gain experience and grow as a photographer.

Since I had no experience I incentived Aaron by offering my services for free. This worked out well and our relationship has grown from there. Now, pros would say this is not the same thing as what Hobby is talking about. This is how it should be done. New photographers should be the interns/assistants/serfs of established photographers to gain experience and pay their dues.

But this is where a lot of the bottomfeeders come from. We're newbies looking for direction and when we don't get it, we embrace the American Dream and jump in, for better or worse. I'm not saying it's the job of professional photographers to shepard each and every donkey who picks up a dSLR but just telling them no, is not going to help your business.

And that's all I have to say about that.

It was a year ago today, that I stopped by Ritz Camera to pick up my Canon 40D. After doing research, asking friends for advice and searching for the best price, I ordered a 40D from Ritz which came in a week later. I was nervous and excited. It was a lot of money to commit to photography and I knew from the outset I wanted to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Jenn my girlfriend now wife gave me a Pentax Optio 33L for Valentines...or our anniversary. I always get mixed up. It started off slow and didn't start getting into photography for another year. Picked up the Casio EX S600 since I could carry it with me at all times. But that camera did not let me change any setting so I always felt limited. I also never felt I was a photographer. Just a tourist.

That changed with the 40D. I'm not saying when I bought my dSLR I became a professional photographer. Far from it. Just because you can plunk down a grand or more on a dSLR body with a kit lens does make you a professional. Sorry Uncle Bob wedding photographer. I did feel though that I was now able to pursue photography in a more serious fashion and hopefully improve to point of being a professional photographer.

Some of the things I have done with the 40D this past year.

- Project 365: Taking a picture a day, every day, for a year. Man, this has been tough. I'll explain more about this in it's own post but part of the reason I did it was to justify buying the 40D. Definitely gave my 40D a workout.

- Photowalks: Participated in and attended a few others. Didn't need the 40D to do this, you can definitely go to a photowalk with a point and shoot but I certainly was more curious about them once I got the 40D. These are a great way to put your new camera to work. A way to talk to other friendly photographers and learn a thing or two.

- HDR: I could never have done any of my HDR shots with my Casio. Love them or hate them, they are some of the most viewed pictures I have on Flickr. And in order to do them you need to do a bracketed exposure. Well, you need to be able to control the camera settings which the Casio didn't let me do.

- Long Exposures: Again, a control thing. From light trails to flowing water, you just can't do that kind of stuff effectively with a P&S. Sure, the "modes" will sometimes get you there, the Casio's "Night Mode" did the trick a few times, but that's always a guess.

- Weddings: I'd look pretty foolish covering a wedding with my Casio. Additionally, having interchangable lens helps to add some professionalism to your shots.

- Soccer: Same goes for the D.C. United game I covered. Can't attach a 400mm lens to the front of a point and shoot.

But in the end, I am reminded of a thought I had fairly early on. I was sitting in of all places the Fredericksburg Cemetary which overlooks Rte.3 Business. I had my tripod and was trying to get some good light trails pictures. The evening was nice, there wasn't much noise and things were just good. I was happy to be outside and happy to be creating something.

And it would not have happened if I had not purchased my Canon 40D.

Can't wait to find out what happens next year.

I attended a Strobist Meetup this past Saturday in Frederick, Maryland. I had a lot of fun and met some really helpful photographers. I told one of the models, if the photographer you are working with is a Strobist, you're going to be just fine. What I mean is, let's face it, some photographers out there are just sketchy and thankfully most of them do not fall in the Strobist camp (and if they do they keep it hidden).

But that brings up another part of this weekend. Photographing models!

I have to say I was nervous. I realize the only way to get better at shooting is to well do it. At the same time you, well I, don't want to waste someone elses time and look like a schmuck in the process. I haven't done much off camera lighting and despite reading a great about it, I have not put it too much to practice.

Well this weekend, I did.

Thankfully, all the models were very nice and forgiving for my lack of experience and it turned out great.

A couple things I learned:

You need to have ideas for what you want the model to do. When I would meet the model for the first time I would say "Hi my name is, we'll start by taking a few head shots to get my lighting right and then go from there." which I think broke the ice nicely. But where did I go from there. I don't know. When the model asks you "What would you like me to do?", a dumbfounded look and a long pause probably doesn't convey professionalism. Because in all honesty, at the moment, just doing some basic poses is fine with me. I haven't gotten to the point where I have a vision to express.

That said, I probably could have been more creative. Gotten on a chair to get a higher perspective, put a little more action into the shots and other things I had written down before going but neglected to read again while there.

On the concept of ideas, one model said she had brought some magazines for ideas which is a great idea. Obviously you're not going to be able to recreate shots in some glamour magazine (well I can't) and you don't want to crib someone else's idea too heavily but it should give you and the model a reference on where you can go. On how the model can swing her legs or what expression you're going for.

And finally expressions. I think every model I worked with I asked to smile for me. I don't know if it's in the model code that you want to learn stern but I like shots with a bit of grin thrown in. All of the women had beautiful smiles and it adds so much to an already expressive pose.

Can't wait to do it again.

My next "assignment" is another wedding with Aaron. Can't wait to do that as well.

Could someone answer this question for me. Why can I not buy an 8x12 frame? Is there some embargo on 8x12 frames that I don't know about? Does printing 8x12 make you a communist? Is it a giant conspiracy of framers to vex me?

I don't do many prints although I'm trying to change that. So when I got a 8x12 print of this photo, I figured it wouldn't be a problem to get a frame.

Right?

Wrong.

I went to Michaels and when I asked the woman in the back where the 8x12 frames were. She said there weren't any and that I would have to make my own.

First, if I was fool enough to print an 8x12, I'm pretty sure I'm too thick to make my own frame.

When I ask why there aren't 8x12 frames, I'm told well they're rare and people don't make them. Why not? Is there some reason we do not produce 8x12 frames? Have I violated some framing law for requesting an 8x12 frame? Why do people prefer 8x10 over 8x12? You crop to get an 8x10. How is that better?

It. Just. Makes. No. Sense.

Hello and welcome to another edition of Top Gear, I'm your host Jeremy Clar...

Sorry, I was channeling Jeremy Clarkson there for a moment. No, I do not host a wildly successful auto programme in the U.K.

I am a photographer who writes about, but of course, photography.

Yes, another photographer with another blog. Yawn. De rigeur it would seem.

But I'm hoping to set myself a part from all the other blogs out there. Not by much but a little. My intention is not to make this yet another photography blog that has the latest press release about Adobe Photoshop CS9 or the new Canon EOS 90D Mark IV. I also will not have any tutorials on how to become a better photographer or any tips on how to compose a picture. Google is suffice for that information.

Why? Because I don't like being a shill for a corporation (especially for free) and there are plenty of other blogs who will let you know about the latest news. And the latter, well I am an enthusiast at best when it comes to photography. I am not an expert but I'm not clueless either.

Which is what I think will make this blog interesting. Like a journal, it will log my journey through photography. I've done some pretty amazing stuff (to me) in the past year and I can only imagine what I'll be doing in the near future. And I'd like to relate those experiences to you.

They may be interesting. They may not.

But at least, it won't be another press release.

So, I hope you enjoy my blog. I'll try to update it although I intend not to keep a schedule.