I finished my Project 365. Every single day for last 365 days, I took a photo, published it, and added an explanation of either why or how I did it.  I really didn’t believe I could do it for every day. 

What did I learn:

• A picture might be worth 1000 words, but adding a few more to explain why and how is more important than what camera was used and how many mega pixels are captured.

• I finally understood why would painters ever consider doing still life.  Imaging something that is readily available, not moving and squirming, not watching TV or actively complaining about flash or heat from lighting is much easier than chasing unwilling subjects around the house or the neighborhood.  Especially late at night, when I realize that my picture of a day is not made yet, and I go around the house looking for interesting photo subjects.

• There are many secret followers of my daily photo shoots.  Much more than I suspected.  Every once in a while a friend of mine would come and tell me that they look at them every day.  Some would do it weekly, while others hated that many were done late at night so they couldn’t see them until the morning. Once, I got a comment that one of my pictures just didn’t make sense to her.  All others did, but that one just didn’t click.  Now that was probably the best compliment ever. 1 out of 78 (current number at the time) ain’t bad at all. J

• Taking pictures is fun even when I force myself to do it at 1am, so it would be published before I go to sleep.

• Mistakes are part of the process.  I gave same number to two photos in a summer, and had to rename 170 photos manually in a winter.  Once I posted a picture that my daughter did with my camera, and she caught me.  Spelling errors were found by my followers, but I’m sure many more are not reported at all.

• ‘Good Enough’ is something I had to learn if I wanted to have some sleep.  Some photo shoots were not giving me results I was hoping for.  I knew I could do it better, but at some point it is important to say STOP, and go with what was available.  Even perfect shots would be good only in my eyes, while others might scorn them, hate them or would never notice a difference.

• I learned how to use my lights better, and just how weak can a 1000W lighting be.

• I always have a camera or two with me, but during this project I was even more aware of various photo ops around me. Being always ready to take a shot, or knowing how much time it takes to get to the backpack, yank the DSLR out and come back is important part of the formula.  Pocket camera in the pocket could sometimes take much better pictures than DSLR that is too far away to fetch in time.  Bringing big lenses when I suspect a possibility of using them increases a chance of an excellent photo too.

• I can’t find the software that could take my descriptions and put them together with a photo in a photobook. Looks like I’ll have to make something myself.

• FaceBook ‘Likes’ are good way to see which pics are more popular.  I do not have thousands of friends like my kids, but it is still interesting to analyze these numbers:
  

• Google Analytics of my web site, in combination with Power View are allowing some cool ways to see who is checking your pictures:
  

• Was it worth time and effort? Yes!
  Would I recommend it to others? Yes!
  Will I do this again? Not until I forget a self-imposed pressure to do it every single day.

Your friendly photographer,
                  Sasha Jurić