Less than one hundred days left to go in this particular project, and I’m starting to wonder what comes next.
I know that this sort of daily project does wonders for my photography. I’m proud of some of the photos I’ve taken over the last ten months, and I know that they wouldn’t have happened without the commitment I made to post something new every single day. I wouldn’t have gotten into the habit of carrying a real camera so often, and probably would gone days or weeks without taking a photo. (Just look at 2018.)
And yet.
A simple photo-a-day doesn’t challenge me the way I want.
It doesn’t push me out of my comfort zone. It doesn’t force me to learn new skills or take risks. It doesn’t move me toward my bigger photographic goals.
And I have to admit, I’m questioning the value of Instagram. I like being there, and I absolutely adore the community I’ve found there—the feedback and inspiration is invaluable. I don’t know if I’d have made even this much progress if I wasn’t there. But I’m not comfortable with social media in general and Facebook-owned properties in particular. I don’t know if the nominal value I get is worth the gross feeling every time I’m reminded of the capitalist hellscape I’m propping up every time I open up the app. (Twitter’s no better, of course.)
I… might have got a bit off-topic there.
Anyway.
The point is: I’ve got less than a hundred days to go before this project ends. I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do when that happens—how I’m going to keep the momentum going, how I’m going to challenge myself in a way that really does move me toward my photographic goals. Those days are going to disappear faster than I expect.
(Project366 runs from 23 January 2019 through 23 January 2020. I’ll posting to Instagram daily, and rounding up the photos here every ten days.)
Reghan Skerry 
5 responses to “Project366: #261-270”
Hi. Heres some ideas to consider if you want to carry on. I’ve done multiple photo a day projects and I found that after the first year I needed to stretch myself too. I tried limiting myself to a theme (sometimes monthly), a particular lens, to black and white, a genre or technique. There are also projects like the 52 week project which has a weekly theme (https://dogwood.photography/52weekchallenge2019) or places that have daily prompts like Photoblog.
They all helped me to progress in some way. I still take photos every day but I just don’t post them unless I feel like it.
Hope this gives you some ideas!
That does help! I tried a (self-directed) 52-week project a few years ago, and it… didn’t go well. On the other hand, the 100-day black-and-white challenge I set for myself last year was fantastic.
I’ve got some time to think about it, but I really do like the idea of setting a theme for each month. If I plan ahead so I’m not stuck trying to come up with ideas at the last minute, that might be perfect. Thank you!
A pleasure. Hope you come up with something that really engages you. 🙂
I also wanted to say that I’m with you on the Instagram/ Facebook thing. Is it worth it? I still haven’t found the answer. 🤔
Yeah. I’ve managed to avoid Facebook itself, but that doesn’t mean much if I use Instagram. I need to do some serious thinking about whether I want to keep it up.
It’s good to know I’m not the only one thinking about this. 🙂