Moms with Preschoolers AND DSLR Cameras Will Be Frightened by This Post
Posted by Heather in Project 52I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz about Project 365. Where you take pictures every day for a year?
Every blogger who is any blogger is doing it. At least I think. I don’t know, Kelcey isn’t doing it, as far as I know. But that girl can keep a secret, seeing how she kept her pregnancy (with TWINS!) a secret from the blogosphere until she was 17 weeks along. Doesn’t she know most bloggers announce it as they are peeing on the stick?
So maybe not every blogger is doing it.
But Pauline is. Or she did. Last year. I can’t keep up with everyone, the blogosphere is a huge place. But she did, maybe still is, and it’s very inspiring.
Just to name three. It’s all so inspiring!
Except the every day part. For a year. 365 days. Gah!
Try as I might, I don’t always bathe every day. If I’m about to spend the entire day cleaning baseboards, what’s the point? I know myself and to do this picture thing every day is to set myself up to be disappointed in myself. Again.
See, Heather, yet another discipline you can’t master! Just like your love of nachos and pizza! And cleaning your kids plate for them! And putting your dirty jeans in the hamper!
I beat myself up over plenty of trivial things already without adding another whipping post.
But.
BUT.
I have a camera. And it’s a good camera. Just about as good of a camera you can get without going SLR, which I’m not ready for. And I’m feeling the itch to try something new.
Yet I can’t do this picture taking thing every day. For me, that would make the new feel old very quickly. (That’s sounds better than “I’m lazy.”) So instead, I’m making up my own project.
Project 52
For the lazier people with commitment issues. Instead of taking pictures every day, you do it once a week. More if you feel like it, but none of this “every day” pressure.
So I kicked this Project 52 off yesterday with a bang by taking my camera off auto and putting it on AV. I didn’t stop there, though. I actually opened the owner’s manual and finally understand the meaning of F stop and how to change it. Go me! And when I say I understand the meaning of F stop and how to change it, I mean I know how to spin my dial and when the number goes down, the background gets blurry, and when I go up, the background is crisp.
At least I *think* that’s how it goes, but honestly, I’m not entirely sure. Basically, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, I just started this yesterday. I don’t know if 3.5 would be better than 4.5. I just turn the dial and take the damn picture 15 different times with dozens of different F stops.
What’s really funny is that my husband used to be a photographer. Like, professionally. He knows all of this stuff and has tried to teach me, but that was the time we almost divorced. That’s how thick I am about camera mechanics. This stuff just refuses to stick in my brain.
It’s sort of like how laundry mechanics refuse to stick in my husband’s brain.
We all have our shortcomings.
But I’m working to overcome mine, alone. Maybe it’s better that way. With Wally standing over my shoulder, huffing and puffing over my slow uptake, and rolling his eyes behind my back, forgetting I am a mother and now have eyes in the back of my head and see these things, I get flustered. I can’t learn when I’m flustered.
When it’s just me, there is no one to around. Duh, Captain Obvious, of course there is no one around when it’s just you! Appearances do not need to be maintained. I can be just as photo stupid as I want, and it’s okay.
I’d like to share with you the pictures I took yesterday. Not that they are that good, but I want to show them to all the moms of preschoolers who have DSLR cameras.
I want to scare them shitless.
Once your kids are in elementary school, these will be your subjects.
I hope you don’t have nightmares tonight.
P.S. Is it okay to let your abusive mother play Granny to your kids? I gave my opinion (which includes homicide as a possible solution) and you can give yours too.
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I could easily take a picture every day for a year. It’s the pulling them off my camera and doing anything with them that I’d have a problem with.
.-= hokgardner´s last blog ..Social awkwardness =-.
Down blurry, Up Crisp. Okay got it.
.-= Melizzard´s last blog ..So Blond It’s Not Funny =-.
I love everything that you write, Captain Obvious.
And those pictures are amazing.
I think I’m going to do a 12 project. Or a 1 project.
thanks for the inspiration!
.-= Marinka´s last blog ..Happy Anniversary! =-.
Look at those beautiful cat eyes! Seriously!! I think photos once a week are enough pressure. I’ll send you a photo of me peeing on a stick.
.-= the mama bird diaries´s last blog ..if you don’t feel like watching president obama’s state of the union address, you can just read this… =-.
At least the cats give you the common courtesy of pretending to listen and being too lazy to move. These days, I put the camera on sports and hold the button down, then delete, delete, delete to get a couple of good shots.
.-= SoMo´s last blog ..Parenting Sam =-.
Youd be surprised at what you are able to discover regarding photography by recognizing how to apply your photographic camera to get the best out of it.
I have the same problem hokgardner does. I take lots of pictures, but I never clear off my memory cards or post them to the web or print them out. It doesn’t help that I have to be a photographer for part of my job, either.
But I do have a professional-level DSLR, an amateur DSLR, two digital point and shoots, a twin-lens reflex, three film SLRs and a waterproof digital camera, so at least I have the equipment to take 52 photos a year, right?
.-= VirtualSprite´s last blog ..who am i? =-.
VirtualSprite: If you can keep all of that equipment straight. Which I cannot.
Love it, maybe I can do 52 also. 365 doesn’t seem so hard, except all my cameras cept my iPhone are broke, I am intimidated by the pros and frankly i’m lazy and would rather watch TV or bake. My husband took one a year of our baby the first year, with the “analog” camera, then one a week of our 2nd, and now one a month. And he saves them all and we pretty much have a closet devoted to photos of the kids 3 and under. He knows about F-stops and filters and sun and all, so I figure I don’t have to
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..Are you ready for some Futsal! =-.
I’m with Marinka on the 1 project. Actually I’m not sure I can even manage that. I am the Queen of Lazy.
So, I’ll just come here and look at your pics!! Love the kitties!
.-= Suzy Voices´s last blog ..Mr. Hollywood =-.
great pictures. you have inspired me to join the 52 project. seems easier than 365. like you, i forget to shower {for days} and the last thing i will remember is to take a fantastic pic with my pricey camera. love the pictures of your cats. i enjoy taking pictures of my son and two Goldens. they are the best subjects. i just wish someone who take some candids of me. i am never in any pictures. take care and good luck with your 52 project.
ps- like you new header dolls and caption
.-= kiki´s last blog ..Blame it on the Alcohol =-.
I’m totally down with Project 52. Count me and my Canon SLR (I know…I’m big time) in.
.-= jenni´s last blog ..Why I Love Being An American (I can get away with shit like this) =-.
I like the idea of 52 or 24 or 12. Every day is just too much…unless you take 30 in one and cheat. I do like your new header. Don’t feel bad about the f stop. I took photography in college and I just could not retain it. At all. I could take good pics but that info flew out faster than it went in.
I want Mishi to just live with me and help me take pictures every day for a year and explain things and by the end I’ll be really way better. And I love her.
Your cats are super cute.
Project 52 is genius.
.-= amy2boys´s last blog ..Me Me Memememememe =-.
I’ve been trying to do the once-a-week thing on Wednesdays, but can’t be totally consistent. No kids here, so the web mostly just gets pictures of our prairie dog. (I could probably post pictures of him every day, but Blogger would take away my internet rights, i think.)
.-= TexasRed´s last blog ..Fredericksburg, Texas? =-.
I’m taking the 365 challenge this year again after a huge FAIL on it last year. Mostly I just want to take more pictures and get better at it. Plus, sometimes, it’s just my only relaxation and I’ll take it where I can get it.
.-= Jessa´s last blog ..Day 28/365 Puzzle Cuties =-.
You know, I’d say that’s a pretty simple description of f-stop!
And other than knowing that the higher the number the more light you will need and vice versa, I think you can pretty well do a lot right there!
And when my kids are in school… I’ll be free to roam the country side and take all those pictures I drive by now because my son would not let me stop for 5 minutes to take a picture!
.-= Krista´s last blog ..Book: Becca by the Book =-.
PROJECT 365 is, in my head at least, really named TORTURE 365 because if I had to take a picture that I liked every single day, I might die. If I were allowed to count pictures of my son’s recently-fallen-out tooth or of my breakfast toast or of my sock drawer, I think I could manage okay. But if it had to be one I actually liked (because we all know that it takes 100 photos to get one you actually like), my head might explode from the pressure. I love the idea of PROJECT 52 (“like area 51, but with more photos of feet” would make a nice tag line, I think). If you get all motivated to make a button and get people to organize, I will sign on and get all motivated to find subject matter more interesting than eggs over medium.
.-= MommyTime´s last blog ..Something had to give, and I picked dust bunnies. =-.
I’ve had my pretty, shiny almost-an-slr camera for five months and just this week the mechanics are starting to click in my mind. Mostly because my boyfriend gave me a gift certificate for an online photo class so I was forced to finally memorize some of this stuff.
I was just hoping for boob pictures, never in my wildest dreams did I expect p***y pictures!
Sorry, I’ll go stand in the corner.
This week I finally – FINALLY – had my camera with me and pulled the car over to be all artsy and take a spontaneous shot of something cool on the side of the road.
I got settled, framed the shot, adjusted the angle, pressed the shutter and…
…MEMORY CARD FULL.
Bastards.
.-= Anna Lefler´s last blog ..Suggested Engine Sounds To Be Installed On Electric Cars =-.
Bastards.
Would a further step back to a Project 12 be acceptable?
.-= joeinvegas´s last blog ..Birds after the rain =-.
I was inspired by Pauline and really wanted to try the 365 project, but after like 2 days I realized I couldn’t commit. Even if I could take the pictures, there’s no way I would upload every day. I decided to do more of a weekly thing myself, unofficially. I started posting “pictures of the week” on my blog sidebar. That kind of seemed like a lot of pressure too. So now, I’m just updating the 2 pics of my kids sort of on a weekly basis.
.-= JulieBouf´s last blog ..Without a hitch =-.
OMG, just thinking about using the camera daily+uploading to the computer DAILY+ writing a blog post DAILY WITH PICTURES gives me the willies.
PS. It’s the first time I’m writing here, but i love reading you!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Rest in peace, Catcher. =-.
Oh please, I can barely remember to change my contacts once a month – how should I take a pic a day for 365 days?? Don’t get me wrong, I probably could, but I doubt they’d be very good. I’d get bored with it very quickly.
Now, Project 52 sounds more manageable. Kelcey should do it too, and they should all be belly shots
.-= Elisa @ Globetrotting in Heels´s last blog ..Outfit of the Week: WWAW? (What Would Alice Wear?) =-.