Today I’m going to jump right into my last “shake it up” recap so we can get to my final thoughts about this project and start talking about where I’m going for the next phase of my photo-a-day challenge. Sunday was a little too cold and wet for my comfort but perfect for this pretty hellebore and Monday afternoon I rode an escalator that took me right past this shiny glass wall and a peek into this fancy bar. Tuesday I walked past a cute sign in front of a wine store and Wednesday I was really happy our new car has heated seats. Thursday I went shopping for a US map and stopped to admire this antique world map while Friday I stopped to watch these two men walking on a newly installed glass awning. They’re braver than me! Saturday I’d hoped my final picture would be of something special or at least a pretty sunset but my errands took longer than I’d planned and I was out picking up pizza for dinner when the sun went down. Hipstamatic must have felt bad for me so it served up this lens/filter combination transforming my Tuscan Chicken pizza into a colorful little slice of the world. All in all a good way to end my first full year in pictures.
Daily journal writing is something I’ve never been very good at. I enjoy pretty notebooks and pens but after a few days of planned writing my creative spark fades and I get tired of recording the same old things. My closet shelves hold stacks of slightly used notebooks so when I decided to try one last version of keeping a daily record I didn’t have high hopes for a successful outcome. This time I came at it from a different angle though looking for something to shake me out of a stretch of boring photos and with a desire to move forward with new ideas instead of placing my creative focus on looking back. Since another notebook project could be set aside too easily I thought posting my process in this public space might keep me more accountable and about six months into the project I was able to admit that I wasn’t going to stop until I’d reached a full year. Now that the initial year is complete I’m actually ready to start year two!
In order to keep myself on track I decided to start with a structure that was as simple as possible while still producing an interesting product. Hipstamatic was my favorite app at the time so I challenged myself to explore everything it had to offer in a random fashion. I activated the “shake to randomize” setting, agreed that I would avoid all post processing and placed my focus solely on composition by selecting small objects and moments to tell my daily stories. Even though Hipstamatic went through a major upgrade part way through the year I stayed away from the shiny new features and continued to shoot using classic mode in order to maintain visual continuity from start to finish. By the end of the year I amassed a collection of 365 photos and stories that I hope will be a great reminder of this unique period in time.
The daily photo routine isn’t always fun, some days I just don’t feel like taking pictures, but apparently I’m not ready to walk away yet so this post is also an introduction the next phase of my photographic journal. I’ve spent the past 12 months shooting daily images in a square format limiting myself to one iPhone app so for a change of pace the next 12 will be wide open, both literally and figuratively. Square photos really lend themselves to small views of solitary objects or quiet moments in a busy environment and while I enjoy this style tremendously it’s time to stretch a little and try something new. Going forward you’ll see a mix of everything ranging from traditional landscape and portrait orientations to circles, fish eye and panorama. I’m sure there will be a few square images every month but it’s time to open up the point of view and show you a little more of what’s around me on a daily basis. I’ll be experimenting with all the apps I’ve collected but not explored in depth as well as work through new themes for as long as they hold my interest. There may be a week of daily dog photos, a week filled with black and white, a week of interesting signs I’ve passed or maybe even a week of new bottles of wine. The point is to have fun and show some aspects of the Pacific Northwest that live outside of a small, square frame.
My final change, and what really will make this new project a challenge is how I’ve decided to share the new photos. Instead of filing each photo away until it’s time to write a recap I’ve set a goal to post everyday on Instagram with a quick caption of where we were followed by a weekly recap here on the blog in a format that will be similar to what you’re used to reading in the shake-it-up posts. If you’re a daily photo person I hope you’ll stop by Instagram to follow along but if this is too much to keep up with then don’t worry, you can still get your weekly recap right here. 🙂
Northwest Frame of Mind 
Love the hellabore – does it have a name by any chance? Not actually much chance it would be available in Aus…but I can hope!😀I’m looking forward to another year of your photos.
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I wish I’d kept the original plant tag, Sue but I’ve moved this one a few times and have lost it’s name. 😦 It’s great to hear you’re looking forward to another year of my photos, now I’ve got to go out and find something new to take a picture of!
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Your pizza slice looks quite artistic. 🙂 The Hellebore is such a lovely shade of pink. Great shots, Lisa.
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Thanks, Sylvia. 🙂 We have white, pink, green and dark blue hellebores in the garden but this one is always the first to bloom so by default it’s my favorite too. 🙂
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Good luck with the new venture! I like the impressionist style pizza – I would not have known it was one if you hadn’t have told us.
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Thanks, Jude! “Impressionist pizza” might just become my new term for editing a boring image into something new and interesting. 🙂
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Good to know you are on IG, I just visited you. 🙂 I’m on IG, too.
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Your IG feed is beautiful, Amy! I just visited and followed you there. 🙂
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You made this year-long project interesting and fresh every week. Great job, Lisa!
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Thanks, Nancy! Some weeks were more challenging than others but then so is life. 🙂
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Indeed.
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Lisa, I really admire your ability to follow through with your project and your new goals. I have lots of notebooks, partly filled. I’ve never scrap booked, My photo albums are a mess, with older ones half emptied – the photos in boxes with plans of putting them into new books that will protect the photos. Ah…the digital photo. That reminds me I should really back up my photos or put them on Instagram. I hate to sign up to one more social media site. I’m having enough trouble staying on top of the blog these days. I do look forward to your new photo project!
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It’s great to hear you enjoyed this project, Robin. My photo albums are as much of a mess as yours are and I haven’t printed anything in years. 😦 I do back all my digital files up in several locations but actually printing hard copies is on my “to-do” list for 2016. My new photo project is a few days old so look for the first recap early next week. 🙂
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Great commitment on your part. I would never hope to post a diary or photo entry a day. I’m too lazy.
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I won’t lie, it hasn’t been easy but if I make it public I’m much more likely to follow through. 🙂
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Lisa! First – great Ending wrap up and as I skimmed the pics I was extra interested in a few today – like the final two and had to smile that the artsy one was pizza!! And that I missed the guys on the ledge until pointed out!
Congrats on reaching your goal! This officially makes two full year long challenges I have had the pleasure of peeking in on with u! Wow time flies – and actually your new coming yearly goal sounds very artsy and just fun! Bring it. Ha!
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Thanks Yvette! I’m still a little surprised I finished both year-long challenges and even more surprised I set up a new one for the year to come but here we go… thanks so much for following along!
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My pleasure and again- your coming aim sounds really interesting – a week long theme and who knows what! The only goal I have for this next year is a February claim (the A to Z done my way) and then I have no idea – but I hope it unfolds with some fresh outcomes – my second year was so much different from my first – and was fun! So I guess in a way I am in a third phase like you!
And side note – I still remember the vibe when your hour challenge was circulating – it was neat.
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I Love how you challenge yourself to keep yourself growing and accountable. I’m not good at journaling either. I start out with good intentions, get bored, and walk away. I work best through my blog as you do. Nice to know there is someone else who has trouble with the notebook idea. Your Hellebores are gorgeous!! ❤
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Thanks, Amy! As a fellow gardener I thought you’d appreciate these pretty Hellebores. 🙂
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Oh yes!!! In fact, I was just looking at my Hellebore bush the other day saying to myself, OH wow …. That looks like it is greening all ready!! Oh my gosh!!! Too early! But this one does flower in early Spring and it being so warm here I would not doubt that it has begun to green. I’ll have to take a closer look to check it out. 🙂
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I haven’t really caught the Instagram bug, Lisa. If I’m riding on a bus and don’t have a book to read I might stick my nose in there, but otherwise I forget. 🙂
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I’ve felt that way for quite a while, Jo but trying to give it a second chance now. 🙂 2 weeks and counting with daily postings…
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