This time of the year it’s almost impossible not to think about the fact that the year is coming to an end with Christmas right around the corner and the New Year quickly following. This time of the year inspires me think about new possibilities, maybe even more this year because I have, like all of us in the collective, been selecting my crop of twelve good photographs for 2015. My selection ended up with only ten best pictures for 2015. Once I had finished my book I started to long for a new one, a new beginning, with new possibilities. Maybe I should start a new project when the new year begins?
I have done yearly projects before, so I’m not in the mood for another 365- project (taking one picture a day for a year); that isn’t me right now. But I would like to make a well-defined project and I want that project to be a challenge!
My first thought is I should start where I am. I have looked through my work and tried to define what I have been doing during 2015. My goal has been to see if there is an embryo of a project in my previous work that I can evolve to a yearly-project for 2016. There seems to be something their, but I can’t decide on which idea I should go for. Should I do more of the abstract toy-photography that I like so much but that no one else seems to understand that I create on purpose? Or should I go for the family project that I have been working with since November? Or should I think of something totally new? I can’t decide! Maybe I ought to create a series of pictures with Shelly’s robot, that I love and adore? Maybe it could create a response to the work she’s already has done and most of us are familiar with? As I have already stated, I can’t decide which direction should I go in.
I want to explore new grounds, learn new things because just as Reiterlied said in a comment ” One of my biggest fear is to stop learning.” Right now I don’t know which direction I should choose and why. I’m caught in indecision; I don’t know which project I should pursue.
Are you thinking about any new photo projects for 2016? If so, what are those projects about?
I got exactly the same feeling after finishing my book! Since then, I have spent at least one hour a day thinking about starting a big project in January. I would like to create a coherent set of photos telling a story but I don’t really know how to do it. I fear that it might be a bit too big for me now. So I also think of smaller projects around a monthly themes and do a yearly project when I’ll feel ready.
I’ve also been thinking about what I could do to get the mojo going in my photography again. The New Year always leads to thoughts of new beginnings and setting goals. I’ve attempted 365 projects in the past, only successfully completing 1 of 3, so I think I’d be best doing something smaller this time around, maybe a Project 52… I am also stuck in a mode of indecision with only 3 weeks left to get it together! 🙂
A 52 project is great, but right now I don’t see myself sharing the project before it’s all finished… if you get me. I want the project to be well defined and mine until I have finished it, then I can share the result. That is why I’m not going for a 365/52 project even though I really love having deadlines and sharing my progress.
I like the idea of a monthly theme – maybe I’ll borrow that, a month for one idea and the next for the same or next… Thanks for sharing
I love this time of year. I love reflecting on the past year in photos and thinking about what the new year can bring. I admire anyone who can survive a 365 project. Personally I like my projects to be more organic, less ridged. If it was me, I would do all the projects you are talking about; push the family project forward, explore the world with the little robot, create a few portraits. Although none would be as big as a 365, each project could play off the others. I can see three red threads wrapping around each other to create an amazing whole to reflect upon at the end of the year.
As you can see, I hate to choose. 🙂
Absolutely stunning photo!
I agree the hard part i to choose, but I think I can’t se if it really works until I really try to do it. Working with several projects parallell is great, but then I don’t know when I’m finished or even if I really started. I have to think this over 🙂