A new year | a new project

It’s a new year, with new promises, and a new project.

Since the last two years I’ve gotten addicted to shooting a photo every day, and sharing it on Instagram. In 2012 I started, and finished, a 365+1 project with shooting with my iPhone. It was hard at first to open up and see the beauty in everyday life. At the end of 2012 it was hard to imagine not shooting a photo every day. I had enjoyed it too much.

On my birthday in November 2012 I got a Polaroid SX-70, the instant-camera from the ’60’s, from my partner. So I wondered. Would a 365 in Polaroid be something for the new year? I stopped thinking and started on January 1 2013, ‘my life in Polaroid’ (#mylifeinpolaroid). But again it was hard to start shooting. With Polaroid you only get one chance at a time. And with only one photo a day that is not a lot. The perfectionist in me wanted that single shot to be good. I started off with lots of failures, so I felt. The last few months of 2013 I finally got the hang of it. The results made me cherish my beautiful SX-70. So 2013 was a challenging year. I managed to finish this great ‘a Polaroid every day’ year. Here you can find all 365 photos.

‘So now, what’s next’. That’s what kept me busy the last week of 2013. Shooting a photo a day of my three cats seemed too easy to me. Wouldn’t it be boring for my followers on Instagram to see a sleeping, chilling, lounging, window gazing cat each day? My three cats are really close to my heart. And, next to creating a funny collection of sleeping, chilling, lounging and window gazing cats, doing a 365 with them would also create a beautiful book of memories. So that’s what it will be this year: a 365 with my cats (#a365withmycats).

Here is where you can follow what my cats have been doing each day so far. Hope it inspires you to start a 365 with your own animals. (Yes, don’t wait till 1 January 2015, you can start each day of the year).

If you like tips and tricks for photographing your pet? At Big Picture Classes I teach a ‘self-paced’ class ‘Pet Photography‘. You can join whenever you like.

xo

Jolanda

Ps If you wonder what happened with my Polaroid SX-70 now that 2013 has ended. I still use it every week in another new project in 2014: a year in Polaroid | 52 weeks in Polaroid (#a52inpolaroid).