the best idea.

We day-tripped it to the Cape this weekend and it was aaamazing. Beyond amazing if that’s even possible for February. Zan’s been away for work all week so I gathered up Meg and Lauren and convinced them that going to Chatham for the day was the best idea since Ruffles potato chips in PB&J. (I only needed to say Cape Cod and they both were sold instantly).

I can’t help but wonder why I’ve never done a winter weekend day-trip like this before. I could not have been happier Saturday. From the second we arrived til the moment we left I was in this wonderful trance. This place of pure bliss. I could feel it in the smile on my face and the warmth in my heart.

I was taken back to summer, my one and only.

It didn’t matter that it was freezing, the sun and sand were enough.

Enough to last me until August, or sooner if I’m lucky.

(more pictures tomorrow!)

{photo a day}: THE END.

January Photo-A-Day Challenge

{Personal Favorites: Day 3, Day 10, Day 15, Day 23, Day 30}

a

So this is the end of the road for me and my photo-a-day project.

I saw that there’s a February list up, but I just don’t have it in me.

It was fun.

It was interesting.

And yes, I have some really cool pictures to show for it.

Some of the assignments were really meaningful for me (see above favorites). I loved getting just the right picture, or setting up a scene, or reflecting on the photo at the end of the day. But for the most part, it was a chore. I am a perfectionist and this brought it out in me BIG TIME. I found myself hyper-focusing on things just to figure out what to post. And it’s funny, because I always say how I like that blogging and photography has made me take a real solid look at the little things, but photo-a-day just took it to the next level for me in a not so good way. I felt like I wasn’t really living, only looking for something that most of the time just wasn’t what I wanted to be looking for.

It was a cool concept, for sure. And yes, when I saw February’s list go up a week ago I thought about it for a tiny second. But then I thought, if I keep doing this all year, what am I really going to have to show for it? A bunch of photos from a list of words and ideas that I don’t really own in my heart.

It was exciting at the beginning, and then slowly started to become more and more of a task, and one that I wasn’t too excited about either. But once I commit to something, I commit. In most instances this is a blessing, but here I was just pushing for the end-point. I couldn’t quit halfway through, because I’m no quitter. Ya hear?? Now that January is over and my photos are complete, I’m saying “see ya later” to photo-a-day, and “hello!” to living.

Here’s to taking pictures of things I just feel like taking pictures of. And not being stressed about it.

AMEN.

{photo a day}: you, again

31. You, again
January 31, 2012

THE END!

{Check back tomorrow for a recap of my photos and my thoughts on the project.}

{photo a day}: nature

30. Nature
{red berries, maine}
January 30, 2012

For approximately one year I used the auto function on my fancy camera.

One embarassing year.

Then my friend Melanie told me about this tutorial where the gal basically said you’re an idiot if you’re not in manual mode. EEEk! I’m no dummy. I’m better than that!

So I’ve been working on this photography thing since the holidays. Playing around here and there with those fancy buttons.

I still have no idea what aperture means. And shutter speed might as well be vietnamese. F-stop? HUH?

I’m working on it, that’s all I know.

And my skillz are improving, I dare say.

Don’t you think?