Beauty in Imperfection

In lieu of SOOC Saturday, but still on the topic of photography, my reflection of participating in a Photo A Day for 365 Days ... just in case you're interested :)

I love rustic and this was one of my favourite photos of this year. I took it while at the family reunion in Pontiac, Quebec this summer. This is in it's un-altered, un-cropped, un-straightened, un-photoshopped, naked state. The alternate shot to the one I chose for Day 212: July 31, 2009.

The lesson I learned while participating in Project 365 through all of 2009 is that often there is more beauty found in imperfection than anywhere else. Beauty can be found anywhere, it just depends on lighting, angle and the feelings, emotions and memory a subject evokes in the viewer.

Taking a photograph a day for a whole year was a huge project and I am thrilled to have participated. It did not feel like a chore, ever. Sure, there were lulls, when life got a bit out of hand and I had to remember late in the evening to get a quick capture, but really, it was a great excuse to find the small details that make our life ours. A child sleeping with an open laptop a la Claire; towels left on the bathroom floor a la Cole; full sink of dirty dishes left to overcome and laundry to be folded; the small things at the end of the day, evidence of a day well lived.

The actual photo taking was not a chore. I always thought I never left home without a camera in hand; I was wrong. This exercise really forced me to grab the camera and take photos with purpose. I discovered beauty where I thought there was none, and found flaws in what I thought was flawless.

Wow. A project I not only started but finished - well, I will finish. After all, there are only a couple of days left! My failure? Not uploading them all to be viewed on the blog dedicated to that particular portion of the project. I'm hoping to get that done by December 31st at midnight! Thank goodness I didn't embrace the scrapbook/crafty idea, that would have been totally out of control. Though, I am considering turning it into a coffee table book.

The project is about to start again. This time around, I'm hoping to be consistent and post each week the seven photos of the prior week. Not only that, but now that I've conquered my fear of the "text tool" on Photoshop Elements, I might even document what the photo was about or what inspired me to take it! Who knows, I might even join a Flickr group (there are oodles of them) and hold my photos up for *gulp* criticism. Well, maybe only the best of the bunch :)

Did you participate in the POTD or 365 Project in 2009? What lessons did you learn? Did you discover a favourite lens, venue, subject?

Oh, and altered, cropped, straightened, photoshopped, dressed, the above photo looks like this:

I am a bit of a purist, I think you should do what you can with your camera, your settings, your lenses and not depend on software to get the look you were going for in the field, studio or wherever you happen to be. But, sometimes, a bit of colour saturation is really nice ;) I'm also enjoying knowing how to make it all work.