Back in the year 2013, I challenged myself to a 365 day photo challenge. I was a budding photographer and a teenager with far too much time on my hands. Even with a stark lack of subject matter, I made sure that I took and shared a picture a day. A lot of the time that meant trying to set up a creative shoot with just myself as a subject and a tripod to assist. Obviously not all of my pictures were high quality (see exhibit A), but I look back at that time in my life fondly. It was my longest running streak of producing images, and I was too young to appreciate it properly.

Exhibit A- May 25, 2013 in my back yard

So my dear internet friends, what do you say we all participate in a 2021 photo journal together? It is an excellent way to hone your photography skills, document your life, and avoid wallowing on the couch while the Great British Baking Show lulls you to sleep.

There are a couple ways to participate in the challenge, because I understand that being an adult and working to pay a mortgage may not yield a lot of spare time. The easiest way to participate in a challenge like this is to modify it to be a 52 week challenge instead. Set your expectations for what “a photo a week” means to you. Will you plan and execute an elaborate portrait session and edit throughout the week? Or will you wait for the perfect moment to strike you and subsequently carry your camera everywhere? The goal of the challenge is to complete it, so be realistic about what you can commit to and then commit to it.

2021 should be a year we all remember as the year we made a comeback. Wouldn’t it be great to have documentation of your growth as a photographer and person?

Here’s to a happy and healthy holiday season, and to a new year with incredible potential to not suck.

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