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Back in 2009 I wrote a small and apparently popular item Hints & Tips For Doing A 365 Day Photo Project and it seems only fitting that for the end of 2010 / start of 2011 I provide 11 more random hints and tips that I have learned in the last year.

• Use the project to explore your passions – When I first started the 365 Before Thirty project I didn’t really have a particular field of photography I was passionate about. Within the first 3 months however it became pretty clear that macro photography was where I liked to work. Use your project to find what you want to do and pursue your passion.

• There is always something to photograph – No matter how mundane things may seem you can make a good photo out of them, Food in the fridge, piles of books you have lying around, kids toys and pretty much anything you can see can make for a photo opportunity.

• Get yourself a comfortable camera bag – In the previous article I talked about taking your camera everywhere. This means you want to be comfortable doing it. Research camera bags, find one that fits your needs and let it be your constant companion.

• Accessories do not make the photo – You do. Photographers tend to occasionally suffer from belief that if they only had that lens or this filter this shot would be perfect. Don’t let a good opportunity go to waste just because you think you don’t have the right kit. The result may surprise you.

• You don’t need professional lighting – I learnt that with a single household halogen lamp I was able to set up some pretty fantastic photos.

• Track upcoming events – Are there events over the new year that will fit in with your project style? If so track them somewhere like a journal or Google Calendar (my preference) lest it slip your mind. I very nearly missed the yearly zombie invasion because I didn’t track it correctly.

• Think of it as a foundation stone – Your project could well lead onto bigger and better things such as a bigger project in the future or the first steps to creating your own portfolio of shots.

• Get up early / Stay out late – The world is a different place in the very early hours of the morning or the dead of night. Animals behave differently, white balance is an all new challenge and there are new opportunities. Seize the night and make it yours.

• Don’t ignore social media – For me personally Twitter has been one of the greatest resource for critical feedback, ideas from others and great conversations with fellow photographers. Other social media sources are just as useful and shouldn’t be shrugged off. Look into how it can help you out or how you can help others out.

• Read - Traditional media isn’t dead either. There is much to read in the form blogs, books and magazines. The one set of books that I highly recommend you get your hands on is Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography books. Fantastically well written and I guarantee there will be something you can learn from them.

• There is always time to take photos of ducklings – No exceptions to this rule I’m afraid.

With that have a great 2011 and enjoy your 365 project.

Continue reading »]]> As of the 24th of August I officially finished the  365 Before Thirty project – my photo-a-day project to take a photo every single day of my 29th year. It was a lot of fun, annoyance, joy & pain. Some days it was easy to find something, others it was a chore to even think about lifting up the camera. But the end result was worth it. I learnt a lot of things about my camera, the style of photography I like doing and a deeper insight into my life.

Below is the entire years worth of photos from start to finish, traversing the fun times, the dull times and the just plain weird times. I highly recommend doing one of these projects as it’s a very worthwhile experience.

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Day 365 of the 365 Before Thirty project – So here we are. All 365 Days Before Thirty done & complete. One hell of a ride. This happy sea lion was snapped during our visit to the Central Park Zoo. The project was a lot of fun, pain, annoyance & enjoyment. I’ll be doing a follow-up post to the project in a week or so.

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Day 364 of the 365 Before Thirty project – Last time I was in New York was late Feb 2009 and it was cold. Very cold. And brown.  This time around however it was bristling with colour and life in the last days of summer. There are little gardens scattered all through the city centre, Even on the rainy days we were there it was colour everywhere.

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Day 363 of the 365 Before Thirty project – It was a pretty wet day in NYC so we did some shopping. One of the places we went was B&H Photo Video which is the most awesome camera shop I’ve ever been to. Highly recommend it if you’re ever in NYC. I picked up a super zoom lens I had been converting for a while. This is one of the first pics from it.