On January 1, I completed my 365 project on Flickr. As I predicted, I was glad to have done it, but will never do it again. Taking one photo every day is pretty easy. Taking a decent, creative and interesting photo every day is not. The project was good discipline for me, but sometimes I felt like the 365 was sapping the creativity. It’s a funny thing, that balance between productivity and creativity. If you don’t practice your craft, you won’t produce anything. But if you force the muse too much, you won’t be creative.
Now I’m looking forward to finding the balance, and shooting when I feel inspired. One thing’s for sure: I was very happy I didn’t have to photograph anything when I saw it was 17F this morning.
Anyway, here’s a little mosaic with some of my favorite pastel shots from the 365:
I’ll put up some of the non-pastel photos on Friday.
Hope your week is going well so far.
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 
Your fans certainly appreciate the efforts of your past year’s endeavor. . . now it’s your time for finding balance and pursuing ONLY activities that make your heart sing with joy.
So true, Susan. Life is short.
I love pastels…especially cookie pastels.
The book I’m reading right now made me think of you, Thoughtsy. One of the characters loves Pop-Tarts. 🙂 If you like magical realism, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is wonderful.
I’ll definitely check it out. I read The Sugar Queen by the same author, and I really enjoyed it. Thanks!
I’ll probably read that one next. I’m hooked on this author!
I’m going to vote for the bottom row, center photograph; I’m very partial to autumn. (I know, we’re really not voting for anything here.) All-in-all, your talent is showing [smile]! See you Friday with the non-pastels.
Thank you. 🙂
It must have been an interesting experience but not an easy one. I tend to do things like that… It’s a fine balance.
I love this collection. Each picture is lovely but together they are ven more special.
The pastel is nice. I can’t wait to see the non-pastels.
I learned a lot, Caroline. I also have lots of photos for the blog now. Glad you like the arrangement. It just kind of fell into place.
Those are some pretty pastels! And I agree – it’s tough to pull something out of the hat every day – especially when you know that some days, it’s really hardly worth posting. I didn’t last too long on the WordPress postaday deal – couldn’t justify ignoring the things that were going on in my immediate vicinity!
I’m amazed by bloggers who can post really great writing five days a week. Daily photography is challenging, but writing is even more so, in my opinion.
Great photos! And I love the lesson, you can’t force your muse.
Thanks! I have found that I get my best results when I’m not really trying. Some of my most popular photos on Flickr were taken on the spur of the moment with no planning whatsoever. I think it’s safe to say I’m not cut out for studio photography. 🙂
Congratulations on completing your 365! It’s such a great project to do but such a relief when it’s over! These are beautiful pastel pictures 🙂
Thank you. Yes, the relief is immense!
Hi, i just started my 365 project and I found yours truly amazing, makes me feel relaxed when I look at them! Cheers to your 2011 and your very supportive husband!
Thank you so much, and good luck with the project!
A spectacular mosaic, Carole. “Finding the balance …” I think I understand, particularly how a shot-a-day can cramp creativity and I was NEVER brave enough to do 365 consecutive days! A major accomplishment you should be proud of because I haven’t seen a single shot that wasn’t incredibly artistic. Will you be getting back to painting now?
Thanks, Cheryl. I do want to do more painting, and hopefully some writing. I’ll still be doing photography for the blog, though.