A photo a day keeps the doldrums away

Spring creative projects are good for the soul

Greetings, spring!

a spring thing

I’m realizing something about myself: in the months coming out of winter into spring, I develop a bit of creative restlessness. In the winter, I tend not to create as much and spend more time resting instead. As spring comes, I want to create more, but I try to ease myself into it. And so it is that I often assign myself a small, daily creative project around this time of year.

The first time I did this was almost 10 years ago as a college student. I decided to photograph a portrait of a stranger each day for 100 days. Yes, every day for 100 days, I walked up to a stranger and asked if I could take their picture. It was simultaneously nerve-wracking and amazing! It made for an incredible spring and I look back on it fondly.

A very small sample of the photos I took for my stranger portrait project

Four years ago, I decided to write a haiku every day for 100 days. It started out as a mostly silly exercise, but over time, it evolved into art therapy for me. It eventually turned into a community project that inspired others to write haikus about their lives too.

I’ve had a number of other daily projects throughout the years: a cut paper illustration project, a color palette project, an inspirational quote project, etc. Looking back, somehow they always seemed to happen during this time of year.

A few weeks ago, I sensed that familiar restlessness in myself again: time for another project.

a daily photo habit

Photography was a huge part of my life and identity from junior high till my early adult years. As time went on, perfectionism spread into my practice and sucked the joy out of it for me. I would agonize over the perfect angle, the perfect composition, the perfect lighting, the perfect edit, and so on. It got to a point that I hardly reached for my cameras anymore (unthinkable for a younger me).

I sold the majority of my cameras last year (I had around 10, a mix of digital and film) and bought myself a smaller, new one that I hoped would inspire me to take it on the go, wherever I go, and find joy in photography again. That inspiration hadn’t struck yet, and to be honest, I was a little afraid of using my new camera. Ta-da, the idea for my spring project: develop a habit of taking a photo each day using my new camera.

This project for me isn’t about getting perfect photos — it’s about paying attention and looking for beauty in ordinary places. I usually take my camera out as we walk Monet and I grab a shot of whatever catches my eye, without overthinking it. And somehow, even though they’re quick snapshots, it feels so much better than using my phone to do the same thing.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE PHOTOS I’VE TAKEN :-)

We were admiring these flowers (the first we saw this spring!) when all of a sudden this bird popped up. I pulled out the Merlin app to identify it and it turns out it was a Virginia rail, a rare bird for our area! We think it was migrating. The fact that I had my camera on me and could whip it out and grab this shot before the bird scampered away solidifies the value of this whole project for me.

Pure joy.

Pure bliss.

We’re trying to be plant people and HEY LOOK — we kept a plant alive AND it’s growing (more leaves have grown since this was taken and wow, science is neat)!

Friends catching up.

We see this owner and dog fairly often, and they’re always in pink. It’s the best. If you committed to a color like this, what color would it be?

Monet’s PSA: stop and smell the flowers.

Monet makes friends everywhere she goes. This woman is a flight attendant who was staying at a hotel near us. She saw Monet and insisted on a photoshoot with her (Monet was very happy to oblige as it meant getting some cuddles).

A good one to end on. :-)

Shout-out to Bree’s daughter Arden for completing this photo!

I’ve mentioned

Bree Groff

a few times here — she writes the fabulous newsletter

What Work Should Be

(this post that went viral is an excellent intro). After fangirling over Bree for more than a year, she happened to be visiting Chicago and WE GOT TO HANG OUT IN-PERSON! And not only did we hang out — we went to a neon splatter paint room. I adore Bree and she has a book coming out this summer about making work a more joyful part of our lives. It’s called Today Was Fun and you know I already pre-ordered my copy!

I truly didn’t expect to make such wonderful friends through Substack, but I’m so grateful that has been the case.

Also, here’s my result of the neon splatter paint experience. Freddy came along and neither of us had tried anything like it before. Would absolutely recommend!

This is now hanging in my office space :-)

How is spring treating you? Are there any creative practices you’ve felt drawn to recently? If you had to pick, what color would you wear all the time and also dye your dog (I’m thinking a blue-ish green for me, although I’m not sure how Monet would feel about it)? Have you ever done a splatter paint room experience?

Sending love,