Quotes of the day: 

“I am always in quest of being open to what the universe will bring me.”
― Jill Bolte Taylor

“I love knowing that I am simultaneously as big as the universe and yet merely a heap of star dust.”
― Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey

A Day 40 Photo: Interior of Gladiolus Flower (iPhone, olloclip macro lens, flash)

40 Days of Photos inside My House

39 days ago, I decided to embark on a photo challenge. I had been feeling sorry for myself because I felt unable to go out and do a lot of travel or nature photography due to a flareup of chronic pain issues. The long summer days were going by so quickly and I felt “stuck” at home.

I didn’t want to keep feeling sorry for myself so I created a challenge for myself to make at least 25 photos each day inside my house for 40 days straight. (Read about in Getting Stuck and Un-stuck.) 

Many of the photos I’ve posted to my blog in the last 40 days have been made as a part of this challenge.

Today is Day 40 of my challenge and I celebrated my final day as all of the other days of this challenge by making at least 25 photos inside my house.

Light fixture

I DID IT! – AT LEAST 25 PHOTOS EACH & EVERY DAY FOR 40 DAYS INSIDE MY HOUSE.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this. I hoped to “get more creative” by deciding that I wanted to photograph some scene or idea and then make that happen.

My experience was not what I expected it to be. I learned important things, but not what I thought I should learn from the exercise. In fact, I discovered that I am NOT NOW AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE ONE OF THE CREATIVE STORY-TELLER PHOTOGRAPHERS. I wish my mind worked that way. I wish I was full of quirky, clever ideas, for creating meaningful and beautiful photographs. But so far, that’s not how I work.

As I look back on the experience and browse through my photos, here is what stands out to me:

Inspiration cannot be commanded to appear

But sometimes it can be romanced into appearing by the discipline of simply picking up my camera every day and making photographs.

Self-portrait

Limitation can be freeing

It is paradoxical, I know, but I found tremendous freedom in bumping up against the walls of this house (not literally). On one hand, it was maddening—not this again!—and on the other hand, it was so freeing! I started playing around with camera movement, zooming, depth of field, angles and lines, and light like never before. Sometimes I simply held out the camera and shot without looking through the viewfinder. What happens when I turn the camera this way and that way? What happens if I intentionally blur it?

Notice that my challenge did not specify that I had to make technically good photos or interesting photos or artistic photos. I just needed to make photos. Doing something with no end in mind other than simple practice creates an open space for new learning and ideas to emerge.

I see the light (iPhone with flash)

Photographing my home each day is a way of noticing and appreciating

When I visit my friends’ houses, I often photograph the way the light shines through a window “just so” or the way some knick knacks are arranged on a table. Applying this practice to my own home filled me with gratitude for all the small things and ordinary miracles that fill my life.

Our daily surroundings reveal who we are and what we love

As I review the photos I made, I see slices of my life through different eyes. They reveal things I know but somehow manage to forget sometimes—how much I love making photos, choosing to see beauty, and the place I live. They also show  what I eat and cook, how I interact with the space, my husband, and Gracie, our cat, how my love of plants and nature inform my work.

My photos show that I’m in love with light and how it strikes an object, and that I’m learning to love darkness for what it hides and how it informs the light. They show my deep love of flowers and passion for creating beautiful abstracts with them. They show what parts of the house I spend most of my time in and that I love to read, I like natural beauty over staged beauty, and I value meditation. If you look closely you’ll see that I’m learning to love the body I’m in.

Gracie is curious

I learned that I could keep a commitment to myself

Have you ever made a resolution or decided that you would make a change in your life only to give it up after a few days or weeks or some unexpected difficulty arose?

I have.

This time, I chose a goal that made me stretch—25 photos per day was a lot—but it wasn’t too big a stretch. It was at home with no other parameters (about goodness or variety or anything else). I figured, in the worst case, I could pick up my camera and shoot 25 shots of the same thing (thankfully, I never bumped up against “worst case” while completing this challenge).

On some busy days, I literally picked up my iPhone or camera and walked around the house snapping photos so that I could reach my quota for the day.

Funny thing was, later when I downloaded the photos to my computer to work on them I discovered some interesting things in those quick shots. Often they led to further explorations the same day (interesting how I found time once I had something that intrigued me) or new ideas for things to try the next day.

I find it so valuable to practice making and keeping commitments with myself.

I figure if I practice on the small things, I build up muscles to take on bigger challenges over time. Creating such a sense of personal integrity and trust gives me courage to make leaps and to move towards that which enhances all aspects of my life, not just my photography.

Here’s a sampling of images from my 40 day challenge (one photo from each day of the challenge):