A Personal Photography Project – 2009

Posted by Justin Korn

on November 25, 2008

This morning on my commute to work, I was reading through Google Reader and came across Damien Franco’s post over at Your Photo Tips…“Start A New Personal Photography Project.” I realized, in the 13+ years I have been using an SLR camera (of the film or digital nature), I have never done a personal photography project. (Just remembered that I started the BW$P project, but that is an ongoing, never ending project, so it does not count.) I typically take my camera wherever I go and shoot what I see or go on specific photowalks, but never have I started a photography project. Perhaps I could sort through all of my images put a project together after the fact, but I think it’s about time I have a photography project in mind.

So, over the next few weeks, I’m going to be thinking about what that project is to be. I figured, if I write about it and make it official, I will have to stick with it.

Here are my intial thoughts:

100 Prints – I would LOVE to do this project, but I don’t think I have the discipline right now to see it through to the end.
My World/Your World – I’m not sure what the exact project would be yet, but I’m interested to hear from others and see if you are interested. If so, leave a comment or contact me and we’ll be in touch.
52 Project – If I don’t hear from anyone to collaborate with, I’ll probably do my own 52 project. Here are some initial thoughts…
- I live in an amazing city that have not explored nearly enough. I am thinking I’ll pick a new San Francisco neighborhood each month and visit it each week. Since there are more then 12 neighborhoods in San Francisco, I’ll either pick 12 neighborhoods at random, or I’ll let the project run over a few weeks.
- The people in San Francisco range from strange to rich to down right bizarre. Over the years I have become more and more interested in people and taking photographs of people, however, I am a bit on the shy side and do not like approaching people and asking for their pictures. Well, the best way to get over your fears is by facing them and that is exactly what I would intend to do. For 52 weeks, find one new person each week to photograph (outside of my BW$P Project).

If you have any suggestions, thoughts, ideas, or want to collaborate on a project, let me know. I’d also be interested in hearing what projects other people are planning on doing in 2009, so don’t be shy and share them in the comments.

Till next time…