Saturday, January 11, 2014

Picture project

New year also means a new start to new projects. A popular one is a 365 photo project. A picture with a common theme, everyday, for a whole year. I've always wanted to try it but haven't, and I've also seen many people try but fail. As with any resolution, stick with it is the hardest part. I decided to do one with Britt together. So the Couple Selfies 365 project was born. A picture together, everyday, all year. (Britt is actually doing it separately, you can see her pictures here)

So of course, 10 days or so in and I am already seeing road locks that can crop up. Some are logistical. There are days when I see Britt in the morning when we get up and then not again until almost bed time. That leads to creativity questions as well. How many pictures does anyone want to see of us in bed? But I think those challenges are what makes these projects worthwhile. You have to push yourself to have new ideas and try new things. I'm sure plenty of pictures are silly and some flat out don't work. But as with anything worth doing, you have to experience some failures, right?

Another nice benefit that I have started to noticed is that this will be a great way to look back on the year. On that note, I decided to also frame these pictures realistically, and not just put happy bubbly pictures up everyday. Today was a good example. Britt and I attended a memorial service today. As expected, it was a somber occasion, interjected with nice moments as well seeing people that I haven't seen in a long time. I grappled with the thought of if this was a place and occasion to break out with my phone and take a picture of us. In the end, I did it, and you can tell we aren't thrilled in it. I love the picture because of it though. This was us today. And when I look back on this a year from now, five years from now, I would want to remember the bad along with the good.

This also leads to the publicness of the project. Aside from the Flickr set, I spread them out along various social media outlets to share. And I think I have spoken about the subject before, it's important to me to project an honest me out there. Too many people feel like they have to curate their social media persona and that just sounds too much work and effort to me. I have these mediums to help express myself and I am grateful that there are a few people who cares enough to see them. I don't want to lie to these people with some fake version of me (there are far more interesting fake people accounts at your local supermarket checkout aisle). 

That was like 4 tangents on a fragment of original thought. I told you I need to write more. Apparently the real un-curated me is one big run on sentence. Heh. Thanks for reading anyway...


Sunday, January 05, 2014

Home screen evolution

A little late, but I've been seeing people post a pic of their phone home screen on 1/1/14 as a way to see how their app usage evolves over the years. I thought that might be cool and wish I had done it sooner. I have had an iPhone for 6 years now and to see what has made the cut of making the home screen sounds like fun. I don't know about you, but I definitely am one of those people who think long and hard before an app gets "promoted" to first page status. It's just natural to see and use that app the most, so I want to be sure it's something I really care about. So without further ado:


Nothing real revolutionary, so it probably doesn't need a ton of explanation. I play with a lot of social apps (hence the folder) and Evernote makes the page partly because I am trying to force myself to use it more. Oh and I notice my Apple iPhone is getting more and more Google-ized too. I like to think I don't have a brand allegiance as much as wanting to use whatever is good.

The other interesting thing is asking yourself what the first app you open when you wake up in the morning. That's not only a sign of a good app but a vital one. And probably also changes over the years. If I asked myself this in years past I would say anything from email to weather to Facebook. But currently, I would say it's Instagram. It encourages my amateur photography aspirations while connecting me with a lot of interesting people. I like it a lot! But enough to have the same answer next year? Guess we will have to see...

What are your essential apps?

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Another year...

We are hitting the proverbial reset button and starting another year. We make crazy promises to ourselves and struggle to keep them. I think this is where I make some resolution to blog more, but looking back, I am writing less than ever everywhere. When I can't muster 140 characters in Twitter, it's probably a bad sign. So yes, I will try to jot down my thoughts somewhere more, but it's not going to be about writing for quantity. It's not about writing because I have no many venues to do it. The more you write, the more focus you get. The more organization of the stuff bouncing around your head all day. So this year, as my resolution, I resolve to find my voice. And if doing it where the three of you who stops by and sees the progress and struggles of that, than that's part of the journey. Write here. Write there. Share my view of the world here. I'm going to use it all to one day to piece it all back, and see me.

Happy 2014, everyone.