Image shot with Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 and processed with Vintage Film Lightroom presets
The #leesixtyfive project rumbles on, and reaching photograph 120 means we’re almost a third of the way through.
This last batch hasn’t been an easy 30 photographs to make, though.
You could even say it’s been a struggle, at times.
Still, from adversity comes evolution, and from a month spent with an increased workload in real life, more days with poor light, and a general drop in motivation comes a rewriting of the unwritten rules this project.
I’m not quitting. That would be awful.
What I am doing is learning. And that’s a great thing.
I’ll tell you what I’m learning later in this rundown of the 4th month of #leesixtyfive.
But first…
Introducing a new vintage lens to the #leesixtyfive project
Since the last update, I picked up a new vintage lens.
This lens was the Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.7 – a review of which you can read by clicking that link.
I wasn’t completely sure whether I should use the 50mm Konica in this project, as there’s a lot to be said about maintaining a consistency through a body of work.
Mixing photographs taken with a 50mm lens with what has primarily been a project shot with a 38mm can cause them to have a different look or feel, with the former being more claustrophobic and the latter more open.
However, one thing I want to do with this project is to squeeze as much out of it as I can.
This is me talking as a blogger, or a content creator if you prefer. I don’t, but the term helps me explain this point.
The 365 photographs are a given. The 12 blog posts (such as this one) are something more. Making it into a book once it’s complete is very much in my mind too.
That’s the projected daily, monthly, and yearly output from this project.
Using a variety of vintage lenses as I aim for that and reviewing them as I go gives me yet another thing I can extract from it.
Shooting street photography straight on
In the previous update of the #leesixtyfive project, I mentioned thinking about backgrounds more than subjects.
This led to a lot of the photographs being shot straight on, with thought gone into including polygonal shapes in the frame.
Doors, windows, and edges of buildings all featured; often towards the corners of the photographs.
It’s a look I’ve continued with throughout this month, which has been pleasing.
I don’t want the whole 365 photographs to be the same style, but to have a style I’m shooting with for now is good.
If and when it changes – and remember we’re not even halfway through this thing yet – it’ll be nice to notice it appearing and disappearing as the project takes shape.
Regardless, here are some examples of it from the past 30 photographs.
Using the rule of odds in the #leesixtyfive project
Another photography composition tip that I can talk about here is the rule of odds.
I actually wrote an article explaining what it is and why it works, which you can go read here.
In short and for the purposes of this #leesixtyfive update, I can tell you this:
An odd number of subjects in a photograph generally looks better than an even number.
I hadn’t noticed at the time that I’d used this rule a few times this month. But now I have noticed, I think it’s worth pointing it out in the images below.
Making hay while the sun shines
Doing a year-long 365 photography project is going to teach you more than just composition techniques.
Just four months into this one, I’ve learnt that I should have been making hay while the sun shone – literally – in the beginning.
I’ve got a bunch of photographs that didn’t make it into the project. In the early days when I was sticking tightly to rules, this was because they weren’t the best photograph taken on the day they were taken.
As I was going out every day, tomorrow’s photograph would be taken tomorrow.
That means I’ve got a folder full of photographs that didn’t make the cut, although some of them really could have done based on quality alone.
Now we’re in the throes of winter, with poorer light, colder temperatures, worse pollution and less stringent self-imposed rules, I wish I’d been a little more liberal with my uploads earlier in the project.
That’s something I’ve learnt here.
To get ahead early if you have the chance, because that’s when it’s easiest to do so.
Evolution of the #leesixtyfive project
So, that evolution I mentioned earlier.
That rewriting of the unwritten rules.
What does it mean for the #leesixtyfive project?
Ultimately, hopefully nothing.
I’m still on course to make 365 photographs in 365 days. They just won’t be 1 per day for 365 days.
These blog posts every 30 photographs will keep me honest and keep the photographs nicely spaced out.
However, instead of once a day, I’m picturing heading out maybe twice a week, which feels good.
Some of the pressure is gone but the project, and the goal, remains.
That, for me, is a good evolution.
I’d love to know if you’ve been through something similar. Is there some photography project you’ve undertaken that evolved halfway through or led to an unexpected lesson?
Let us know in the comments below, on Instagram, or on Twitter. 😀
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