Photo project: May Winter Appear

In 2011 I did a photography project through the website Flickr called the ‘365 Project‘ where I had to take and share a photo a day for 365 days. My intention in doing the project was to make photography part of my everyday routine again (like it was when I was a teenager), work my creative muscles, and become more aware of the world around me. Some days were inspiring, and I was excited by and proud of the photographs I took. Other days, I was unmotivated, and took photos that I wouldn’t ever want in a frame on my wall; and to be honest, I didn’t even like adding to the project. Overall, it was a fun experience, and did get me back into taking photos more regularly again.

In April this year I’d spent quite a bit of time reflecting on that project, and started thinking about doing something similar again but in a way that wouldn’t be as onerous, and where I could share photos that I’d always be happy with. I thought about taking a sharing a photograph a week for each week of Winter, a time that can be tempting to cocoon away. The problem with wanting to do a Winter project in April, is it meant waiting another month, and I was ready to start. So I decided to focus on the 18 weeks of Winter + May, sharing at least one photo each week but no more than three, taken during the week ending Sunday. The photos aren’t meant to have a particular theme but perhaps looking back on them, they will. We’ll see.

I’ve called the project May Winter Appear, to reference the timeframe I am taking the photos in, and give a nod to that now old-fashioned ritual of hovering over a tray of developer in a darkroom waiting for an image to appear on the photographic paper. The title also touches on how at the time of thinking about doing the project, the weather in Melbourne was unseasonably warm due to the changing climate, and I wondered if like Autumn, Winter may be hesitant to show itself.

Here are the photographs so far (starting with the most recent week):