Snow Globe 365 follow-up

I'm checking back in with  folks who have recently completed their 365 projects...

Amy Whitehurst finished her Snow Globe 365 project on 14, 2011...

What are the biggest lessons/skills you learned from doing your project? The biggest lesson I have learned from a daily project is that I am an artist with newfound confidence.  Picking up my camera each day, not only helped hone my technical skills, it pushed me to learn new things, like painting with light, using an external flash, a soft box, new lenses, double/triple exposures and image overlays.  As my confidence grew towards the middle of the year, I began stopping in stores, getting on floors and shooting mannequins with snow globes and asking strangers to take part.

In what ways did the project change your life? I now acknowledge myself as a photographer, and am grateful for the support from fellow 365 artists and friends that encouraged me to keep going, while sharing the journey with me.  For the first time I won contests, sold my work, continued to exhibit, was featured on CNN's Travel Shots and published twice in a local magazine. I have started freelancing and am now taking professional business head shots.

Now what? I need to keep going, so the first of the year I'm starting a new project where I will be teaching myself Photoshop and sharing what I learned so others may share the lesson daily, if they wish.  I'm hoping through learning this software tool, I can take my images to another creative level.

Read her original 365 interview HERE.

See all of her snow globes HERE.

Snow Globe 365

Amy Whitehurst of Glen Allen, Virginia was inspired by my Skull-A-Day project and 365: A Daily Creativity Journal to start Snow Globe 365...

Why did you decide to do this project? I think snow globes are cool, especially the ones made of glass.  The reflections caught in the glass globe are interesting enough to keep a project going, but I'm putting my subject in various surroundings, interacting with different people to insure a fun and easy 365 of fun.

How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I'm only 5 days in, but it has encouraged me to pick up my camera every single day which will make me a better photographer.  Photographing glass is tricky, and has made me focus more on the technical working of my camera including proper metering and lighting, so that the flash is rarely used.  With a daily project, I wake up each morning and think about what I will I do with my globe today.  My entire family is supporting the project and they often find themselves saying, "That would make a cool picture!" My four year old son noticed the snow covered railroad trestles on the James as we crossed the bridge on 195. He told me it was a great shot and we needed to pull over.  I sure wanted to, and though we couldn't stop on the interstate, but I love how seeing my interest in photography and my daily use of the camera has encouraged them both to see more creatively.

Follow Amy's snowy progress on her site HERE.