"Mini" - Settings: ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, 50mm lens

This was the photo I was supposed to post on Saturday.  I went away for the weekend and thought I’d be able to post from Adam’s computer, but was wrong… so I’ll have to do a little catch-up today!

Anyway, one of my favorite exercises from my photography class at the International Center of Photography was the “ten step project”.  Our assignment, was to walk outside our door and take a picture.  Then take ten steps and take another picture. Then take ten more steps… and take another picture.  And so on and so on.  The point of this assignment was to start seeing the world around you in a different way.  There are opportunities for beautiful and interesting photos everywhere you look – you just have to look more closely and force yourself to see things differently.

Adam worked from home on Friday and the two of us were busy bees all day – working away at our computers (study hall!!). Meanwhile, at around 7:30 in the evening, I realized it was getting dark out and we hadn’t left the house all day and I hadn’t taken any photos!  Adam needed to pick something up at Duane Reade anyway, so we went out for a little walk around the neighborhood.  While Adam got what he needed in the store, I stayed outside and snapped away.  Literally in the the forty-or-so foot vicinity of the Duane Reade, I took twenty-six photos of different things…. the Mini Cooper, the garbage on the sidewalk, some graffiti on Duane Reade’s wall, a couple taxi cabs whizzing by, the fire escape on a building across the street and some construction equipment left from earlier in the day.

It reminded me of that ten step project.  But now my brain has been totally trained.  This 365 project has been instrumental in changing the way I look at the world around me.  What was once a conscious effort on my part, to look more deeply and to be more aware of everything I see around me, has now pretty much become my default state.   If you’re interested in getting more into photography… as I know a bunch of you are because you’ve told me… you should try out this ten step project for yourselves!  It’s a fun and challenging exercise – and if you do it, please let me know!  I’d love to hear about your experience!