Reflections on My 2010 Project365

January 1, 2010: Pump Me Up
As many of you know, I started a project on January 1, 2010: I set out to take a photograph each day. Collected together these 365 photographs represent my Project365 for 2010.

I have been journaling for nearly two decades, something which became a daily discipline in 2000. So in some ways my Project365 became an extension of that discipline. And it changed the way I look at journaling, too. Suddenly writing each night was also illustrated by an image... it was a rather profound pairing some days.
July 7: Five Years of History
But as with a written journal, there were also those days when finding a subject -- any subject -- became the task. What to shoot today? I tried to shoot things that were beautiful, things I would want to remember. But then I decided that that was too editorial. Life isn’t always beautiful. And sometimes there are really ugly parts that lend a distinct beauty to the whole. So, I stopped swearing off broken windows and begging men, and started to include them as well.
August 5: Angel of Death

I also took this on as a technical challenge. Somewhere in February or March I decided that I would only shoot in Manual mode until I’d mastered it. It’s funny, but now I have a terrible time using the preset modes on my camera -- those little images of a face, a flower, a landscape, etc -- because I spent the rest of the year shooting in Manual.

I didn’t spend a lot of money on my kit, either. I already had my Canon Rebel xTI. I occasionally took photos with my cell phone and decided that they counted,too. Total purchases for my Project365:
  • a Timbuktu bag which I now use as a purse so that my camera is always with me 
  • a pinhole lens with which I have not experimented enough 
  • a tripod which I bought for another project and used a lot for this one. 
March 5: The US Capitol Building
I disciplined myself: the camera was always in my purse, the tripod was always in the car, and I almost always had one extra lens along. Invariably, if one of those things was missing, I missed it. But I didn’t take my tripod to Washington DC and learned to improvise. The top of my cousin’s car produced one of the best photographs of that trip! And I found myself absorbed in capturing light and angles -- giving my travel a new and interesting color.
December 1: Sunset in San Francisco
In the end my Project365 chronicles the preparation and sale of our house and our move to San Francisco... the life and death of my friend Becky's daughter, Elle... trips to Washington DC, Ireland, England, Wales, Minneapolis, Dallas, and Philadelphia... days at the beach with the dog... meals I ate... sunsets enjoyed... drives along highways and country roads... the change of seasons... visits from friends... and so many of the extraordinary and mundane pieces which make up a life.
May 24: Dots

I am so glad that I embarked upon my Project365. I am now in the midst of collecting those images together into an album, and I’m proud of my body of work!
August 29: Dragonfly on a Fence

After a year of taking photos, I have a few tips for those of you who are thinking about starting such a project:
  1. If you miss a day, keep going. I chose to post a photo for every day, even though I did miss 3 days -- days I just forgot to take a photo. 
  2. Put aside your perfectionism. This is a project about growth and change. If a photo doesn’t turn out well, move on. You have hundreds more to take! 
  3. Take photos of people. Since I don’t have children, I ended up with lots of pictures of my dog and things in my house. But people like to be photographed. Take photos of people. 
  4. Don’t give up! You’ll be so glad you didn’t! 
December 31: Oh Gosh!
Here's the slideshow of my entire Project365 in chronological order:


Interested in doing your own Project365?  I give instructions as well as links to other Project365s here:


So, you ask, am I doing a Project365 for 2011? You betcha! There are some exciting days ahead, and I’m not about to miss documenting them.

Off to Italy with Baby on Board!

Yes, it has been a big year for The Gypsy household.  Tomorrow I'll be blogging about my Project365, but there's one photo I had to leave out of the project.  This one:


There is a baby Gypsy coming along this summer, and that will mean all kinds of changes in 2011 for our household.  It is the best reason of all, but I have had to cancel a few trips including one to Rome in May (which almost made this really hormonal woman hysterical).  But this promises to be one globe-trotting baby, and I'm not too worried about this slight delay in my schedule.  In fact, we already have his/her first trip to Italy planned.  We'll be getting a passport right away!

I am not going to transform myself into a Mommy Blogger.  There are lots of people out there like DeliciousBaby, Mother of All Trips, and Travels with Children who do that kind of thing beautifully.  I'll continue to write about my passions: art, travel, and books -- and their intersections, too.  And I will continue to travel with groups, advise groups on travel, and offer my own trips, too.

However, I am headed to Italy this week and am in my second trimester.  I'll let you know how that changes my style, if at all.

So, for now, I'm off!  More for you all from Italia!
Ciao!

Fun for Tweens at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Lily, age 11, our guest blogger
Meet Lily, age 11.  She and her family spent part of the holiday season in Florida. Since Lily is a huge Harry Potter fan, I asked her to report back on her experience at Universal Orlando's newest theme park. I love to hear the tween's perspective.  So, welcome Lily!  

My name is Lily, and I am the guest blogger for today. I am going to write about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

There were two things that I thought were the coolest: the ride The Forbidden Journey and the design of the whole place. The Forbidden Journey is a ride where you get into a bench, of all things, and then you fly behind Harry and Ron around the castle, after Hermione makes you able to fly of course. You tilt and turn you see many memorable creatures and places from the books and movies. It is a 4-D ride, and I had an awesome time riding it. You go through rooms and in front of screens where you fly. The one downside to this ride is that it will break down, in fact it did the day I went (but not while I was on it, thank goodness).

There are 2 roller-coasters, and I rode both: Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge. Flight of the Hippogriff is a roller-coaster that is not as fast-moving as Dragon Challenge. If you get motion sick you may want to go on this rather than Dragon Challenge. Dragon Challenge has upside-downs and loopedy-loops and two tracks that sometimes go very close to each other.

The park’s design also is very neat. There is snow on all of the Hogsmead buildings. The Hog’s Head has a hog’s head behind the counter that moves and makes noise. The people who work there are all in costume. They do not look like all of the Muggles. They dress differently depending on where you are. For example, the workers at the Hippogriff ride all dress mostly like Hagrid, considering, they are not 9 feet tall and very wide. So, they are not as big a size as him.

I had the pleasure of eating at the Three Broomsticks, which is adjoining to the Hog’s Head. I ate Shepherds’ Pie with a little salad and a glass of Butterbeer. It was all so filling I could only finish the Butterbeer, although the Shepherds’ Pie was wonderful, and the salad was good. Butterbeer is very sweet and has a slightly different cream on top that is tasty. The cream is put on after they fill the cup very pretty far. I later had Pumpkin Juice. Even though it was a new flavor, I really liked it. The attention to detail at the park makes you feels like you are really a student at Hogwarts.
Butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks

There was only one thing I wished we had done differently, I wish we had gone through the group line for The Forbidden Journey. We had a choice: it was an hour and a half long wait for the group line or you could go through the single riders line and have a ten to fifteen minute wait. We went through the single riders line. What we didn’t know was that we skipped the whole castle and went almost right to the ride. We wanted to go on the ride again and to see the whole castle, but we wanted to do other things as well, and we never went back.

The Gypsy’s Essentials 
  • Location: Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is part of the Islands of Adventure park: http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/ 
  • Price: $82 per person for Adults (10+ years old) and $74 per person for Children (3-9 years old) 
  • Who will love it? Harry Potter fans of all ages – particularly those 8 years and older. 
  • Notes: Try not to take too much with you because though there are lockers, they don’t let you take anything onto “Dragon Challenge” even if you are a tri-wizard champion with a fast-pass. When you are planning for your trip you should plan for this section of the Islands of Adventure to take a long time if you are a Harry Potter fan at all. We were there for 7 hours. Be at the park when the gate rises and you will be fine, otherwise you might have to wait awhile to go in because they don’t let every one in when they show up, they let them in small groups. 
I waited two hours to go to Olivander’s, the Owl Post, and Durvish and Bangs, but it was worth it because in Olivander’s they pick one person and do a little presentation. Part of why it was so long is because they only let in 20 people at a time. I did not get picked, but I bought Hermione’s wand in the Owl Post, it cost $29.95. I bought it because it is beautiful and I don’t have any Harry Potter character wands.

I also bought a chocolate frog, and it was $9.95. They are bigger than the ones in the movie, they come with a collectible card, and I was in Honeydukes Sweet Shop at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I mean why shouldn’t I? At Honeydukes I also bought some candy in a bag labeled, “Honeydukes,” I had picked how much and what kinds of candy I wanted, not what someone else did.

On the whole I loved The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and I think if you like the books or the movies and you will, too.
The Hogwarts Express


Thanks, Lily!  If you have any questions for Lily, leave them in the comments.  She'll be happy to answer them for you.  


In London, check out this spot with your Harry Potter fans: Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station.