When I first started my 366 Project, I worried whether I’d make it through the first month, taking pictures every day. Here I am four months later and still at it! I am loving my project and find the more I shoot, the more I discover about photography and my own strengths and limitations. What I’ve learned this month:

Those darn birds: Okay, I confess I am downright addicted to bird photography. Especially this month. Even though my garden is going gangbusters and occasionally I coerce my 5-year-old to get in the frame, I am absolutely obsessed with those birdies. Chickadees building a nest in our birdhouse, flying back and forth to feed their growing family; ducks and geese at Lake Washington; bold little hummingbirds flitting about, and all the usual suspects: robins, finches, jays, sparrows. The air is filled with song and my shots with feathers.

Think outside the box–or inside it: My yard is really tiny, 18×40. It is surrounded by a fence. I used to feel as though I was living inside a box, which motivated me to grow plants everywhere I could, around the edges, up the fence, and fill the middle with planter beds. Ironically, being constricted to a small space encourages me to find interesting angles (shoot the flower from the side rather than straight on), to look at details (ladybug on the rosebud) and pay attention to the tiniest of subjects (a feather on the deck). At first glance, the “view” seems small…but when you really LOOK, the possibilities are limitless!

Inspiration is all around me: Honestly, if I ended up being stuck in my tiny yard for the next year, there would always be something interesting to shoot. Plants, birds, my cats…something new is growing, blooming and dying. There are fascinating colors, shapes, movement, and I love to capture all of it. That said, I am truly blessed to live in a breathtakingly gorgeous city: Seattle. Everywhere I go I am surrounded by beauty, both the natural and man-made world around me.

Share the journey: My photographer communities, Mamas with Cameras 365/52 Week Project Wonder Women and 365Project, INSPIRE me to grow and be a better photographer. Seeing the amazing shots my fellow photogs take gives me new ideas and challenges me to find new angles (literally). I am certain I would not be shooting every day without the commitment I made to shoot and share.

And with that…here’s May!

It’s all about the journey,

Beth