The 366 Project {2024} | Maine Lifestyle Photographer

It’s hard to believe that I am sitting down to write and share the first month of my SIXTH 365-day project. For those of you new here, a 365 (or 366 leap year!) project is a project where a photographer (or anyone, really!) captures one image a day every day of the year. I completed my first project in 2017 with the goal of just making it through, and the experience and memories captured meant more to me and my family than I ever thought possible.

At the end of 2017, I took a year off, thinking I was one and done, but picked the camera up again in 2019, and continued in 2020, 2021, and 2022. I was 99% sure 2022 was my final 365 project – with my daughter entering her teenage years and life looking a lot different than it did when she was younger. And to be honest, I was still feeling this way well into mid-November of 2023. But much to my extreme surprise and pleasure it was my daughter Molly who asked if we could pick it up again. To have a teenager willing to be – ASKING to be – in front of my camera for another whole year – well, I just couldn’t say no to that. And now, a month in, I’m finding the motivation and groove that I was lacking last year when I understandably needed a break after four years in a row.

So here we are, in 2024, starting a new project. I had a moment of sadness earlier this month, looking back on former projects and those cute kid moments I was capturing. I felt this one was different, and then I realized that’s because it is. We won’t be capturing cute little dances or as many of those uninhibited moments this time around. And that’s ok. This project will be a little more thoughtful, a little more planned. It will be a little more focused on the details of our life. It will definitely have a lot of photos of our puppy, Waffles, a mostly-willing participant, which is a good thing because Molly simply just isn’t home as often as she used to be as she takes on more activities and friends in these teenage years. This year this project will focus on our life as it is now – not as it was – and that is actually what this is all supposed to be all about. And hopefully through it all, I’ll continue to improve my craft, find new light, and learn more about who I am as a photographer, editor, and artist.

So – here we go. Year six. January 2024. The month of dog walks, crazy storms, a trip to Connecticut, wacky schedules, and the peace and exhaustion that comes with the long month following the holiday season. There were cute moments, sad moments, adventurous moments, new light and new darkness, and I’m so grateful to be back behind the lens capturing all of it.

I’ll be creating a new page for my project in a few weeks as I re-vamp my website. Hopefully the new link will be ready to share when I share February’s photos in early March.

There are 31 days in January. These are our 31 days of January 2024.