David Talley
Day 365.
365/365
On the evening of March 21st, 2011, I sat alone in my room and silently admired the ongoing work of Alex Stoddard's 365 self-portrait project. I had no idea what I was viewing, but I was stunned by the image of a boy seemingly breathing deep, dense smoke out of his mouth and filling an entire square frame with it - and I wondered to myself why it evoked such emotion within me.
Within the hour I had set up my tripod and camera. I clicked the shutter, sat down, and waited 10 seconds for it to click - but before that 10 seconds ended, I grabbed the thing nearest me and used it as my very first prop, unknowing of the ways in which I would use things like it in the days ahead, such as the photo above. I had created my first scene, and it felt so strange to me - but in that moment, I learned that photographs could be much more than just snapshots of people or things; that they could evoke emotion and tell stories and create entirely new worlds.
And that’s exactly what this entire project was for me - learning. And not only learning, but using what I had learned to grow as a photographer and as a person.
It’s not even possible for me to compare myself to who I was before I started the 365. I didn’t have motivation for anything relevant, and no single passion pervaded my life. The radical changes I experienced during the project changed my entire outlook on life, and the list of things I have learned about myself and the ways in which I have grown because of the commitment I made to the project are endless. I know many of you don’t know me in real life, but I’m sure that the change can be seen. Not only have I grown as an artist in both technical and conceptual aspects, but I’ve grown in the way I think and feel and love.
It’s crazy to think that I’ve learned so much about myself at only 19 years of age, and that I know exactly what I want to do with my life now that this project is coming to an end. I’m not gonna lie and tell everyone that it was easy doing this project, and I’m sure most of you know that when I say it was hard, I mean it was really, really freaking crazy as hell difficult. It’s the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, and I was on the verge of quitting so many times, but the thing that kept me from quitting was the knowledge that it was going to get better - that in time I’d grow and learn from it, and I did. I am so incredibly glad that I didn’t give up.
Many thanks are in order - first and foremost to my family for always supporting me, and putting up with my crankiness, yelling, and door slamming whenever a photo didn’t turn out. Also to my friends - not only in real life, but as well as on the internet. Whenever I was feeling uninspired or down about this project, you guys were there to lift me up, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. And to everyone else who has followed my work and supported me through the internet, you guys and your kind words are a big part of the reason that I kept pursuing this project, so I say thank you.
I cant believe it’s the end already. It seems like just yesterday I was learning about expansion and concepts and curves layers. I’m not sure how the following weeks will pan out for me now that I'm not going to be stressing over concepts each day, but I know lots of sleeping and catching up on doing things with my friends without worrying about missing a photo will occur, hah.
I'll be back soon, but for now, it's time to relax. I'm finally done.
Day 365.
365/365
On the evening of March 21st, 2011, I sat alone in my room and silently admired the ongoing work of Alex Stoddard's 365 self-portrait project. I had no idea what I was viewing, but I was stunned by the image of a boy seemingly breathing deep, dense smoke out of his mouth and filling an entire square frame with it - and I wondered to myself why it evoked such emotion within me.
Within the hour I had set up my tripod and camera. I clicked the shutter, sat down, and waited 10 seconds for it to click - but before that 10 seconds ended, I grabbed the thing nearest me and used it as my very first prop, unknowing of the ways in which I would use things like it in the days ahead, such as the photo above. I had created my first scene, and it felt so strange to me - but in that moment, I learned that photographs could be much more than just snapshots of people or things; that they could evoke emotion and tell stories and create entirely new worlds.
And that’s exactly what this entire project was for me - learning. And not only learning, but using what I had learned to grow as a photographer and as a person.
It’s not even possible for me to compare myself to who I was before I started the 365. I didn’t have motivation for anything relevant, and no single passion pervaded my life. The radical changes I experienced during the project changed my entire outlook on life, and the list of things I have learned about myself and the ways in which I have grown because of the commitment I made to the project are endless. I know many of you don’t know me in real life, but I’m sure that the change can be seen. Not only have I grown as an artist in both technical and conceptual aspects, but I’ve grown in the way I think and feel and love.
It’s crazy to think that I’ve learned so much about myself at only 19 years of age, and that I know exactly what I want to do with my life now that this project is coming to an end. I’m not gonna lie and tell everyone that it was easy doing this project, and I’m sure most of you know that when I say it was hard, I mean it was really, really freaking crazy as hell difficult. It’s the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, and I was on the verge of quitting so many times, but the thing that kept me from quitting was the knowledge that it was going to get better - that in time I’d grow and learn from it, and I did. I am so incredibly glad that I didn’t give up.
Many thanks are in order - first and foremost to my family for always supporting me, and putting up with my crankiness, yelling, and door slamming whenever a photo didn’t turn out. Also to my friends - not only in real life, but as well as on the internet. Whenever I was feeling uninspired or down about this project, you guys were there to lift me up, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. And to everyone else who has followed my work and supported me through the internet, you guys and your kind words are a big part of the reason that I kept pursuing this project, so I say thank you.
I cant believe it’s the end already. It seems like just yesterday I was learning about expansion and concepts and curves layers. I’m not sure how the following weeks will pan out for me now that I'm not going to be stressing over concepts each day, but I know lots of sleeping and catching up on doing things with my friends without worrying about missing a photo will occur, hah.
I'll be back soon, but for now, it's time to relax. I'm finally done.