robmuch's photostream  

So this is it! This is the end of my 365 project, to get to know my camera better, and to grow as a photographer. I now feel like my camera is just an extension of myself, a way for me to capture and show the world to others in the way that I see it. It's going to be really weird not having to take a photo every day, but I feel like now I will be taking photos purely for the enjoyment of the photography, rather than being forced to produce something when I particularly don't feel up to it.

For this image I created some of my own fireworks to celebrate the end of the year, and you would not believe how many times I had to clean up all of the photos from my floor. It was quite the setup!

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has viewed and commented on my photos this year, you have really helped to get me through to now, knowing that someone is appreciating what you are producing. I also want to say thank you to my friends and family for being such willing (most of the time) participants in this journey, and for enabling this project to become such a success, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!

Looking back on all of the photos, there are joyous and also painful memories from the year, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My year consisted of love, friendship, laughter and sunshine, but also loss, grief, tears and rain. Just like any other year I suppose. I feel I have grown so much as a person this year, forcing myself to get out and see the world and have new experiences, but also having new experiences forced upon me. I have tried to learn from each experience and I truly believe that they will make me a better person moving into 2012.

So again, thank you for sharing this journey with me, and I look forward to sharing my projects with you in the future.

With love, Rob.

When I was taking photos last night, I realised that I've taken so many photos at sunset this year, but not one single photo of a sunrise. So I decided to wake up super early, head on over to Bondi Beach and take in the sunrise beside the yoga-ers and boot-campers.

I've posted some other photos I took this morning here: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.217463488336576.52710.1...

This photo was taken on a particularly difficult day in my year, and I forgot to upload it at the time. I just rediscovered it and figured I should probably upload it before the end of the year.

I had spoken to my sister the night before this particular day, who told me to write a list for the day so that I had reason to get myself out of bed. On this list was to take a photo of something bright and sunny to make me feel better. I spent a lot of time sitting in the sun in the park that day, thinking about how my life was about to change, and generally being pretty miserable. I caught a bus that afternoon to Canberra to be with my family.

With only 3 days left of the year, and of this journey I've been taking, I took a step back and tried to figure out how to best finish off the year. Having just returned to Sydney after spending Christmas with the family in Canberra, it really felt like I was coming home. Sydney has really become my home over the last 6 years - Canberra will always be special to me, but Newtown is where the heart is.

So with this in mind I dedicate today to Newtown.

I feel that this image portrays the Newtown that I know and love, where the sun rises at one end of the street and sets at the other. The Newtown where you can get a late night coffee every night of the week. The Newtown where you're asked for change one block, get entertained by a street performance in the next, and can walk through crowded markets in another block. From the creative, kooky, indie, alternative, hipster Newtown to the family friendly, puppies running through the park, latte sipping facing out to the street Newtown.

The kids playing with Olivia's Christmas present, a new netball hoop!