January 31, 2012

12 Skills in 12 Months: January Round-Up

One of my goals for the new year was to stop talking about things I want to learn and just LEARN them. It's part of my quest to become more creative, so each month I'm delving into one skill. Some of them I already know but need improvement on, others I don't know at all. I'm not pressuring myself to master any of these, but I'd like to have a working knowledge of them by the end of the designated month. If you have book recommendations or classes you've taken in any of these skills (or if you know how to do them and would want to give some tips), please pass them on!! I'll be sharing my process at the end of each month.

Since January's skill was photography, I'll share a little of my journey. Exposing myself by showing more of me and my life has been somewhat rattling. But I want to be more vulnerable and willing to be honest about my world so this is a step in doing that. I also knew that putting myself in front of the camera with the In the Picture project would be hard but stretching, and it has been. I've noticed I tend to take wide shots instead of honing in on details; I'll be changing that. Hopefully taking pictures will get easier to do as I continue through this year. I've shared my photos here along the way so I'll just spotlight a sampling in case you've missed them:

I console myself that these beginning photos will show me how far I've journeyed by the end of the year. You know, like the Before and After shots of people losing weight? Only this will be the photo kind.

10 comments :

  1. I like the close, detailed shots. Sometimes they have a way of telling a story even more so than the wide-angle views. Details matter.

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  2. Love your calendar of creative learning! And the photos are awesome.

    Shelley

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  3. Such a great idea. I always say I want to learn to do something, but I never do it.

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  4. wow Catherine
    these are awesome aspiration
    I love the not talking about it and just doing, what ever may come
    so inspiring!!!
    I am looking forward to watching this unfold for you
    thanks for including us for the ride

    love and light

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  5. Good luck!!!! Such a cool thing to do!! I try to always learn new things and do things that make me happy. Life is way too short!! :)

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  6. good for you! you will love the self portrait journey, i bet. it's nice to see someone take action on the things they have wanted to do. i've been saying i want to learn to knit for so many years... it's pathetic. if i really wanted to, i would just do it! but i always have some excuse. right now, the excuse is that i enjoy photography and blogging more than i have a desire to learn to knit and i have a seven-month-old... so something had to give, and knitting is it. =)

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  7. That's a great idea, dedicating each month to a different focus for learning. Looks like you're in for a fun (and busy) year :)

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  8. That is such an awesome quest! Such an ingenious way to grow. :)

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  9. wow! love your idea about learning something new each month, what a great calendar to start of the year with! thanks for sharing your journey with us! hehe i'm also planning to learn the guitar, when i get back from my placements at the end of march :)

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  10. Free online photography classes, Catherine, I've had my eye on this. LOVE your 12 months of self-education!

    http://photographycourse.net/

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