2024:Alone at the Lake. Taken at Montrose Beach in Chicago. I waited much of the day in the hope that the promised sun would come out, but instead it was just another cloudy, gray day to start the year.
In 2012, I started a project to take and post one photo a day for year. At that time I wrote: "There is nothing very novel about this – but for 2012, I am going to try to post a photo that I take every day. That is easy on the days that I go out to shoot, but that certainly isn't every day. The challenge will be all the other days. So we will see. . . ." I made it through that year, and then did it again in 2016 figuring that I would try it every four years. However, in 2018, I was inspired - so I did a daily photo then too, and then on cycle in 2020. So now it is 2024, and I am going to try to take and post a daily photo which is at the top of the daily post – and to pull the photos from the other four years for the same date since almost no one saw them. The descriptions of the photos are what I wrote when I originally posted them. Since 2012, things have changed – this shows how much! So here goes . . . .
2012:Winter Garden. Taken on the back porch with the light hitting the clematis just right. (January 1, 2012)2016:Whose face is that? Taken at Foster and Lake Michigan in Chicago (January 1, 2016) One of the great things about walking with my camera is that it really makes me look and see things that I would otherwise miss. This is certainly one of those things. It was quite cold on New Year’s day and there were few people out at the Lakefront. After walking between Lawrence and Montrose, I drove up to Foster and made one last stop. I was watching a family taking pictures on the rocks there and looked down to make sure of my footing -- and there was a face (not this one). And then a second one (this one). I looked for others -- but it was just the two. It made me wonder: how long have they been there? Who put them there? Why? And how many times have I walked by (and hundreds/thousands of others), and missed them.2018:Peace and warmth. Taken on Shetland Trail in Leelanau MI (January 1, 2018). I decided that I would try doing this daily photo blog again in 2018. I did it in 2012 and then in 2016. I couldn’t have imagined doing it last year. Without any traveling and with my driving to work every day, there would have been so few opportunities to take photos. And I know that 2018 is starting the same way. However, I believe/hope that 2018 is also a year of transition, change and opportunity, and that I would like to document. But at the least the beginning of 2018 will be a real challenge to photo, and I will have to be much more creative and remember that “the perfect shall not be the enemy of the good.” 2017 gave new meaning of that for me - now I will have to apply it to my photos! That starts with this first photo for 2018. I drove to Leelanau, MI today. There was plenty of beautiful snow to shoot, but the drive required both hands on the steering wheel at all times. So the best photo that took was after I got to the house and had a roaring fire going. Not all that bad a start to 2018.2020:Into the Future. Taken on Montrose Beach in Chicago (January 1, 2020). Starting this again for 2020 feels in many ways like it is too soon after 2018, but on the other hand 2020 has been a long time in coming. It is always great to start and end the year with strong photos -- but today didn’t lend itself to any. There were few people out and not enough snow or ice to make things interesting. But there was a lot of snow, gulls, and geese, and Brittany Howard singing Tomorrow. A good way to start the year.
