An exciting ride - lots learnt, lots to learn

I'm one month into my photo-a-day initiative and it has been a really exciting ride and a real challenge to constantly find new subject matter. I am under no illusion that I'm consistently making interesting pictures. I know I am not, and there is still a long way for me to go before I can say that. What I wish, though, is that I had started this in January 2005 when I seriously dived into photography. Then, perhaps, I may have been in a position now to say that I can make interesting photographs of everyday objects. However, it's never too late nor too below my dignity to admit that I must learn and am learning, day-by-day, photograph-by-photograph.

That said, I believe I have made some progress on a blog that I had originally intended to start on 01-01-2007, and were it not for the fact that I was just sitting idle at around 1630 hrs on 01-01-2008, I would probably have forgotten about it this year too! That progress manifests itself in many ways, the most fundamental and probably most inspiring of which is the fact that I have now begun to observe what is around me. This was something I was never too good at before, or if I was, it wasn't detailed and sustained and intensive. A case in point is the photograph in this post. Another picture that I'm somewhat proud of is the one in this post.

I have also seen that I am not able to make pictures with impact in situations where things are not totally in my control. This illustrates such a situation pretty well. I have usually needed my time to think about and compose a picture, and time is a luxury when I'm out with a group, as was the case that evening. What I require in those situations is an even more observant eye. A good thing is that I always have my wife's little Lumix with me all the time these days. I never carry my bulky DSLR all the time and that obviously leads to lots of missed opportunities.

I look forward to the rest of the year with interest, expectation and most importantly, the hunger to experiment and learn. I am doing this blog with an open mind and am taking pictures of whatever catches my fancy. I don't know if that's a good idea, and that I should perhaps be concentrating on a particular theme instead. However, what I've been doing so far is working for me. The day I feel I am not able to get interesting subject matter with this ad-hoc approach will probably be the day I may decide to take a themed (or some other) approach with this photo-a-day initiative.

Thanks to every one of you who's commenting on the posts and on my Flickr photostream and chiming in with words of support and encouragement!