Welcome to the One/Day Project

Here you will find hundreds of photos that I've taken every day since 2/29/2008. I reached my initial goal of making it to leap day 2012 (after 1462 photos), but I'm still going - the new goal is to make it to Monday, 2/29/2016.

Every photo in these galleries is a unique creation from that day. My intent is to create art, and I've taken great care to create most of these photographs. In addition to not uploading simple snapshots, I try incredibly hard not to repeat myself.

Please enjoy, and feel free to comment. Like the shot? Give it a thumbs up. Really like it? Buy a print or digital download.

Thanks for looking!

_06/17/12_ Tube
I didn't get a chance to take a photo with my new tripod this weekend, so instead I took a photo of it. As you can see, it's made of carbon fiber, which is awesome (but pricey). My previous tripod is aluminum, smaller, and the head was built in (not very professional). My new one is significantly bigger and better in every way, and because it's made of carbon fiber, it's about the same weight as the aluminum one. Pictures would be better than words, but trust me - it's awesome.

[last year]
_06/14/12_ Red Stools
Today was fun. I worked last Saturday and so I needed to take another day off to make up for it, and I chose today. I played the part of chauffeur and drove my wife around to the various places she goes for her job. The first stop was near the Los Angeles Farmers Market, where I took this shot. I also walked over to the Grove. Both places were pretty fun to visit at 9am on a weekday - hardly anyone around compared to later in the day or the huge weekend crowds.
I also stopped by Samys Camera, where they were having a sale. Yep, I bought something. Something AWESOME. Ok, I'll just tell you - I got a carbon fiber tripod and head! Sadly it wasn't as great of a deal as I originally thought. Compared to full retail price, it was amazing. But compared to what Adorama and B&H would have charged, I only saved about $20 (and I didn't have to wait for shipping). But still, I'm very excited about it, and will probably do a review of some sort on the ol' blog.

[last year]
_06/12/12_ Cat
I needed a photo tonight, so I stepped outside and hey - there's my neighbor's cat. So, I took a photo of her. I used an off-camera flash with softbox, which was ready to go from Sunday's photo. 
I had to darken the pupils quite a bit - I don't think she can see so great. But apparently she's 19 years old. I hope I'm in such good shape when I'm 19 in cat years. 

[last year] sleepy koala...
_06/10/12_ Everything
For those not familiar with their hole-shaped foods, this is an "everything bagel". It was invented by Rabbi Everything in NYC back in the 1920s. 
Lit from above with off-camera flash w/softbox.

[last year]
_06/08/12_ Spoon Reflections
This is simply a small spoon resting on a larger spoon. Of course, it's the lighting that makes the shot, and I did take a setup photo. I will share that at some point soon, hopefully. 
I haven't posted a good setup photo in a long time, sorry about that. I just haven't had the time. My dream is to do some really nice explanations for planned out photos and collect 5-10 of them into an iBook that I create and then sell it for a few dollars on iTunes. Would you buy that?

In big round number news, I'm 100 days into Year 5! Fun stuff. Ok, you can go back to whatever you were doing now.

[last year]
_06/07/12_ New Growth
These are two of the numerous new fronds growing out of the top of the cycad in the front yard. They grow fast, and were just little nubs a week ago; now the longest ones are well over a foot long. They kind of look like little snakes. FYI, cycads are 'living fossils' and have been around for a long, long time. They look little palm trees and you see them all over Southern California landscaping, although I'm told they're actually quite rare. 
I like the shallow depth of field with these two, and they kind of look like they're interacting somehow. Parent and child, maybe? I also like the blue cast on the fronds, so I exaggerated that through white balance and color adjustments.

[last year]
_05/30/12_ Sea Foam Steam
This is not sea foam or steam, of course, but bamboo. I was very happy to go on an official tour of the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens at UCLA, where I ate lunch almost every day for many years. So, I'm very familiar with the place, but had never gone on a tour. 
The in-camera effect is from a vertical pan over the 1/2 second exposure. The processing was mostly modifying the white balance, and then a few other settings as well.
Although I try not to repeat myself, this is actually quite similar to my daily photo on 4/11/11. i think the swirls make it different enough. It'd be fun to go back and work on this technique a little better. I could probably get even better swirls. Also, weird looks.

[last year]
_05/27/12_ Face Sculpting
I started watching a Lynda.com course about night and low light photography, so I headed down to the Santa Monica pier to try some of it out. I definitely got some cool photos, although it's hard to remember the techniques while also searching out good photos.
One thing that stuck with me - find the good light, and then work with it. In this photo, the bright overhead light in between the sculpter and sculptee offered some drama to the scene, and so I took several shots of it. 
The kid looked very cold and not particularly happy. This is why people only smile for the camera, and not the paintbrush. Or... whatever people use to mold clay. You just can't stay happy sitting still.

[last year]
_05/20/12_ Eclipse
Did you see the eclipse? As you can see here, we got a pretty cool view of it in Santa Monica. The marine layer started rolling in right as the moon was reaching its peak coverage of the sun, and you could clearly see the eclipse with your naked eyes.
I walked around the neighborhood looking for something to put the eclipse in context, and found this mockingbird perched on a church building with a bug in its mouth. Tasty.

[last year]
_05/30/12_ Sea Foam Steam
This is not sea foam or steam, of course, but bamboo. I was very happy to go on an official tour of the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens at UCLA, where I ate lunch almost every day for many years. So, I'm very familiar with the place, but had never gone on a tour.
The in-camera effect is from a vertical pan over the 1/2 second exposure. The processing was mostly modifying the white balance, and then a few other settings as well.
Although I try not to repeat myself, this is actually quite similar to my daily photo on 4/11/11. i think the swirls make it different enough. It'd be fun to go back and work on this technique a little better. I could probably get even better swirls. Also, weird looks.

[last year]
_05/30/12_ Sea Foam Steam
This is not sea foam or steam, of course, but bamboo. I was very happy to go on an official tour of the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens at UCLA, where I ate lunch almost every day for many years. So, I'm very familiar with the place, but had never gone on a tour.
The in-camera effect is from a vertical pan over the 1/2 second exposure. The processing was mostly modifying the white balance, and then a few other settings as well.
Although I try not to repeat myself, this is actually quite similar to my daily photo on 4/11/11. i think the swirls make it different enough. It'd be fun to go back and work on this technique a little better. I could probably get even better swirls. Also, weird looks.

[last year]
See photo in original gallery.
All photographs © Jonathan Wilson