The Thousand Words Project New Entries

Well! It’s been quite a while since I updated my blog at all, let alone my Thousand Words Project. That doesn’t mean I’ve been slacking on my entries. Although, for a couple months, the entries became few and far between due to the incredible pace of school portraits work, I have a feeling all of my entries would have been about endurance, had I chosen to write during that time. I have noticed over the last several months, as I near the end of this project, that I seem to write about only a few topics, mostly unpredictability, momentum, faith. Everything about one thing leader to another, not being able to see the future, time softening and smoothing everything out and creating direction where I couldn’t see it. When we are in the middle of things, it’s hard to see what’s ahead, and that’s definitely true of this project, and of the world in general right now.

I have tried to allow myself to SAY the same things over and over, to SEE those same things in my work. I had to know at some point, my story would be unmistakable. And yet I feel such a desire to see . . . CHANGE. Maybe growth? I feel there has been growth in this project, but I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting to change, besides my own perspective.

I’m nearing the end—I have less than 20 entries left. Do I feel I have chosen my very strongest, very best work in these 100 entries? No. My pile of selection prints has grown, rather than shrunk. I routinely chose some of my messiest, or most mundane work to write about. I feel I’m actively trying to fight against choosing my best shots just so I can include them in this collection, but I also don’t want to sway myself into NOT choosing a good image. We can never truly create in a vacuum.

So I’ll continue, I’ll do my best not to choose photos based on what I want to write about. I’ll try to select from intuition, and let myself write whatever is right, even if I’m repeating myself. I’ll make it to the end, and then I’ll look back and see where I came from. Maybe only then will I see that change I’ve been hoping for.

Going all the way back to the summer, here are entries 48 through 83.

To simple, perfect moments--unexpected, quiet--when things work out.

Trying to regain the unapologetic recklessness of giving it all.

Interpretations reflect what I'm discovering in waves, patterns, through development.

What is my part in the unpredictable? Prepare and Hope.

Light reveals true strength, but unseen. I believe it's there.

Reclaiming dedicated work space. We all need something that's ours.

Each shot is a self-portrait. From love letter to heartbreak.

I move forward, as the path blurs. As I change.

In this mortal moment, past and future are one place.

Revolution: A dramatic change, or perfect circle. Ebb and flow.

Confidence is not contrary or rebellious, just curious and relentless.

Back to the world: protection or risking it all?

Paradoxical necessity of attachment and independence. Pieces of one picture.

Thoughts too big for little heads. Beginning of the pull.

In composition, the viewpoint drives the story. Perspective drives perception.

Open and Protected. Watching life change with hope and trepidation.

Strength or fear? The unseen tells truths seamless in opposition.

Don't try to make it more exciting. Simple is beautiful.

The search, desire, risk, failure . . . the intention becomes the art.

Creation needs intention. Without it, it's just light and silver.

We remember best in outlines. We fill in the spaces.

Soft mixed layers. Not first/then. Just all and always.

Pull and Push. So much more than NOW and BEFORE.

Trust in unlikely things--the moments worth trying for.

The intense, unnerving, confusing, ugly, scary, and beautiful, innately connected.

Enticed by the layers of simplicity, never and ever moving.

There is always what is now, and what could be.

Infinity--where waves of monotony change from rush to rest.

Every moment is a slice of clarity in the motion.

Why do we desire so much to be truly seen?

Working backwards, I find intention is often discovered after execution.

The vision connects when my story and theirs make contact.

A coin flipped. Not for chance--Trust in the supernatural.

The branches add depth to indecision, anchoring from the shadows.

On display, yet protected. All lines lead to the heart.

Time softens all. Noise quiets, ripples still, blur becomes focus.