back in 2011 I completed my first 52 weeks project: one photo a week, for one whole year.
I knew I wanted to work on another photo project after we moved to Taiwan, but I wanted to give myself some time to get settled before starting. my 2011 project was self portraits, and this time I settled on a new challenge: instant film. just before New Year's [regular, not Chinese] I purchased an instax mini instant camera. since then I've been snapping at least one photo per week.
the first five weeks were easy... the excitement of a new project, traveling to Thailand and the Philippines and being surrounded by beautiful beaches. I actually brought a whole extra roll of film which I shot in Thailand.
then we came home. and it rained. and I struggled a little to find things to shoot and at one point considered giving up and only using the instax for "fun things". but I didn't quit. yesterday I shot week #14. which means I am already 1/4 though the year! and I decided it was about time to share. so I slapped up my weekly shots on my chalkboard wall with some washi tape to show them off.
1// Guan Gong at the statue garden
2// our backyard
3// ferris wheel in Bangkok
4// Railay beach
5// Husband and I in Boracay
6// rice paddy outside the Kalibo airport
7// spring arrives in Taiwan
8// a walk in the park
9// mini temple gazebo at the lake
10// my chevron wall
11// gouache ampersand artwork
12// earth hour in Hong Kong
13// big bowl of produce from the market
14// Lady in the grass
I really love the chalkboard / washi tape display. but usually I use my chalkboard for other things, so I have been keeping my project photos up on a different wall. I wanted a way to display my instax photos that was easily re-arrangeable and that could be added to as I took more.
all it took was twine, tiny clothespins, and 3M hooks.
since I've used up this much space already [only 1/4 through the year] I've been thinking of adding another display similar to this elsewhere in our home. I could dedicate the wall in the office to the photos from my project, and mix the other instax shots with prints from my holga, regular 3 x 5s, and maybe some instagrams.
working with film has definitely been a challenge for me. I've grown so used to the world of digital photography that I don't always stop and think before I shoot. but using the instant photos for my project has helped me to be more thoughtful with what I shoot, and to be more accepting of the imperfections.
