Day In The Life™ | May 2015
I'm not sure just how many times now I've documented a Day In The Life™. More than a handful. It's enough times to know that each and every time I fall a little more in love with photography.
There is something so awesome and wholehearted about capturing the "everydayness" of the lives we lead - no matter what phase we are in, with or without kids, boring or out-of-your-mind-busy. Beauty exists in all those phases and I hope I continue to embrace, celebrate, and live that truth throughout the rest of my life.
I've long been a fan of the gritty, real, often un-posed style of documentary/journalistic photography. There's a special quality to it that I think I've started to strive for more and more as I capture my own life via my lenses. It's about capturing what is real right now and embracing what is and recognizing what can be adjusted and celebrating that fact that we are alive.
My day was pretty normal - normal meaning that things didn't all go as planned. Anna was sick ( day two on the upswing) and stayed home from school. That resulted in a little less driving around for me and no gymnastics for her in the afternoon. Aaron was here in the evening, also not an everyday thing but a piece of our normal these days. He made strawberry margaritas for Taco Tuesday and I made chocolate covered strawberries because why the heck not? We could all use a little more joy like that in our weekly evenings. Celebrating what is.
I didn't take any notes besides the captions I added to my photos on Instagram. I really focused more on looking through the lens knowing I could bring it together with some reflections ( including both facts and feelings) when I bring it all together into a project.
Speaking on the project, I'm not sold on any one way to collect this into something tangible just yet but I'm leaning towards a minibook. I'm thinking I might use one of these 4x6 albums. I also loved using one of these 4x4 albums last year. I've got five different colors available in my shop if you are interested in one of those. My plan is to work on this project next week when I have a little more time after finishing up the new Story Kit content and another week of Type workshop content. I'll share my process here when it happens.
My photos this time are a mix of iPhone ( many of the those photos were shared on Instagram yesterday) and Canon 5D with a 24-70 lens. I edit using Photoshop and RadLab (awesome, easy to use program that basically adds filters to your photos - lighten, darken, black and white, etc). I went for a mix of black and white photos this time partly to help with some of the off-color images and partly because I just like that style.
Here's a look at my Tuesday:
I hope you enjoyed the process of documenting and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with to make the photos and words come alive in your albums.
SHARE A LINK TO YOUR DAY IN THE LIFE 2015 | MAY
You’re invited to include a link to your May 2015 Day In The Life™ page here. Please link directly to your post vs. your general blog link.
A sneak peek into next months Story Kit? Love it! :) I skipped yesterdays DITL because I feel too far behind to add another thing. But, now I really want to do it soon. Must catch up! Thanks for the inspiration.
Michelle.
Yep :)
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So awesome. I had a lot of fun playing along on Tuesday, specially since it was also my daughters birthday.
Just wondering if you're going to have a space in this post where we can share our Day in the Life posts?
I added that to the post.
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I took part in this yesterday, the first time back since 2013. Phew, was it a hard core day for me!! Even now my overriding feeling about yesterday is what a rubbish time it was ... but I've just flicked through my photo's and the amount of them that make me smile has me rethinking that opinion. Not such a rubbish day after all. Thanks Ali ;0)
Love that perspective.
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I love love this project!!! The foggy selfie was my fave photo!!! So cool
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You are all so beautifully photogenic! Such lovely pictures. Going to do mine tomorrow.
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So fun! I didn't take a bunch of pictures yesterday - only in the evening at a sports banquet. I decided I would document yesterday with "photos" of my emails, text messages and family members' Instagram posts -those really tell a better story of my yesterday than any photo from around here.
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Your photos are truly lovely.
My photography skills are improving. I noticed that the pictures are coming out better. I love this project. I see so much from the day to day and it's helped me appreciate things more than I ever did.
Thanks for sharing your photos and I look forward to seeing your project. Michelle t
I love this project as much for the photo practice as for the results :).
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I did it! My hours are a little weird but I did a 24 hour period. Now to decide what format I want to use. I have some 4x4 books but really like the 6x8. I should use what I already have. Decisions, decisions...lol
I know! I keep going back and forth.
I am using the 4X4 and totally love it! Its the first time I've used this size and the book came together quickly. I am going to end up with about 30 photos all together and can't wait to finish it up. Thanks Ali for all your inspiration am so glad that I did these projects when I look back at these photobooks. Treasure the memories.
Awesome!
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Ali, your photography is so darned inspiring! Do you set your camera up with a self-timer? These photos are so honest and real...love them!!
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Ali, when you announced the date for your Day in the Life I was like, "oh man, a Tuesday?!" My Tuesdays are SO boring. And just like that, I decided not to participate because my Tuesdays are boring AND I felt like I'd be setting myself up for disappointment because I wouldn't know what to photograph! And it's ironic, because on of my jobs is I take pictures. I take portraits of other people. Looking at your pictures I feel so inspired. I know I need to PUSH myself out of my comfort zone. It's OK if my Tuesdays are boring. Maybe I'll get crazy and try to document the next boring Tuesday next week. ;) Thanks Ali for the inspiration!
You are welcome! Do it.
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Love this, Ali. Makes me want to do one, too. I've never done this project. Week in the Life, yes. But not day. Will plan to do it.
You would rock this.
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Hey Ali, I didn't participate this time around, life just feeling too hectic. But I had to help my son with a timeline this week (for school), and went through old photo's. Have to say that the week-in-the-life photo's really takes you back to a time in your life like other photo's does. The details that I then found so ordinary, is now a key to those memories. Great project again, especially love the shower shot. Is it steam or a curtain that gives the hazy effect?
It's steam ;).
Hey Ali, did you take your camera into the shower or set it up on something outside the shower with a tripod? I take it you had finished the shower and the water was off but the steam remained?
I took it in the shower and took a couple shots by sitting it on a ledge (that normally holds shampoo). I also took a couple shots holding it in one hand and pointing the lens at myself. The shower was still going which is why it's so steamy. I took one like this back in 2011 when I was doing Week In The Life - this was kind of a follow up to that shot.
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I had a lot of fun this year :) I struggled with the low quality cell pics but in the end it really shows the day.
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Hi Ali,
Quick question, for the day in the life photos, are you actually going to be using all these photos for Tuesday in your album? Or do you recommend a certain amount of photos to share a day for the week in an album?
Many thanks,
Michele
Hi Michele - I'm not sure yet. It will really depend on how I decide to bring it all together within the album. I think there's probably a couple here I could leave out that feel a little repetitive (some of the kitchen stuff). Generally I probably use around 20 or so.
Ok cool thank you. :) Have a great day!
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Hi! Thank you for the great inspiration and a fun project. Random question... the lego artwork in Simon's room, did you happen to buy that and possibly remember where? Love it and know someone who would adore it. Thanks for the help!
Sure! I bought that from an artist in France earlier this year when I was teaching at an event. I brought it back with me on the plane ;). You can connect with him via Instagram if you are on there: https://instagram.com/micowel/
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I always love doing this project. It is especially interesting to look back on past DITL captures and see how things have progressed or changed. I am always amazed how quickly life revolves. Thanks for dreaming up this little project!
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This may seem a strange thing to say, BUT, I am going to try this. My husband and I are retired -- so what do you do all day, one might ask. LOTS! on some days, not so much on others as far as "outside the home." However, I think I would thoroughly enjoy this -- I have recently begun working on scrapbooks for our three grandchildren. They are ages eight (boy), 19 months (boy), and seven months (girl) old. Particularly on the days we spend with them, this would be a fun idea and then I could just add it to their books.
You should TOTALLY do it.
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This was my first time doing it, but I loved the challenge, even if I was a bit nervous at the beginning :)
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I love it...all so good, even though I didn't do it - yet - this year.
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Wonderful photos, Ali. I love the honesty, the realness and sincerity in your photos. I am looking forward to doing this for the first time soon.
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Ali, I would love to get your input on something. I started a new job in January, and my colleagues are a big part of my day-to-day. However, many of them seem to be quite "camera shy" -- I was taking photos for a non-scrapbooking project (a facilities inventory) today, and they were all making sure they were not in any of my shots! I would love to do a "day in the life" that included a good representation of my work day, and I'm wondering if you or anyone else has advice on how to approach colleagues (likely ahead of time, rather than in the moment) to explain what I am doing and why, and how to handle taking photos of non-family members (ie. people not used to having a scrapbooker around!) in the most respectful manner possible. I am also wondering what apps there are for camera phones (I have an iPhone 6) to do self-timer shots. Thanks for the inspiration -- I especially love the distance shot of you at the dining room table, and the steam one. :) - Carmen.
I honestly think simply talking to them in advance is the best bet. Maybe show past examples if you have them so they can see what the end result looks like. You could also show them my video on the Day In The Life project page so they get another angle on what the project actually is. And I think you are on track wanting to be respectful - with that approach you should be fine.
If you have an iPhone 6 I believe it comes up the timer (I have a 6). When you open the camera app it is along the top between "HDR Off" and the button to flip the camera around.
Thanks for the tips, Ali! :) Very much appreciated.
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Ali how did you take that shower shot ?
I didn't take yesterday but I plan to do next week.
For that one I was holding out my camera in front of me while standing in the shower. I also took a few where the camera was sitting on a ledge - the angle was better on this one. I know not everyone wants to #1 - take a photo of themselves in the shower and, #2 - risk the camera getting wet. It worked out.
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I hesitated linking up my blog post, as it documents more of a Day In The Life fail. But then I thought, hey, that's life. I do plan to keep working on this, maybe pushing myself to do a day each week until it becomes more natural for me. Your photo captures of your day are truly inspiring.
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This is my first Day in the Life documenting. I found it surprising that I do Project Life, which essentially documents daily life, yet none of these moments were ever included in my pages. Very interesting!
Indeed. They are very different approaches and tell different stories which is why I still like to do both :). I don't want to do Day In The Life or Week In The Life every month because it's just too much - they definitely capture different things :).
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This is such a beautiful post. I love that you didn't share any words or times with the photos, and they were absolutely magical to look at. On the surface it looks like a pretty normal day, but the moments and the way you captured them were magical.
Sometimes it's nice to just let the photos tell the story. When I put it together in an album/project I'll include times and reflections as well.
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