Raleigh || 29 December 2015
This time last year was one of major change in my life. I had just moved to Boston, I was starting my transferred job, and I was operating outside of a school-centric schedule for the first time. As such, I wanted to document my growth over the year so that I had something to look back on. I took the opportunity to start a 365 project for the year of 2015. A 365 project entails shooting, processing, and uploading a photo to my website every day for a year. Some people do it for the challenge, some for a blog, but I did it so that I would have an achievement of my own to be proud of.
My 365 project was off to a great start– From January through most of April, I was punctual and consistent with my photos. After that I started to take photos in batches before (or sometimes after) they were “due” — I’d either queue them up for their respective days or I’d play the catchup game. I didn’t like doing that because I knew it was a small failure of my goal, but I kept chugging along. Better late than never, right? Once July rolled around I was back on track, taking a photo every day, processing it, and uploading it for the world to see.
As fate would have it, I was robbed in August of 2015. My camera, my computer, my hard drives, and all of my lenses were taken. I was heartbroken– I debated for a long time whether or not to take my project offline. Of course I was sad because my equipment was gone, but that can always be replaced. On the flip side, the files and memories that were stored on my computer and hard drive were going forever. Insurance can’t write you a check to replace those. If you care to go look, you can see my 365 project up until 8 August 2015. That was around 
the time of the robbery. I’ve debated taking it down– proof that I didn’t finish something that I started– but I decided to leave it up for the time being. Even though I didn’t finish, I kept it going for eight months. Eight months is a long time to keep any one goal in sight. It was longer than any class I’ve taken and it was the longest I have stuck to a personal goal without completely slipping up. And I’m proud of that.
My current work schedule doesn’t always allow me to take a photo each day, so I’ve kept a semi regular blog on which I include a few of my favorite shots from the days and weeks leading up to each post. (You’re reading it now.) As this year progresses I may decide to start a new 365, perhaps halfway through the year, or maybe I’ll pick up where I left off on August 8th. I just know I want to keep on growing and advancing.
The photos found throughout this post aren’t from my 365, but you can explore my project here. Most of those photos are on sale! If you would like to order a print, you can contact me at booking@robertnelson.eu or through any one of my social media accounts. 
