Jodi and Dani’s sixty-four colors project has been one of the most inspiring projects I’ve seen in a long time. The fact that they invited us to participate alongside them was so great, and I have had the BEST time with this project. It has inspired me to see things differently, to look for colors everywhere, and satisfies my perfectionist side at the same time. While some of the colors were duds, so to speak, and I got reeeeally tired of dark purples and how purples never look on the computer screen like they did in real life, I am so glad that I followed this project through from start to finish. I’m sad it’s over, but I have a feeling that I will keep adding shots to my sixty-four colors set for a long time.

Here are all of my “official” sixty-four colors shots. I love seeing them all together like this!

Way back in January, I started a new photo project for the new year (because sixty-four colors and my third year of Project 365 weren’t enough, simultaneously): Scavenger Hunt 101. When Pookie and Schnookie suggested it, I was really skeptical. There were a lot of items on this list (a child crying, someone meditating or praying, a public display of affection… I could go on) that really didn’t inspire me at all. But I went for it anyway, and carried the master list, written in a notebook, in my bag all year. I’m really glad that I did this, now that it’s over. It got me shooting things I probably wouldn’t care so much about normally, and it really challenged me to think outside the box for some of the more pesky scavenger hunt items. I thought it would be fun to feature a few of my favorite shots from the whole set, which you can see over here, in order.

#2, the home of a non-human creature.

#6, winter.

#15, a toy.

#23, a flower.

#45, a fish.

#49, your favorite color.

#79, an exotic animal.

#80, your favorite shade-tree.

#84, the place where you eat most of your meals.

#86, a shadow.

#93, a train.

#101, a self-portrait.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a roundup of photos from the archives that match the week’s color for sixty-four colors. I think it’s mostly because there are so many crayons that are so similar, and I may have already posted old shots for those colors. Either way, this week’s color was red, and you know I have a lot of that. The first shot was this week’s photo, and the rest are old favorites.

I don’t know when I last watched a sunrise, let alone one at the beach. I’m fairly certain I haven’t ever done that. So way back when I started working on Scavenger Hunt 101, I felt like I should do something special for #73, a sunrise. You don’t live 15 minutes from the beach on the east coast and not watch at least one sunrise. So on Tuesday, I woke up super early (and I may or may not have waited until the last week before daylight savings time ended so I didn’t have to wake up THAT super early) and drove to the boardwalk in Asbury Park (even though the universe is probably SO over my photos from that spot, I just can’t help it) in time to watch the sun rise.

It was pretty amazing. Even if the bagel place on the boardwalk is closed, but only on Tuesdays. If you ever get a chance to watch the sun rise, you should do it. Really.

Blue is, as one of the original crayon colors, perhaps not as flashy as some of the newer additions. But it’s a classic, and I was surprised at how much true blue I found in my archives. I just love the richness of a real royal blue, maybe because you don’t find it too often. I just couldn’t leave any of these out, especially since the last one is from Shea Stadium back in 2006.

So today I finished my third year of Project 365, and it is SO exciting. It’s been a mostly awesome year (with a few stumbles along the way), and finishing the project on such a high note is a definite plus. But it’s always fun to go back through the year, and I wanted to share some of my favorite photos from the past year.