366 Project Month Eight - An unwelcome surprise!

After a month of no set theme in July, I decided to follow the same routine in August. I didn’t feel like forcing myself to follow any set pattern. Little did I know, August had an unwelcome surprise in store for me that nearly led to me failing the project.

At the start of August, all seemed well. There were some wet days, which actually led to some of the ground reflections I had come to enjoy photographing.

As well as the chance to take some photos where I could attempt, perhaps not successfully, to emulate some of the work of the masters that I admire.

I also encountered some situations of taking photos in extreme low light. It's amazing what modern cameras can do nowadays, as I'm quite sure I couldn't have gotten the photo above with a film camera and no tripod.

I also experimented with some styles I’d always found fascinating but had never tried. I don’t think the photo above is anything amazing that I am proud of, but at least I’ve now made some attempt. Now if I see scene I do want to try to capture in a water droplet, I am much better prepared. If not for my project, I am sure I wouldn’t have made the effort to go out in the rain with a remote flash.

But, on August 26th, disaster struck. It was the final night of the Winter Fireworks at the Docklands, and I had my tripod, cable release and camera all ready to go. Then met up with my friend and started the tram journey to the planned shooting spot. I never made it.

Halfway there, covered in a cold sweat, I had to depart the tram. I lay on the ground of the tram stop for several minutes, before I could finally get enough energy to make the return trip home. Honestly, If I wasn’t with my friend then, I’m not sure I could have made it back.

Somehow, I got home, took a shower and climbed into bed. It would be 11pm before I could even think about moving again. 11pm, barely strength to get out of bed, and no photo. I had to think what I could take without moving far from bed. A newly acquired USB, an Aputure AL-M9 led light, and we were in business. Thanks to the connectivity of my camera and phone, I could even post-process and post the image on my phone without ever touching my laptop.

I took this lying under a blanket in bed.

The next few days were pretty brutal, but I was at least well enough to at least get out of bed. I even managed to find inspiration for a photo from my restricted diet.

In the end, a daily project and illness can coexist, but you better be prepared to be flexible.

You can read about my experiences from other months here.

If you want to follow along in my journey, you can see how my 366 project is progressing on Instagram: @andrew366