Inspiration and photo challenges

Lately I have been surfing around in very inspiring photo blogs. I love the idea of a photo book of the year where I would have a whole year documentet, but have never done it. The 365 photos project is just too much for me and even if I have done a few digital weekly lay-outs last year, I think I will never complete the whole year. So I decided to try a 52 weeks project and have found several blogs with these, some with a weekly theme, some without. I really would like to improve my photo skills this year and I also would like to give myself more time to be creative and not just read blogs about other creative people, so now I have decided to start at least two projects on my blog. This way I hope I will also start to update my blog a bit more often. I decided to follow the project 52 photo challenge I found on the blog 3 boy barbarians. Then I will also do the Italian 52 weeks project started by Simona where the theme is free and for that one I will do a photo collage about something that has happened during the week or with my best photos of the week. I saw that approach on the blog Kristy Klaassen photography that has really beautiful photo collages.

So one two three off we go with the photo challenges and a more creative life! I have always found it very hard to follow and interpret a particular theme when I take photos, so it should be a good excercise for me! I'm late for the first weeks' themes, but I will search some suitable photos among those that I have already taken, although that's not the idea with the photo challenges where you should acutally think about the theme while you are taking the photos.

Anyway, week one's theme was Resolution. This photo was taken on the first day of the year and one resolution could be to do more things together with my children - they are getting big!

Week 2 Made with Love. I didn't take many photos on week 2, so I chose one taken on week 3 on our week-end trip to Barcelona. My children are made with love of course, and there's also a heart on Sofia's sweatshirt, so I chose this one. I dont't get too many photos with all three quarrelling children on the same photo.

Week 3 I Dreamed a Dream. Carlotta in front of a bakery in Barcelona and her dream would be to taste all these lovely pastries, I guess.

I want to put another photo, too for I Dreamed a Dream, although it's taken on week 4. I love this photo of Sofia and her favourite pony, Gamberetta. I can imagine her dreaming in this photo of Gamberetta being her own pony.

Week 4 was Self Portrait and that's difficult, because my self portraits always get so stupid. I took this one in the car with Carlotta on our way to my riding lesson. This time Sofia had lots of home work to do and couldn't join us, but Carlotta almost always has to come with us to the riding school even if it isn't her riding lesson, because I can't leave her alone at home.

So in this way I have made a concrete start for the challenge and next time I will join it for real posting my link to the 3 BoyBarbarians blog. The theme is shadows. Not so easy!

Christmas photo collage

I used a template I found in this site to make a collage of our Christmas photos. It's very nice and I think I will use it also to make monthly collages.

Happy 2012

We got a white new year's eve after all! We spent the first part of the evening at my sister's daughters house eating good new years food, chatting, lighting sparklers, shooting fireworks and melting tin. Then we went home and at midnight we went out to see the fireworks. The children were really happy when they saw there was a white snow layer outside!