The 365 Project {2020}: February

February has come and gone, which means I’ve completed another month of the 365 project!!

(insert pat on back)

Sixty total days of photographs.

One image for each day of 2020! This month brought an extra leap year day, which technically makes this the 366 day challenge. Completing another month feels so good.

February felt different. I really felt like I was finally in a groove. This project didn’t feel like a chore anymore, unlike January where there were plenty of days I really struggled. It just seemed more like second nature this month. The biggest change this month, that definitely helped me with the project, was having my boys home with me more. This month, my youngest stayed home with my full time and we headed to New England for a winter family vacation...which meant lots of quality time with my boys. Having them home more and out of school, took the burden off of trying to find time at the end of the school day to snap my photo. Even with traveling from Charleston to Southern Maine and all day activities like skiing, where I didn’t have my camera on me at all, I still found time to document our day.

So here’s my 29 days of February 2020, another month full of adventure and everyday moments…

Here’s more from February 2020…

The 365 Project {2020}: January

Before ringing in the new year (the beginning of a new decade and the year I turn 40), I knew I wanted do something more.

What that something was, I didn’t know.

As a family photographer and someone who uses social media as an outlet to share and connect with others, I find myself inspired daily by talented lifestyle photographers who share their everyday lives through beautiful images. Many who post daily, regardless of how ordinary the day might be or seem. Those are the moments I want to remember and the moments I want to freeze in time, those are the memories I want to document for my family.

So as the clock struck midnight and we welcomed 2020, I made the commitment to myself, along with a group of other photographers, to take one photograph each day for one year…The 365 Project.

Seems pretty simple…right?

Not even close. And for so many reasons.

In order to do a project like this, I knew I would have to have my boys on board. My boys are currently 6 (6 and a half if you ask him) and 3 years old. Like many boys (and girls I’m sure), they rarely want their picture taken. It’s a constant balancing act for me as a mom and photographer. As someone who loves having my camera on me all the time to capture those special moments, I don’t want my boys always feeling like a camera is in their face. Because of this, there’s been many days this month that I have photograph a fleeting moment as it’s happening- no planning, no grand vision, many photographs taken with almost no time to adjust my settings and many times moments they don’t even realize I have my camera. Just authentic, messy, but real life moments.

And then there’s been days, many of which were during the school week, that I had to carve out a few minutes before the night ended to take my photo of the day. Almost every day after school I’ve asked my boys if they had any fun ideas for a picture or if I could take a quick photo of them. I have loved their input. Documenting the world around them through their ideas and vision has been so much fun for us. They both love (like most kids) seeing the image immediately after it’s taken and many times this inspires them to try something new or direct me in some way. I love their creativity and it pushes me too. Those have become some of my most favorite images this month. Again, not a lot of planning and sometimes activities or things only a parent could love and appreciate, but still moments I will forever cherish.

And then the days that I’ve had no motivation to take a single photo (day 19, day 22 and day 30)- let alone cull, edit and share them. But I want to stick to my goal, something I sadly rarely do these days. I might not love every single photo on it’s own and many of them might not be share worthy, but as I whole I’m pretty obsessed.

So without further ado….here’s my every day moments of January 2020 (31 days).

Maine Family Adventure: Trip to Sebec

Fall in Maine has always been my favorite season and every October in Charleston it calls my name.  With each passing year, I’ve grown more and more home sick, longing for those crisp autumn days. I missed it so much, that this past August my family moved from South Carolina to Southern Maine for a year, to experience the beauty of New England...and fall! 

After a very hot Maine August, fall soon arrived.  The season I waited over 14 years to enjoy, the season I was most excited for. 

But in mid November, we got snow. Not just a sprinkle of snow, we got inches of snow.  Thanksgiving morning felt more like Christmas and just like that my favorite season became winter! 

Isn't there something so magical about snow, how it completely transforms everything it touches?  I forgot how alive the winter can make you feel.  

The snow soon melted away and for almost the entire month of December we didn't see any snow in Southern Maine, other than a couple of morning dustings. We missed it, just like I longed for the cooler days of fall...we longed for the snow to return to York, Maine.  Christmas break arrived and after almost a week of being inside, we were all itching to escape to find some snow. 

The New Year’s weekend was upon us, so with less then 24 hours, we booked our Airbnb and headed to Sebec, Maine!

I had never been to Sebec or the Moosehead Lake area. The closest I had ever been was my summers spent at cheering camp in Bangor, Maine. I knew nothing about the area, but my trusty weather app predicted snow that weekend and there was a ski resort about a hour away…so off to Piscataquis County we went!

After 3 hours in the car, we finally arrived to the entrance of Pleasant River Guides: Wilderness Lodges and Cabins, our cozy log cabin in Maine.

The drive down the dirt road was a beautiful adventure in itself. The 1.2 mile long driveway is surrounded by white birch and pines, which were covered in a thin blanket of snow. Small signs were posted along the path letting us know we were getting closer. We drove slowly, trying to take it all in and hoping to catch a glimpse of some wildlife...we were on a mission to see a moose.  Finally we reached the main entrance! 

The property is a winter playground. It has everything - a large frozen pond encircled in large pines, a babbling brook, multiple trails for hiking, hunting or snowmobiling, five quaint authentic log cabins and the main owner’s lodge. 

After checking in with the owner, Brenda, we quickly threw on our snow gear and headed to the wooded trail before the sun went down!

Like any road trip for our family, our car was packed to the brim with everything we could possibly need, including our new snow sleds. My boys took turns riding and pulling the sled through the path in the woods.

We took many pit stops along the trail, for rolling around and eating snow.

The golden light coming through the tree canopy was a photographer’s dream. I couldn’t get enough of it!

more eating of snow…

After our adventure through the woods, we headed back to our cabin to warm up, unpack and unwind. Eager to see more of the property as the sun went down, I grabbed my camera and headed out to explore on my own.

I watched the sun go down, something I’ve been lucky to experience almost every evening since returning to Maine.

That night we rang in the New Year, well sorta…we all fell asleep well before the clock struck midnight.

And to our excitement, on the first day of 2019, we woke up to a winter wonderland!

We spent our first day of the year as a family outside in the snow. It was a day full of walks through the snow covered woods, snowman building, sledding and shoveling snow (most of it not captured on camera). It was a perfect day and a trip I will forever remember!