Day 365 The end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.
The day has finally come; I remember day one of this project as if it was yesterday. Taking my Canon 500D down to the beach and taking a photograph of the sun rise, starting a project that has made this year quite interesting. Now, 365 days later, it is finished. This will be my last entry of 2012 and this blog. Though I am finished with Photo a Day, I will more than likely make a new blog and you can all follow my endeavours through that, just don’t expect it to be every day.
Now that this is my last post, I feel quite intimidated. I feel like I should make some kind of point, trying to sum this whole thing up. I will, but first I feel like I should thank some people first.
Thank you to all of my followers on Tumblr and to everyone who liked or reblogged my posts/photos, seeing these messages every day has been really cool and made this experience quite enjoyable.
Thank you to everyone who commented or liked the links to this blog on Facebook, again reading this support has been really amazing and has helped me on this experience.
To anyone, friends, family and acquaintances, who asked me about this project, said how much they liked it or shared their thoughts. Again, those words of support have been greatly appreciated, especially from a real person rather than a name on the screen.
To everyone who let me take a photo of for Photo a Day or gave me ideas for days, your contribution has greatly helped me in those uninspiring days.
A big thank you to Josie Webster, Becca Fadden, Elicia Powell, Gemma Blaney, Conor McCartney, Blair Glymond, James McKeown , Stevie Lennon, Naomi Boyle, Ian Gardener, Joe Costin and James Dunn. You have all been great stalwart companions to me through this year and project. Thank you for showing me support, helping me with ideas and generally making 2012 a great year to remember.
Also a dear thank you to my family, Mum, Dad, my brother Paul, and even Belle the family dog. (Who helped out get some easy photos seeing as she’s a dog, everyone loves a dog…) You each have helped me with your support and love, for that, I am eternally grateful.
Photo a Day began as a way for me to get better use with my DSLR, to improve my photography and feel like I achieved something. But like most things in life, it turned into something different. People first commented about the project by calling it a virtual diary, a way to remember every day of the year. Though I did not intended this, I thought about what they said and kind of embraced that idea. It was only half way, about Summer time or in September that I stopped and looked back through the posts. It was strange. I can remember every day, not just through the posts, but through the photos themselves, I can remember my state of mind, my feelings at that frozen moment and it’s amazing.
We are all made from memory. Our experiences, emotional state and past actions create the people we are today. Though we don’t realize this fully until we look back and who we were. For the first time I have a way of seeing who Mark Nugent was in January the 28th, who he was in May 10th and who I am now.
Now we all have the means and technology to achieve this. Everyone has some form of camera and way to publish it. Photo a Day projects aren’t necessary difficult, hell someone with an Iphone can achieve it quite easily. To those who have talked to me about doing this kind of thing, my only advice is don’t think, just act. Don’t plan, don’t worry. If you have a camera and Internet connection just do it and be amazed at what you find. You’ll see things differently, see what makes you a person; a human being and you may very well be better of it. Take that first photo and commit you’ll love it.
As for me, I goanna head into the New Year with an attitude to make more media, more photos, more films and more projects. To absorb new media, games, films, books, web comics, so that I can keep my interest and creative juices flowing. To be there for my friends, being a better man and just enjoy 2013 as much as I did 2012.
I am different than I was back in January 1st. I learned more about life than I thought I ever could. It was my first year without a certain family member who passed away 2011 and was a very important part of my life. I lost an old friend on February and haven’t really recovered from that shock. It was also the first year that my future is so clear to me, what I want to be, where I want to go and who I want in my life. In the risk of sound over dramatic, I think 2012 has shown me who I really am.
Still this is it. The end. As I look out to the setting sun, unknown about the future, but deep in the thought of what I want to achieve, I will leave you. It’s been good craic.
I wish you a happy new year and the very best in your 2013. Make it a good one.
My Name is Mark Nugent.
And this has been 365 days of my life.