THIRTY DAY CHALLENGE--A PHOTO A DAY--day thirty--FINALE or finally

April 2014 is over and so is my thirty day challenge.  I managed to take--and post on my blog--a photo every day. There were a couple of exceptions when I knew I’d be away from home and extra busy.  Those days I posted a photo I’d taken during the same time and scheduled the post.

 Day thirty--Sunset over the Lost River Range of Central Idaho.

As Matt Cutts promised in his TED Talk, taking a photo every day did make the time more memorable.  I also became more familiar with my Nikon camera and a little more confident in my photography skills.

I don’t know if I can do ANYTHING for 30 days, but it seems that amount of time is about right for changing a habit or trying something new. As Mr. Cutts said, small, sustainable changes are more likely to stick.

 Sun disappearing behind Diamond Peak

Not only did I take a photo every day, I ended up putting up a post every day about the photo or photos.  The time and effort this took increased my respect for entertaining and skilled bloggers like Val, Pearl and joeh who put up a daily post consistently.

Another thing I noticed was more incentive to go on a daily walk or bike ride, even in the rain.  Which makes me wonder if neighbors have noticed me walking about and have perhaps labeled me the Weird Wandering Woman with the Camera. I could become a noted village character like Kmart Cruiser, Biking Boo Radley, Merle Big Trike, and Granny Nightgown.

 Someone else who paused to appreciate the sunset.

A photo a day became more time consuming and challenging as time passed when I found it more difficult to come up with a new subject.  I didn’t always leave the house with a specific photo idea in mind and often when I did I found a better one.

 For example when I came across the squirrels with the pizza I was prepared.  And when I ran out of easy subjects I pushed myself to learn a little more about creating Gif’s in Photoshop.

The month of May is next and there are plenty of other challenges to try for thirty days such as:  give up TV or some kind of junk food or a bad habit.  Write a gratitude list, learn and use a new word daily, write a poem, keep a journal or work on some kind of fitness or skill.  There are lots of 30 Day Challenge sites on the internet which provide more ideas.  As Matt Cutts said, “The next thirty days will pass whether you like it or not.”