What is Jim doing?: 52Frames and 2024

We're beginning the last full week in 2024 and that completes my second consecutive year as a "52Framer." See my post from March 2023 regarding what 52Frames is and why I signed on to participate. In short, over the past two years I've posted an image to the site every week. Well, almost every week. This past March just after returning from Iceland I woke at 0230 on a Monday morning realizing I had not posted, by Sunday's 2359 due date, the previous week's (Week 11) image whose prompt was, "Roads." The unfortunate thing was that I had the image ready to go. It was an image I shot on our last full day in Iceland in nearly white out conditions. I added it to the comments section of that next week's post so I felt better about myself. However, the "52Framer" counter paused at Week 11 and started over for week 12. All good. That image below.

Other than that one glitch I'm 103 for 104 weeks so far. Not bad. The prime directive is to upload an image every week. While there is a topical prompt for each week's images, more important is to upload. Of course the kicker is that the image must be shot in that week. No rummaging through the back catalog for your amazing shots. Go out with the camera each and every week and take pictures. No issues with me, I love getting out and about in my little town, or the surrounds, for a bit of Jim and camera time. But, and I have to be honest, a number of this year's submissions were phoned in. At least I felt they were phoned in. It has been a busy year for me and I just wasn't feeling it for a lot of the prompts. Or, by the time I got around to shooting the prompt it was too late and I needed something to upload. Thank you iPhone for always being with me such that I have a supply of ready-to-upload images of stuff-I-see. It may sound like I'm beating myself up on this issue but I'm really not. I'm happy with 90% of the images I've uploaded over the past two years and that is all I ask of myself. If I'm able to hit the prompt as well, that's icing on the cake.

Going into 2025 my goal is to continue uploading every week. I will try to meet the literal intent, or at lease the general spirit, of each week's prompt, but if not, so be it. There are no 52Frames police. There is however a very large and supportive international community of extremely talented and creative photographers ready to provide feedback (if asked). I am very grateful for those who, in 2023/24, took the time to discuss, in one or two short sentences, their thoughts on my images. Their comments were always helpful for me. Talented and creative aside, I review images for each week's prompts and there are more than a few which appear to me to have been phoned in as well. Gotta' say, I am happy to see those, as it helps me realize I am not alone in living a busy, hectic life.

52Frames has improved my photography. For those weeks when I buckle down and really work the prompt, I learn about myself, my camera and my photography. That is the reason I keep participating.

See the link, https://52frames.com/, for more information about this large international photography community. In the mean time, here are a few of my favorites from 2024.

Week 1 - Self Portrait