I felt like getting away from the cutesy stuff I like to photograph (when I’m not taking pictures for my recipe blog, that is).  I also wanted an excuse to play with my macro lens.  My husband is currently doing the spare room over to make it into a nursery.  Last night he removed all the hardware from the built-in cabinets and spent a couple of hours cleaning off old paint and shellac.  Now it all looks new again.  I really wanted to grab some pictures of the hinges while they were still loose, but he was too quick for me.  I settled for snapping a few shots of the screws.  And just because screws are such a compelling subject (note sarcasm), I decided to get creative and desaturate the final image.  Black and white hardware…does it get any better?  :)

This is my cat, Seiya.  She loves nothing more than to lounge around in bed all day.  Unless, of course, she’s sitting by the radiator.  Otherwise the appeal of a fluffy down comforter is too much for her to resist.  At least it doesn’t show her fur!  In fact, she blends in so well I don’t always realize she’s there.   Luckily those beautiful, bi-colored eyes of hers made her presence quite obvious on this day.

Okay, I’m cheating a little bit with this first one. (What, only the first week and she’s cheating already??) I actually took this photo back in October, but I haven’t had a chance to showcase it yet. I think it’s kind of cute. It’s also one of the photos I took that inspired me to start this project in the first place, so I think it makes an appropriate first picture. I promise the next one will actually be taken some time this week.  :)

Some of you may have heard of Project 365 before. It seems to most frequently apply to photography, but I’d guess it could really apply to just about anything. Essentially, you set a goal for the year to – in the case of photography – take a photograph every day. You can blog about it, post it on flickr or facebook, or just keep it to yourself…just as long as you get in one photo per day for the year (hence the 365).

What better time to start on such a project than the beginning of a brand new year? Well, I already know this is going to be a big year for our family what with so many changes on the way, so I decided to start small. I’m going to do a Project 52. I’ll still likely take several pictures throughout the week. On Sundays I’ll post my favorite(s) from the preceding week on this blog. Not all the photos will be stellar, but that’s part of my reason for doing this. I want to become a better photographer. I’m starting this project with the intention that it will force me to get more practice and learn some new techniques.

So, look forward to some weekly photos starting this Sunday!