I have never done a 365 project before, only because I have long felt that it was a forced exercise that I wouldn’t benefit from…you can’t demand inspiration! That said, as I delve deeper into creating in-camera JPEG profiles across various camera systems, I think I could stand to be a bit more intentional in my exposures, so this project has two constraints:

1) Half or more of the photos must be manually focused

2) The photo must be a JPEG file straight from the camera with no editing except for cropping/leveling

Ok, at 45 days in, I'm striking out my SOOC rule. I did give this one a lot of thought, and ultimately it was both holding back the quality of output and discouraging me from being excited about this project. I'm much more interested in 365 days of photos than holding myself to misguided constraints. I figure if I get 365 unique opportunities to refine my post processing work, that's better than 365 middling photos because I gave myself a directive I have no real use for in my normal shooting. I have developed a number of LR presets to go over the top of my SOOC recipes/profiles since I don't have total control over all settings in camera, especially on Nikon, and not even being able to use those was really frustrating.

Either way, I'm still enjoying the process of daily creation, and buoyed by my newfound shedding of a mental shackle.

Happy 2025 to all that may find this post!