Then end of one year brings the promise of something new in the one ahead. Last year DPS challenged you to start a Project 365, or Photo A Day, in 2010. We’re doing the same for 2011 and we’d love to know your plans!

As a helpful suggestion, I have complied a spreadsheet for those needing some structure or looking for advice. The sheet is available here for download in Excel format (Project 365 Calendar). It contains a list of 52 different themes, one for each week of 2011, to aid your creativity if you get stuck. By no means is anyone required to complete this assignment exactly as written because a Project 365 should be about what interests you. It’s merely meant to help keep the motivation up when it starts to wane (around week two).

I’ve also included a column for each day of the week for those planners out there who want to list it all out. It’s also a great way to capture future image ideas and reference them later. Need further help in staying motivated? Jim Goldstein has a post here on DPS just for you; 11 Tips to Succeed with a Photo365 Project.

To recap the post from last year, “What is a Project365?  While they can take many forms depending on your hobbies, for photography’s sake it’s the simple act of taking a picture every day for a year. Many people will then post the photos on their blog, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums or just send them to friends. The format of presenting is not the important part of the project, although it can become a very useful way to keep committed to the project.”

Now then, here is a link to the spreadsheet and below is the list itself for those wanting to adapt it to their own note keeping method. I tried to pick subject matter that did not require much, if any, travel far from home. It may take some creativity to caputure a few of the subjects, but you are a photographer, you are creative by nature! Have a great time shooting in 2011

Note: You will notice the spreadsheet starts on January 1st. That ‘week’ only counts for January 1st and 2nd. After those dates, the calendar assumes the weeks start on Monday.

Week Starts Theme
Jan 01 Newness
Jan 03 Cold
Jan 10 Breakfast
Jan 17 Macro
Jan 24 Tired
Jan 31 Sleep
Feb 07 Body Parts
Feb 14 Romance
Feb 21 Spirit
Feb 28 Vegetables
Mar 07 Underneath
Mar 14 Spring/Autumn
Mar 21 Planning
Mar 28 Fools
Apr 04 Excitement
Apr 11 Work
Apr 18 Growth
Apr 25 Trees
May 02 Mother
May 09 Up
May 16 Anger
May 23 Temptation
May 30 Looking in
Jun 06 Party
Jun 13 Father
Jun 20 Swing
Jun 27 Lighting Experimentation
Jul 04 Red, White, Blue
Jul 11 Family
Jul 18 Summer/Winter
Jul 25 Time
Aug 01 Water
Aug 08 Shadows
Aug 15 Peace
Aug 22 Defeat
Aug 29 Sunset
Sep 05 Spice
Sep 12 The Kitchen
Sep 19 Autumn/Spring
Sep 26 Tools
Oct 03 Colors
Oct 10 My Neighbors
Oct 17 On The Shelf
Oct 24 Memories
Oct 31 Texture
Nov 07 Wind
Nov 14 Music
Nov 21 Gathering
Nov 28 Beyond Reach
Dec 05 Smiles
Dec 12 After
Dec 19 Winter/Summer
Dec 26 Oldness

Note: A few people have been kind enough to create Google Calendars of this schedule to be freely shared. Here is one example from DPS reader Chris Morgan. If you have GMail calendars set up, click Add then New Calendar and add that link in. If you use the likes of iCal, just click on the link and add as you would another calendar. Thanks!

Read more from our Digital Photography Resources, Other Photography Tips Category