Kevin Drum I purchased my first DSLR a little over a year ago. I have years of experience in Photoshop (some old non-commercial stuff can be seen at kevinleedrum.deviantart.com), but I've always relied on others for the source photography. The one piece of advice you frequently hear is to always have your camera with you, and I did indeed keep mine with me for the first year.

However, it was still very easy to go days without taking a photo. I was always waiting for something to happen before I took out my camera. At the end of last year, I started seeing more and more mention of 365 projects online.

When I saw mention of tookapic on the /r/photography subreddit, I decided to give it a try. I'm now on a streak of three weeks, and it has really forced me to learn a lot in a short amount of time. It also gets me out of the house more. A lot of devotion is required to not miss a day, but instead of waiting for a good photo to step in front of me, I am now constantly searching for locations, subjects, and ideas.

Ultimately, I just love learning, and I like creating great images, so that's why I am doing a 365 project.

Jesse Lind I was about six or seven when I started getting interested in photography. I got a cannon camera handed down to me from my siblings @Christa and @ben but I still couldn't take very good pictures so I got discouraged with @Christa and @ben taking these amazing pictures so I kind of stopped and went on to other hobbies

But just this Christmas my brother and I did a photo shoot and he told me about this website. That's what got me into it again and I'm so happy that there's a website like this or else I probably wouldn't be as into photography as I am now!
Thanks @Paweł

Julia I tried 365 days project last year, but failed. A friend of mine asked me whether we wanna to restart the project. I was thinking why not, after all the unfinished project was a regret for me. I decide to take this challenge again with my friend. I promise I won't give up easily this time, because I think it will be an accomplishment for me, if I can make a commitment to myself.

Agnieszka Walędziak I love taking pics and still learning how to do them. There's no better way to make good photo, than to take a lot of them. I have two small children and it's very easy for me to find an excuse for doing nothing. I started my 365 days project to have a good reason to take my camera in my hands everyday, even for a moment. I hope it will teach me to work systematically and motivate me during hard times. Oh, and it gives me one more thing - some free time only for myself. It's not so easy when you have family. Now I can say "Sorry, I have to go out for a moment, my picture is waiting for me" and just shut the door behind my back :)

Faye Brentnell Last year I experienced one of the most emotionally devastating losses of my life. I wasn't sure if or how I could go on. Now that I am gradually, slowly, rebuilding a life for myself, I want to document the things, people, pets, and experiences that are important to me, and make my life worth living to the fullest.

Timothy Heberling I have been a photo bug since I was 10 years old. That was 50 years ago. Never made a career of it, but used it extensively since I built my first web site in 1994. Got a web site that describes my interests at chillypup.com - went to Antarctica in 2010 on the National Geographic Explorer and my interest became a passion. Hope to get recognized enough to get a travel photography job, but in the meantime it is places like 360 that help fuel my fire :)

Eline I got my DSLR only a few months ago, but I have always been interested in arts and photography. I started my 365 self portraits project because I wanted to improve my photography and photoshop skills, because it is helping me gain confidence and because it helps me look at the world in a different and more intense way.

Ivan Debak Mine started when I came to Zagreb to go to the University of Graphic Arts. It was this year (2014) in October. I came to Zagreb from a little town, I've always wanted to do photography but I never had enough money to do so (equipment and everything). My older brother had Canon 1100D, but he wasn't that much into photography. One day I took the camera and started playing around, he noticed that I like it and he gave it to me.
But he had one condition, a that was only if I have improvements.
It was great condition for me because that was something I've wanted too. So I was taking pictures and reading a lot of information about it. One day I somehow came across this page, and it was beta so I decided to apply, altho I wasn't good at photography.Since then this has become something that makes my day. (Except for the time I wasn't active..:( ).I'm also trying to learn as much as I can while doing this. I also adore tookapic blog posts because you can learn a lot from it.

Jennifer I read about the idea of doing 365 projects in an otherwise dull book about technology and media that was required reading for a class. I really only took photos of fun times with friends, my beloved pets, or the sunlight when it looked particularly nice. Photography has never really been a "thing" for me, and I don't think I'll ever consider myself a photographer, really.

I decided to take up the project because I wanted to get better at being consistent and committing to do something every single day. It was a bit rough and bumpy at the start, but then I got a smartphone. Suddenly, I always had a camera available wherever I was, and that turned things around. I was able to capture the beautiful moments in life no matter when or where they happened. I can't adjust my aperture, and I only barely know what that is from the blog post about it read on here a few days ago, but I still feel that I'm learning a lot from this project. I'm seeing beauty in the world everywhere!

Kinga Jedrzejewska I started the project because i am just addicted to taking pictures ;) when you have children its just normal to take a lot and i really mean a lot of pictures, so why not sharing some of them and trying to be better...this project is a kind of journey through our growing up together, me as a mum and photographer and my family and its a possibility to meet another people who are thinking and feeling like me and seeing the world a bit different...

Julie Perry My son told me about Tookapic so I took a look .I really wanted to comment on his photography so I registered . Then I thought it would be a challenge to do it myself even though my camera doesnt compare with Tims's or most of the photographers on the site. I love taking pictures that have a story and am finding it an avenue for my creative side. I have had a SLR camera way back in the past and am feeling inspired to look into new cameras but I am very happy with my own.

Lacie Lanum I started this project as A way to keep track of this year. Last year my fiance and I decided we would get married in may. January we found out we were going to be about 5 months pregnant on our wedding. Honestly this year is going to be full of more changes than I could have ever imagined and I want to have a way to watch it unfold. Besides that, when I was pregnant with my daughter I took pic and of course thousand after birth but my USB drive with everything on it got stolen. I want these memories backed up.:)

Luke I actually heard about it from a friend a few months ago, and I had thought it sounded really interesting. After doing some research, I started taking more anf more pictures with my cell phone camera. Originally, I had started on a different site, and was sort of losing interest. A week and a half ago, I found this site, which I like much better than the previous one, and my enthusiasm rushed right back!

Fan Always,we post photo slowly by a travel,like immersed in memories.
Until,saw the 365 plan on other blogs. Amazing it's great for bring up"observation ,acuity,choose" ability . Day to day is really boring,but it cause me fround more and more interessting things in different date。
I love it ! With positive。 Keep going !!! And ,I love see everyone talk about their small story,sample and real~ ps My English is not well ,sorry~Orz

Darek Morys My story is quite ordinary. Some time ago I saw privat.ly blog and I started to follow the Paweł's progress. His style goes well in my taste, so I started to follow him also on Facebook. That's where I saw that he plans to build Tookapic. At the first opportunity I signed up for the beta, but I did not know if I'll be able to meet the challenge. I still do not know. The first time I did 15 days streak. One quick day meant that I forgot to take a picture. I had to start from scratch. I lost my motivation. I decided that I needed to find a theme that will be my anchor. Danbo is my anchor. I do not have to invent what today will be the subject of my photographs. Danbo is always nearby, and the situations happen themselves. I do not even have a camera, I only use the phone. Today I added the eighth picture. I do not know which will be the last. I want to persevere as long as possible. Maybe in a month I'll have to start all over again, and maybe next year I'll be talking about my 365 photos. Tookapic is a place that gives you motivation. Tookapic are people who give you motivation. I like to watch good photos, I always wanted to do good pictures. 365 days project is a pretty good way to achieve your goal.

Regards,
Darek

Marcin Chęciński MY STORY
I started my journey with photography around 3 years ago. Not really, but I will tell you why :)
I was using a hybrid camera Nikon Coolpix L120 nearly 3 years. Everytime I used it, I was very annoyed that I cannot change any settings, there was no control other than the composition itself, where few people said that "I have a good eye". DSLR costs a good bit of money and I always had different expenses.
Around the October 2014, I decided to get a DSLR camera. I wasn't sure if I would like it, but as it turned out it was the best decision to spend my money on it. My perception of the world has radically changed and now I don't see things in the same way. I started noticing the lightning, shapes and everything associated with this.
At the start I was only intending to take macro pictures, but I quickly became a lover of long exposures and I started taking pictures from different categories such as landscapes. I heard about tookapic from my friend, so I decided to try here and create a habit of daily pictures. It wasn't easy at the start, but when I reached 1 month mark, everything became easy, it's a habit now.

Marcin

Adrian McMillan I bought my Canon EOS 600D camera back in November 2013. I've had some real fun with creative photography.
I've actual had a couple of goes at the 365 project, but sadly never finishing. At the time I had a full time job, I also volunteered for as a rural fire fighter, coached gymnastics, on the board of trustees for my daughters school, chair of the home and school committee. I've now learnt to say no to some things and now have dropped rural fire and the home and school committee. I've been thinking about a doing the 365 project again and then I came across this site.
I like its concept and approach to encouraging people to pick up the camera each day and been part of a community of like minded people.
It will be really great to look back and see how I have grown over the 365 days.

Adrian

Shenandoah I've always enjoyed taking pictures, but have always done so in point-and-shoot mode. For years I've told myself I should learn more about ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc and read a bit, but you can only get so far by reading. I finally decided I need to take my camera off "auto" mode and just start playing with it to see what happens. A friend told me about this site, and I decided to join as motivation to make sure I take a picture in manual mode every day (I don't allow myself to put a picture taken in auto mode on here). I'm still at the stage where auto pictures come out better than manual, but I'm hoping to reverse that by the end of the year. In the first week or so I'm already learning where my other weaknesses are, so it will be a fun year.

GuanSyueChen 在朋友的推薦和自己的決定下，今年2月底我買了RICOH的GR，看到朋友在玩365，覺得很新鮮和有趣，並且對於我這個相機新手來說，每天拍一張照片，真的能學到很多，就算只是生活的一小角，我到今天為止才第8天，未來還有許多張精彩的照片正等著我去發掘，希望我能感受到第365天的喜悅。

Paulina Moroz I've started my adventure with tookapic after Pawełs presentation in Białystok two weeks ago. I said to myself that I'll accept that challenge. So here I am. I like taking pictures but I've never known how to do it. I was using option "auto" in my camera. Thanks to tookapic I've read instruction of my camera and finally try manual options. Everyday I'm learning something new about the camera and I'm increasing my knowledge about taking a good pic. It really helps to improve myself and gives a motivation to do it every day. I really like it.

Kamil Kisiela Two years ago I've found an article on some blog about the Warsaw Marathon. My attention was caught by an amazing photo of running man. I've tought "this must be an incredible experience!". I bought shoes and I started training. Nine months later I've run the Poznan Marathon :)

But... what next?

I've done my commitment and completed all of my goals (run marathon and finish before 4:00) so my romance with running started to fizzle out. I began to taking pictures during training to make it interesting again. Few months later i've found an article about 365 days project and privat.ly. I knew this is what I need to improve my mobile photography skills. Several weeks passed before I started my adventure with tookapic. I have only 10 days streak but even now it's so hard to take at least one good photo a day. I'm a freelancer so it's good for me to take a walk and make some shots :)

Kerry I am NOT a photographer. I am a web designer and developer. I started this 365 project because I am always struggling to find images for use in my theme demos, client's websites and personal blog posts. This was a great way to start my own collection and also have a great resource from others who are willing to share their images.

I don't have a fancy camera, I have an iPhone (5) and GoPro video camera that I typically only use during motorcycle rides with my husband.

zgrubsza I'm not a photographer. My friend told me about this project and I really loved the name of it - 'tukapik' ;) Generally it's my way to work on systematicity. But the longer I'm here, the more addictive it becomes and I'm starting to like this habit of taking pictures :) Who knows, maybe some day I will even master the secrets of manual settings on my camera ;D
Meanwhile I'm just having fun.

Marcin Milewski I started my 365 project for many reasons. Couple years ago I started my small own business (graphic design, web developing, photography - you know, typical one-man band :) and I often need good quality photos which can I use for my own or client projects.

I am total freak about technical aspect of photography - I always check photo specs trying to guess what iso, aperture or shutter speed someone used.
So my process of viewing photos on web is:
1. Wow, great photo!
2. Check EXIF!
3. Do better picture next time :)

As you know You can easy find these specs here. In my opinion this is simple and fast way to improve your technics and 'sense of aesthetics'.

I discovered tookapic by following @Paweł on facebook.
I really like UI and system functions. And last but not least - I LOVE achievements!

Frank Oschatz I love taking pictures and even more so to work digitally. I have the D40X for 5 years and really enjoy working with it. But now I want to improve myself and save on a better camera.

I am finding the idea to take and upload an image for a year every day very exciting. I like those projects where you can look back at the end of a great body of work. A class idea. That's why I started the Project.

More importantly for me is : since I am here, I have the feeling to be part of a group of like-minded people. Me and my images are perceived and that feels good. It does not matter to get a lot of good reviews, it also does not matter, upload the perfect image. I got a lot of fair feedback and we share the images. We do not compete. We really share. That's the reason why I'm still here...

Thank you, that I may be here.

Bridget Braun I got my Canon T1i about 6 or 7 years ago and I love to take pics, but sometimes finding the time and motivation (especially when it's just a hobby) to get out there and snap random pics is hard! I have been seeing others participate in their own photo challenges and always thought one day I'd do it. I am a graphic designer and one day I was looking for fresh new stock photo sites and I came across tookapic totally by accident. I thought it was a really cool concept right away and decided to sign up. I'm only a week in, but I'm feeling very inspired to continue long term. I'm already trying to think of how I'm going to upload my pics while I'm away on vacation in September without my laptop (can't ruin my streak!).

I love the themes each week and the achievements, it's the little things that really help to keep people motivated.

I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon this little community of people and hope to see it grow as we go!

sakura_rain I read a page of article in BBS which let me know about 365 Project. I found it really help for me to improve my sight of photography. So...

JudithO I always liked taking pictures, remember those "old" days where you shot 3/4 films in week of vacation without knowing how they will turn out until after your return and get them developed? I think I got into it as my parents always took pictures and had photo books from our vacations. Started with some point and shoot cameras as a teenager, but could sometimes try the "good" camera of my dad. A few years ago me and my husband decided to finally buy a good camera, deciding between a full DSLR and a micro four third one. Went with the later one (Olympus PEN) as it's more compact and I knew that I might not carry around a bigger camera with me all day. Initially I tried some things with the new camera but then kind of stopped but every time I took pictures I enjoyed it and my family told me that some shots were really great but I mostly used the auto settings. Always read about photography tips and tricks but rarely tried things out. Started instagramm at some point but mainly used to to take pictures with my phone of random funny/nice things, not really for uploading pictures I took with my camera. I randomly found tookapic as a recommendation on facebook (guess I liked/read some photography articles) and thought it's an interesting idea. Looked at pictures on tookapic for about a week before deciding ok let's do this! Taking a picture every day should get me more practice and finally learn how to use all the manual settings or how to get the picture I take the way I want by adjusting the settings. Still a work in progress but I think I did only take one picture in auto mode so far and mainly using the Aperture mode now and but took a few pictures in full manual mode that actually turned out the way I wanted and not just completely blurry/too dark ;). I like the community on the site as everyone really appreciates good pictures and offers tips and motivation! It's hard at times (no motivation/ too busy and so on) and some pictures are not that great but I think that's part of the project, keep it up and yes the "flow" will come back.