How do you manage your PaD gallery ?

[camera0bug]

Another aspect to keep in mind here is the traditional Friday self-portraits or SP's as they're fondly referred to as.
Makes it easier on you newbies out there who might find it difficult to shoot every day.

No one says it has to be a straight shot with a tripod.
Get creative with yourself by photographing your reflection in anything that you can see yourself in, from a bottle to a mirror to a bowl or a piece of metal.
The ideas are virtually limitless.

Another idea for you is to shoot your shadow (it is an extension of you!). Again, the creativity factor is nearly limitless.

I've been shooting for over 40 years (started very young) and never run out of things to photograph.
Opportunity is all around you if you open your eyes to it's presence...

[bobfloyd]

I am in the same boat as John in that I too work from home, am rarely out and about during the day and when I am I am either usually late or going to a facility that does not allow imaging devices at all. This makes it tough for me to do something new and creative all the time. I started out by mixing in some of my older stuff from my archives but have since largely stopped that practice due to changing goals.

You see, at first PAD for me was about my work being seen. I wanted my photos to be viewed and this was a way to go about doing it. For years my photos have been sitting in boxes or albums or on the computer with no one looking at them but me and my wife.

However, somewhere along the way the goal changed from being seen to getting better. Redeveloping the "eye" I had back in college when I shot as many as 3 or 4 rolls a day sometimes. Learning to use this new darkroom on my computer as well as I could use the old one filled with chemicals (I still miss the smell of developer). Learning to use my digital camera with the same intuition that I had with my 35mm film camera. All of these goals require using the skills today rather than relying on old work.

I carry my camera everywhere with me (when allowed that is) and I try not to pass on a shot if at all possible. Sometimes I set a shot up and sometimes I just happen across one. I try not to post for the sake of posting but rather skip a day before putting something up I am not happy with.

The end result is that my PAD actually averages about a photo every other day. I am not happy with that and strive to do better all the time but I am not going to flog myself over it either. I can see an improvement in all the things I listed above from when I made the decision to only do current stuff in my PAD and that for me is what it is all about now.

Of course, the comments, critiques, suggestions and encouragements of other PADers don't hurt either.

[prideofanglia]

There's been a lot of good advice in this thread already, but I thought I may as well chip in

Without wanting to revive some quite heated old debates, you'll find there's a spectrum of views on here from the very purist "if you haven't taken the picture that day you're not a real PaDer" at one end to flagrant metagallery abusers at the other, with a lot of people (including me) sitting somewhere in the middle, which is probably summed up as the "try to shoot/post every day but don't sweat it" approach.

In terms of your specific question, I work 10-14 hours a day in a pretty stressful job and I have three young kids as well, so there's no way on earth I'd ever be able to shoot every single day, and I don't add extra stress to the pile by worrying too much about doing that, although I do try to whenever I can, and I do post a shot every day without fail unless I'm physically away from the computer, even if sometimes I'm so knackered I don't really want to.

I do most of my shooting at weekends as well, but I impose an informal "7 day rule" on myself, so I won't post shots that are more than a week old unless my pipeline has really run completely dry, which has only really happened once in my 5 months of PaD so far. I also carry a small digicam everywhere I go so I can grab shots as I run around, at lunchtimes and on the tube. Ray has described perfectly the change in mindset you have when you start doing that - I look at everything I see as a potential photo now and it's changed the way I see immensely.

If you're like me (you may not be!!) you'll find that your PaDing develops its own path and rhythm, and you'll find a way you're happy with for you and what you're trying to achieve. For me it's meant discovering some very talented people who do the same kind of stuff I do or aspire to do, and pushing myself really hard to try to catch up and/or keep up with them. I'm happy with that because I'm unhealthily competitive and perfectionist by nature , and I get a huge kick from working to improve my photography and getting instant feedback by way of comments and votes (which are VERY addictive, be warned!). Just taking and posting any old shot of a household object when I stumble in from work at 1 in the morning seems pointless to me so I don't do it, but for some people that's exactly the discipline and challenge they want - find your own path and you'll find PaDing is a great experience.

Good luck!

[natashac]

Thank you so much to all of you for your so kind and useful answers.
I wish you in advance a wonderful new year, full of amazing photographical experiences and beautiful pictures !
Regards,
Natasha

[joanteno]

First and foremost, it is a journey. It not about the destination (or the rules) -- it is about being in the moment and experiencing one part of your day that is not devoted to the cell phones, beepers, or misery. So be in the moment, seize it, and enjoy it.

Second, My camera goes with me everywhere.. You never know where you are going to find that sweet light. I love my ultra-compact camera which fits in my pocket.

Third, GET a dog! Borrow a neighbors's dog. After traveling 14 hours and being up for way too many hours, Java (my black lab) has been my fall back for getting a picture a day.

Welcome to PaD! Now go out and have fun!

Joan