In December of 2017 I randomly heard about this group called 52 Frames. The concept sounded pretty simple– each week they post a photo challenge and you have from 12:00 AM Sunday to 11:59 PM the following Sunday to submit your image. The only rules are that it must be taken during that said time period and you must take the image. I was coming out of a HUGE book project that had sucked the creative juices out of me. 52 Frames was exactly what I needed at that moment in time. I signed the manifesto and started my journey. Looking back, that first year and perhaps even the second year were a blur. I got my camera out every single week and I put a piece of myself out into the universe. I connected with other photogs around the world and started to find a home within this beautiful group. No matter what was going on in the world or in my life, I knew that 52F would be there– a constant companion.
(Read my previous posts about 52F 2.5x Warrior and 4X Warrior)
And just like that, I just submitted my 261st photo and became a 5X Weekly Warrior (I submitted an image every single week for FIVE years!). When I look back at my 52 images for 2022, I have many mixed emotions. I submitted a photo every single week. I showed up for each challenge and gave of myself what I could each week. Many weeks I didn’t have much left of myself to give. I squeezed in a submission on the weekend and I tried my hardest to get some commenting done during the week. Some weeks were better than others. I am proud of my two 52 Picks I received, but most of all, I am proud that I showed up and put myself out there— even the week I found out I was losing my job and that my mom was in the hospital with a gigantic cancerous tumor. Nothing from this year’s challenges is something I would hang in our house, but I got SO much out of each challenge. I really liked my self-portrait and the message it conveyed. I am sure there are things I could have done to make it a better technical image, but it worked for me. The wine guys were featured a few times (ok they were featured FOUR times) and now I keep them permanently in my camera bag (thanks Karen Smith for that idea!). I met a guy who paid $400,000 for a car. I let my husband convince me to go to a DeadMau5 concert and I actually loved it. I got out into nature quite a bit. We had an epic trip to Spain for our friend’s wedding. I continued to build with Lego. I spent a lot of time in my kitchen. I explored new techniques with my camera. I ventured into new areas and I met new people. I even faced my fear of giant reptiles. I had one of my images made into fabric that is now part of a line of clothing. 52F is about so much more than just the image.
I hope to have more intention in my submissions for 2023. It’s a new year and I am entering a new phase in my life. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I am grateful that 52F will be a part of it.
