Thousands of stories in 365 photos

It was Dec. 3, 2009, the night of Elon's Luminarias, my favorite annual tradition at Elon when the campus becomes even more magical than usual as it is covered in lights for the holidays. That night, I took my first photo for "A thousand a day..."

It has been a whole year since I started the "thousand a day" photo project with my friend David. The morning of the Luminarias, David and I were sitting in the Pendulum office - at the computers in the center of the room, if I remember correctly - and he pitched an idea for a photo project. We would set out to take a photo every single day for a year. A picture's worth a thousand words, and we wanted 365,000 of them. Here is my very first "thousand a day" post. And this was the first photo I took that night:

I came to the bittersweet realization that our "thousand a day" project was coming to an end as soon as December hit. I remembered the reason David wanted to start the project and the reason behind the name. We wanted to take photos for us - not for the school paper, not for classes, not for work. These photos would be taken purely for ourselves, so we might start to see the little details in things and people we encounter every day. I quickly learned the reasoning was not selfish - we wanted to share the photos with one another, with our families, with our friends. And when I think about that, I also know the reason why I was able to stick to this project. I didn't want to let those people down. Any time I'd post my photos, I'd always check David's and a few of our other friends who tried the project with us. When I saw their photos, it was a comfort knowing I was not alone in the project. I had people to cheer on and they were there to cheer me on.

Finding a thousand words in one day to share with others was not hard. Every day has its mini stories, its big events, its exciting moments and its own adventures. Some days were far more telling than others and the challenge was greater on those days. I remember thinking to myself a few times, "Here I sit, it's 11 p.m. and I still haven't taken a photo of the day. Now what?" I was disappointed with myself for thinking it and then I'd manage to find some trinket lying around my home to photograph in a new light, a fun angle.

And then I would have a month in Japan, a photo adventure in an abandoned house in Gibsonville, NC, or 24 hours at a dance marathon. It's those days I would look forward to most because I knew I would take hundreds of photos from which to choose. I live for adventures like those, the ones that scream, "Photograph the heck out of me!" And I live to share moments like those with my friends and family.

Whether we continue the project or not, I know we had a wonderful journey. Photography was always on my mind. I was constantly thinking in terms of framing, angles, lighting, a camera setting I had not tried yet. I have always seen and appreciated the little things in life, but this project encouraged me to share that beauty. So, thank you for sticking with me for so long. Your comments and words of encouragement have made this project the happy success that it has been. I have loved every syllable of the 365,000 words and every pixel of the 365 photos I've been able to share with you.

You can see all 365 photos here, but here are a few of my favorites:

A thousand a day...the final day.

Thursday, December 2
Mikey's 18th birthday...clearly, my excessive photo taking was annoying my baby brother, hence my choice in today's photo. This is a typical "Ashley, hurry up and take your dang photo" expression.

A thousand a day...365

Wednesday, December 1
I must have miscounted somewhere along the way because this is day 365, yet David and I started this project on Dec. 3, 2009. No matter. Here is a little cell phone pic of my desk decked out for Christmas. Also note the photos, Elon cup, Rupert mug, Leo Smith Chompers Francis Whittington (the squirrel nutcracker) and my ladybug.

A thousand a day...363 & 364

Tuesday, November 30
Cupcake fail.

Here's the story since I truly need to explain. This time, I called on my buddy Duncan to help me bake lemon cupcakes.

First batch: Fail. I didn't fill the cups enough so they were all sunken in and had mysterious (though I found out nonpoisonous) brown spots on top.

Second batch: Eh. They were bright yellow and WAY poofed up (since I filled them extra) and a little soft on top. I put them in the fridge over night so I could frost them this morning. And here's where I really went wrong...I put the frosting in the fridge. When I pulled it out this morning, that hard icing combined with the smushy yellow cupcake tops...you know the rest.

After much prompting from my co-workers, I went back home around lunchtime to pick them up and bring them to work anyway. I was originally too distressed to bring in my hideous baking fail. At least they tasted good...

Note: Bottom right corner was the last one I frosted. Can you tell I was angry?

Monday, November 29
Today was a fairly epic day in the life of Ashley Barnas. I went to Trader Joe's for the first time ever and my life was changed. OK, maybe it wasn't that epic, but it was certainly a benchmark in my life. How have I never been to Trader Joe's before? Thank goodness for my friend/co-worker Vikki, who decided it was time for me to take that big step. In addition to all the fun stuff I found, I had to buy the cute reusable bag, too. That means I'll definitely be going back.

A thousand a day...349-362

Sunday, November 28
I know I've taken so many photos of Oakey's autumn leaves already, but when I came home for Thanksgiving this weekend, Oakey was almost all bear except for the beautiful red, purple and emerald leaves on top.

Saturday, November 27
Celebrating Mikey's 18th birthday while the whole family's together in one place

Friday, November 26
Colin's first Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 25
Through Oma's front door

Wednesday, November 24
My first attempt at making sugar cookies from scratch. I got the recipe with the Christmas cookie cutters Mom gave me and then realized I don't have a rolling pin yet! Alas, I was stuck with making your typical round sugar cookies rather than fun snowman and gingerbread man cookies. Looks like my next fun purchase is a rolling pin.

Tuesday, November 23
I have been hoping to find a hook to keep my keys by the door, and guess where I found one! Why, Anthropologie, of course.

Monday, November 22
Full moon

Sunday, November 21
Saying hello to an old friend. I have been wanting to dig up my Polaroid camera for a new photo adventure and my mom finally found it for me. Now if I can only track down some film...

Saturday, November 20
David Ledford, editor of The News Journal, gave me great tickets to today's University of Delaware football game. It was awesome to be able to go to the big game against Villanova.

Friday, November 19
This week's Anything Once adventure was learning how to bake bread at the Black Lab in Little Italy.

Thursday, November 18
Today was the day. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Shockingly enough, I did not see the midnight showing (as I have for the past six movies), but I did get to shoot a man-on-the-street and talk to some of the crazy fans decked out in their best Harry Potter costumes. Sadly, all I have to offer is this cell phone pic (which was taken the night I FINALLY saw the movie, Thanksgiving Eve...sorry today's photo is a big time cheat on my part).

Wednesday, November 17
After a blustery evening, I awoke to find the first leaves on my welcome mat!

Tuesday, November 16
An unusually slow day in the office means it's time to clean the keyboards

Monday, November 15
For the final "25 Who Matter" I got to visit the Wilmington Youth Rowing Association to meet some rowers and go out on the water with them. Difficult to grab a still image from all the movement on the water, so here's the video:

A thousand a day...344-348

Sunday, November 14
More than four months ago, after my job interview at The News Journal, my mom and I explored the area around New Castle. That's when we first discovered the glorious Anthropologie in my mall. And that's when I fell in love with this bird lamp. I finally decided enough was enough...I caved and bought it for myself at an early Christmas present.

Saturday, November 13
Sunset in the nation's capital

Friday, November 12
It's a tie for today's photo. I was having a very reflective day in New York City as you can see.

Thursday, November 11
A night I'll never forget...seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Breathtaking.

Wednesday, November 10
I'm officially a real person and my apartment is complete now that I have a welcome mat!