I've had an idea swimming around in my head for a while (a few years now I think). I remember the day this idea found a little corner of my brain to set up camp in. It came from a movie or TV program the name and details of which are long gone from my memory. One of the minor characters in this movie had a photographic project he called 'his lifes work'. He wasn't an artist, in fact he was something ordinary like a butcher or greengrocer, but his hobby was photography. Not just any kind of photography but something very specific. Every day at 8am sharp, he would be on the same spot, at the same street corner, with his camera set up on a tripod. At precisely 8am he would take a picture, then pick up his gear and carry on with the rest of his day. He did this every day, day after day, year after year. No matter what else was going on in his life or the world he would take the same few minutes every day to fuel this habit. The photos were arranged in albums in the precise order they were taken which were stored away with care.
In one scene from this movie he shows his 'lifes work' to some friends. They begin turning the pages slowly but after only two or three pages their pace quickens until they are flicking through the pages far to fast to be looking at each picture.
"They're all of the same thing!" they exclaim as though demanding an explaination.
"But they're not..." came the reply. "Slow down."
It is only after they slow down and begin to linger on each photograph do they begin to realise that each one represents a day. A day in the life of this man and his surroundings. Indeed they were not all the same, in fact it would be a safe bet that this guy could take this 'same' photo every day for the rest of his life and never, ever get two photos that are the same. Some days it raining with shiny roads and umbrellas everywhere, another day a hurried pedestran blocks the view as a blur, a truck in the intersection, a storm cloud, new buildings, old trees, litter in the wind, people, life...
For some reason this idea struck a chord with me. I could understand why this guy would want to do this stange thing. I can also understand other peoples reaction to it. So often in our busy lives we feel like we are living the same day over and over. We feel 'stuck in a rut' or its 'same shit, different day'. By taking these photos in the same place, at the same time, with the same camera every day this man is proving to himself (and anybody else who can slow down long enough) that no matter how predictable and monotonus this life becomes, we are still hurtling through time at an alarming rate. Nothing in this universe is standing still or ever will and we are all a part of it. The only thing that keeps this whole thing balanced is change. Constant change.
I am thinking of taking this idea and doing something with it. Its just something I'd like to explore. I have yet to finalise it in my head and writing this is part of the process I think. I have my eyes peeled for a location that would lend it-self well to the idea. A 365 day project seems like a good place to start. One place, one time, for one year.
Stay tuned.
7:30:49 PM 
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