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100 Days of Photos

If you keep up with the blog or follow me on social media, you'll know I'm doing two projects for The 100 Day Project: 100 Days of Photos and 100 Days of Collage. The 100 Day Project "a free art project that takes place online". My first project is a repeat of last year's -- a daily collage in my sketchbook. My second, is a series of photos that have come out of my collage practice.

The pieces of 100 Days of Photos project

This project started out as a goal of "shooting something I'm working on or something in my environment everyday." according to my own Instagram caption. What started out as a couple pics of my collage fodder has definitely evolved into a project of it's own.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. The final Instagram photo. In the center is a girl in a pink top with short brown hair. A landscape with modern buildings and a blue sky overlaps the figure.

Here's today's photo. I consider this an Instagram project, because I am definitely shooting these on my cell phone with the thought that they will end up the default square format. I do think that I'm going to push it even further and do some DSLR photos using a lightbox. That said, I'm really pleased with the way this project is coming along.

A dear friend asked for a behind the scenes, so I decided to share my process. But first, I'm going to rewind a bit.

Dave, Romana and I are in Niagara Falls and most of my stuff -- especially my studio stuff -- is in storage in New Jersey. Yikes. I have more cameras that most people own; a good amount of book binding tooks; and for some reason almost every marker, colored pencil, and sharpie that I own.

My dear roommate gave me stacks of magazines so I could do my 100 Days of Collage project -- YAY! Old Vogues, Architectural Digest, and Wired magazine are the bulk of it. Some of my favorites. You should also know that as I'm thumbimg through magazines, there are always pages that are hard to choose which side gets glued down. Still here? The last variable in this serendipitous new project is that my little desk is at a lovely window so I have a built in light box. 

Shooting the 100 Days of Photos project

Alright now you all the bits are in place so this project should make sense. 

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of step 1: a magazine page torn out of a magazine on a desk next to a keyboard

First of I liked this girl. I'm thinking, "I'll probably cut her out" so I rip this page out of the magazine. 

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of step 2 a magazine page in front of a window with the other side showing

Now that I'm heavy into this project, I'm pretty much checking every sheet for interesting juxtopositions. I especially like the way the buildings frame the figure.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of step 3 is the magazine page in a window with lace and velvet curtains

The studio. Ha ha ha. I like this window best because the screen adds a nice layer and there's some neighborhood I can include if I want.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of the first photo option with the girl in the back and the landscape in the front

If I wasn't doing pictures for this blog post, I probably would have just stopped at this first shot.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of the first photo option with the girl in the back and the landscape in the front and showing the torn edge of the paper

I took this picture mostly to show how the shot can be combined with the window and the background.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of the first photo option with the girl in the front and the landscape in the back

The reverse shot. I often do check both sides to figure out which I like better. I don't really usually take either of these photos. It's often a one and done, or if I'm including the background, there might be a couple.

100 Days of Photos by Laura Chenault. Photo of a large red apartment building with dramatic skies and bare winter trees.

Oh and here's the building that keeps showing up in the backgrounds.

VIola! Now you've seen all the pieces, and how it's shot.

To be honest, it's so easy, it doesn't quite feel fair calling it Art. You know the capital Art I was taught to make as an undergrad.