There are at least 109 of us celebrating the month of December by posting photos to our blogs. Isn’t that cool? I’m excited that so many of you are enjoying the DPP and taking advantage of a “project” that allows room for creativity and intentionality. Continue to surf through the blog list to the right and encourage one another to keep on snapping away and posting the results.

Speaking of that blogroll to the right… A huge thanks to my husband Jeremy for keeping everything running smoothly—without his help the DPP would be a much quieter, less organized affair in 2008. Also, what’s up with the letter A? Popular, isn’t it? We have a bevy of Angelas, a boatload of Jennys, a bunch of Jamies and quite a few Kristins and Loris, too. We are by and large a group dominated by estrogen, but the male participants are clearly holding their own.Stop by a new blog tonight and cheer someone on. Happy shooting, everyone!

My husband is the best daddy ever and this photo captures the fun he and Livia experience together. He tickles her to no end. I love these crazy people.

We’ve opened a public group on Flickr for those who are interested:

Today I’ve realized it really is December. As in, Day Two, we’re committed to the month here and this train ain’t stopping for nobody. Time to get that tree lit and decorated. Time to finalize birthday plans(!). Time to make a list and check it twice, that kind of thing. And yet, there are still lovely reminders of Thanksgiving lingering in my home, including this beautiful arrangement from my second mom. Every year I forget that Karen will drop by some November evening with a gorgeous vase full of seasonal flowers, and every year I’m blessed by the beauty. I’m going to enjoy my Thanksgiving bouquet as long as it lasts. Thank you, Karen!

Bloggers new to the December Photo Project are arriving all the time and our numbers seem to be growing each time I check this site. Very cool! It’s inspiring to stop by your blogs and check out your photos. At the same time, it takes a bit of time to collate names and websites and then add them to the sidebar. So bear with us. We’ll get all the names and links straightened out within a few days.

If your link to the right is broken, drop a comment on this post.

To join the DPP, sign up here.

Grab the DPP badge from Flickr here.

Check back to learn more about a Flickr Group. I’ll explore our options later in the day.

**For now, if you want to sign up using your Flickr site, simply leave the URL and I’ll add that link to the sidebar. Several folks have done this and it works just fine in lieu of a blog. (If anyone know how to easily, handily, simply invite the masses to a Flickr Group, do tell. If it involves typing in one-point-one million email addresses, then there’s no way I’m doing it this year. )

Wahoo, the December Photo Project is underway! Just look at the group that’s gathered for the DPP—I’m impressed! (The DPP blogroll is currently being updated… If you don’t see your name, be patient and check back tomorrow.) I can’t wait to do some serious blog surfing and enjoy December through your eyes. I look forward to traditional and non-traditional pics, and lots of baby shots (thank you, Haley, for Kate’s eel impersonation). Make sure to encourage one another by stopping by a new blog and leaving a comment or two.

Checking the birdbath in our garden has become a new daily ritual for me. Did it rain last night? Is the water frozen? Is there snow in the bowl? Forget an outdoor thermometer or a rain gauge—I’ve got a birdbath! The birds haven’t figured out that it’s for them so I might as well use it for my own purposes… as in, December Photo Project, Photo #1.

Questions regarding DPP:

1. “Does it have to be a picture you took on THAT day?”
2. “Do we just post them to our own blogs?”
3. “I am not really a very good photographer, and I don’t know how to use the camera very effectively. Still, I am tempted. But wary. Do I really want/need to add this to my December???!!!! :) On the other hand, one doesn’t need to blog if one doesn’t want to, since one is posting pictures every day.”

Hmmm.

Answers:

1. [Big smile]
2. The general idea is that you allow others to see the month of December through your eyes—and that you challenge yourself to:
   1. Post every day through December 25 and
   2. Use your camera on a regular basis

   So nope, you don’t have to take a photo every day necessarily. I do (except that time I was in the hospital…) take pics every day, but that’s just the way I like to do it. And yes, you do post it to your own blog. I’ve had blog-less friends in the past who simply posted them to the Flickr group site (TBA).

3. I definitely think you should join up! This is a very lightweight and fun blog project with guidelines, not rules. Most folks I know don’t end up with 25 posts by the end. No guilt though. Just fun.

The December Photo Project is back for the fourth year!

Come one, come all. Grab your cameras and join me in a photography challenge for the first 25 days of December. Snap a picture each day and show the world what you’re looking at! Drop a comment on the Prairie Box or email me privately, and we’ll list your blog under a December Photo Project heading off to the right once December rolls around.

The excitement begins December 1. Join us! (And stayed tuned for more info about a Flickr Pool… We might use the same one from last year or perhaps I’ll create a new one.)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!