Completing 52 Frames

Upload, type description, and hit submit. I did that 52 times over the course of 2025. To clarify, I recently submitted my 52nd frame – photograph – to the 52Frames website, a platform that devises weekly photography challenges for beginner to expert photographers from which to learn and grow, or simply have fun.  In completing the year of challenges, especially just as we bid “aren’t you gone yet?’ adieu to 2025, I realized that I had just completed a New Year’s resolution I never really made.

 People often have a love-hate relationship with resolutions. One well-intentioned resolution can be both motivating and soul-crushing. We mostly agree that it’s the setting of resolutions that gets the build-up and publicity, the hype of becoming a new and improved you. And then it all fizzles like a full balloon released before it can be tied off. Motivation dips, undesired habits sneak back in, and the resolution fades into the backdrop of daily obligations. There are rarely check-ins, accountability, or post-mortems to examine the good, bad, or ugly of the resolution attempt.

 Members of my writing group tell me that much of my work centers on broken and reconstructed systems. This complete neglect to see the resolution, completed or interrupted, through to the end, after being pressured or seduced into setting one, feels like a system that is broken. It’s all beginning and no ending. So, let’s fix that, at least with this one instance, by examining why this sort-of resolution succeeded and whether the method can be applied to other goals we resolve to do.

THE STORY

Going into 2025, I wasn’t sure I intended to all 52Frames challenges. I did one, then the next, then another, and then I was 25 or 32 pictures in, and it felt dumb not to continue. The last 12 to 16 shots were increasingly difficult to complete, not in the complexity of the challenges, but because of the energy and time required to complete them. I clicked on anyway. Maybe what drove me to continue was a fear of failure. Or, maybe it was a sense of perceived community shame – the other framers scattered around the globe would know I missed one. Granted, I’ve never met these people, but surely, I would be judged. Completing the last four challenges was painful. Not only was it the holidays, but there were illnesses, the end of the semester, and I was just out of steam.

THE RESOLUTION EVALUATION

Setting the Resolution:

I backed into the resolution instead of actively taking it on. Starting something I wanted to try, which aligned with the beginning of a new year, removed pressure and expectations. Instead of declaring an outcome, I decided to see where things led. Path to success = a low-to-no bar of expectations.

How it Went:

Rough.

A typical week looked like: receive the challenge, have no idea how to creatively complete the challenge, eventually get an idea, plan it, hate the results, and then mentally self-flagellate because the image didn’t come out as imagined, and want to trash all the photos. Other weeks, I had not the inkling of an idea and submitted something, anything, last-minute to meet the deadline, and then hated that image, too.   

What I Thought I‘d Get Out:

Once it looked like I’d decided that I was going to try to complete the challenges, I assumed I’d at least end up with a portfolio of strong images that represented “my work.” That would have been a satisfying outcome.

What I Actually Got Out of It:

The immediate satisfaction of completing a goal, which lasted only a few seconds. Beyond that, I learned some new tips and techniques, which are valuable. Photography is a vast subject, a mix of science and art, the sheer volume of learnable knowledge for which can be overwhelming. Repetition helped solidify some lessons, and I was exposed to new and intriguing photography styles, techniques, and editing approaches I’m curious to try.  By earning the Weekly Warrior distinction, I received the opportunity to buy commemorative swag. Is buying my own merch a compelling reward? Not really, but I do like the distinction.

The Negatives:

It became draining. The pressure of having to complete something every week, especially when some ideas required large-scale production, became (motions to everything) a lot. I consistently hated my work. I often felt inadequate, convinced that I’ve learned nothing.  I liked almost everyone else’s photos more than mine. That feeling is very demoralizing, and I still don’t have a style or look or genre. I like several, so I’ll continue to compose whatever suits me.  “Finding myself” and creating “great work” would have been preferred outcomes.

The Positives:

In half-assing or backing into a resolution, I completed it! I hope I learned something, and that my work has grown even if it doesn’t feel like me. I also believe that improving photography will strengthen my writing, as they work symbiotically to tell a story. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

THE ANALYSIS:

Since leaving my parent’s home after high school, my belongings have never been fully unpacked. As a result, physical or visual markers of past accomplishments or successes are out of sight and out of mind. This feels like a deeply broken part of the resolution cycle. A quiet disservice to everything already achieved. Motivation and success can breed more motivation and success. And while we like to believe the impetus to accomplishment should just “come from within,” maybe it’s the little physical markers and reminders that do the heavy lifting.

With 52Frames, I have 52 photos – the proof that I did something - and if I choose, a sweatshirt showing I didn’t give up. These markers matter. They are proof of doing something like the Lucite desk trophy commemorating the sale of my former employer, San Francisco TV station, which I encountered while temping at an office in New York, but that’s a story for another day.¹ That object, though, clustered with other similar objects, was a stand-in for the sale accomplishment. And like the Lucite, my photos say that I can do this again.

Looking over the resolution, in retrospect, it seems the key to my success, should I resolve to complete another goal, is being non-committal while maintaining loose deadlines, and relying on minimal to moderate external accountability. There are framers in the 52Frames community who have earned multiple Weekly Warrior accolades. So, will I attempt another full year?

GOING FORWARD:

The field of photography feels momentarily buoyed, even in the shadow of looming AI fears. Christopher Anderson’s recent Vanity Fair shoot felt like a reminder that light writing and color are still relevant and needed. It’s a craft that still holds weight.

If I continue, I want to move beyond simply executing directives. I want more narrative, more intention in my pieces, and to experiment with interesting techniques. I want my ideas to land closer to how I imagine them.

I haven’t fully committed to completing another year of challenges. But I did submit my 53rd photo.

Happy New Year.