New Year, New Socks, and 7,671 Days of Creativity
On November 15, 2025, I reached a unique milestone: 7,671 days of taking a photo each day since November 15, 2004.
Not a New Year’s resolution. Not a viral challenge. Just a decision: make a photo, every day, no matter what. Rain, flu, burnout, travel, weddings, funerals, work, no matter. One photo. Every day.
It started as a simple idea. A commitment to look, frame, and shoot something every day from a photojournalist’s point of view. A moment, a truth, a shape of the world that meant something, if only to me.
And somewhere along the way, the practice itself became the purpose.
Which brings me, strangely enough, to socks.
Every January, I buy a new pack. Same kind. Same color. Twelve fresh pairs. The old ones are worn thin, stretched, tired. Technically still usable, but clearly past their prime.
I average about 30 wears per pair. That’s like wearing the same pair for 30 days straight, but spread out over a year, so it doesn’t seem quite so gross. Still, they’ve done their time. So I replace them.
That small reset, the rush of pulling on the first pair from a new pack, is one of the simplest, most reliable pleasures I know. It’s tactile. It’s real. And it reminds me that some kinds of change don’t need to be dramatic to be meaningful.
Which is exactly what I think New Year’s resolutions should be. Tangible, grounded, repeatable. Not a vague quest to “be better,” but a real commitment to something that adds value to daily life.
That’s what my photo-a-day project has become. Not a grand gesture, but a quiet, essential part of how I experience the world. The act of creating every day has trained my eye, sharpened my instincts, and taught me to see not just what’s in front of me, but what it means.
And like socks, creative work wears out.
Ideas fray. Inspiration stretches thin. The camera feels heavier some days. But the solution isn’t always reinvention. Sometimes, it’s refreshment. A new lens. A new light. A reset. Like pulling on a new pair of socks, it’s not about changing everything. It’s about restoring the feeling that made you start in the first place.
The photo-a-day project began as a habit. It evolved into a discipline. Now, it serves as a kind of compass. It helps me stay connected to the act of paying attention, of creating something—anything—every day.
That’s what creation is. Not magic. Not waiting for inspiration to strike. Just showing up, again and again, and doing the thing. Letting the daily repetition teach you what matters.
So when I think about resolutions, creative or otherwise, I think about socks. About photos. About the power of the simple, the repeatable, the quietly transformative.
New year. New socks. New photo. Same process.
And 7,671 days later, I’m still learning from it.
My Final Photo News is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my photography and commentary, become a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe to The Westerville News and PhotoCamp Daily. My Final Photo News also recommends Civic Capacity and Into the Morning by Krista Steele.