A look back at Bench Monday.

Many of you who have known me for some time are quite familiar with "Bench Monday". For two years, starting in 2009, I joined in with the flickr group on Mondays standing on a "bench", and taking a photo. The only rules in the group are "Stand on a bench. Make sure it's Monday. Wear something pretty." I think I only missed about four Mondays in the two straight years I participated in standing on a bench-like something, wearing something relatively pretty, and setting my camera's timer setting, running to my spot, and hoping neither my camera or I fell over in the process. The project was a great way to get me thinking creatively, to make new friends, to have an excuse to act a little crazy on Mondays while taking photos, to convince friends to join in my photos, and to have something I did every week that connected me to a larger group.Over the years the flickr group has expanded to a few thousand members, up from 300 when I joined. I still enjoy browsing through the photos now and then, and once in a while I'll still join in. I adored this project, and love looking back at how my photography evolved over various Mondays. Here's some of my favorite ones, starting all the way back in the fall of 2009.