‘Impossible’ Interview with Meghan Davidson

“I still shake my head in disbelief when I think about it. In 2013, I decided to tackle a 365 project shooting self-portraits using only instant film from the IMPOSSIBLE Project. Even now, as I type that sentence, it still sounds like an insane challenge to consider and take on. And it was. Insane. And…I did it!!

My journey in photography naturally led me to take on this epic project. I had been shooting many self-portraits during the year prior, and I was finding that my digital camera got more and more neglected as I shot increasingly more instant film each day. I wanted to challenge myself, to push myself and my photography creatively. Thus, 365 IMPOSSIBLE Self-Portraits was born.

At the half-way point, I remember feeling a combination of exhilaration and stress. I felt so very alive in my creativity, in my daily practice of seeing myself in a new way. But, I equally felt anxiety about developing fresh ideas and pushing myself in new ways each and every day. And then there were the frustrations of framing and focusing the self-portraits by myself, the difficulty in no remote shutters, the temperamental nature of the film in the extreme cold and extreme heat of where I live as the winter and summer seasons came and went, the juggling of time with working a full-time job and engaging in a time-consuming creative project. So many potential obstacles and challenges presented themselves during this year-long journey. But along with the challenges came incredible opportunities to push through, to persevere, to see what would emerge if I stayed the course.

I’m incredibly grateful that I did, in fact, push on and stay the course. Shooting self-portrait #365 felt amazing. I was giddy with joy and I felt so proud that I had accomplished what I set out to do. As an adult, our lives are simply not documented in the way that kids’ lives are today. I feel like I gave myself an incredible gift of self-portraits, photographs of me and created by me, that I will forever look back upon. But perhaps more importantly, this project gave me the gifts of self-discovery and self-awareness.

What first began as a photography journey has evolved into so much more. As the year unfolded and I shot self-portrait after self-portrait, a book began germinating in my heart and soul. Stories, feelings, and experiences from my life came flooding back to me as I took these self-portraits day by day. I decided I couldn’t ignore these stories, nor could I hide the intimate self-portrait work I’ve done during this past year. Thus, I’m currently creating a book that is memoir meets instant self-portrait photography. Although the photographs are shot, 365 IMPOSSIBLE Self-Portraits isn’t quite over yet!”