Summer is my absolute favorite time of the year to document the lives of my boys. I find myself with my camera in hand daily, capturing images of our many moments together. Whether we are lounging by the pool or hiking on one of our favorite hiking trails, summer images are some of my favorite ones to capture.

Because of my sincere love for summertime, I often enjoy participating in a 100 Days of Summer Photography Project during the summer months. I haven’t always been successful in completing this project but am always amazed at the beautiful moments I have been able to capture because of my attempt to do it. Starting a photography project is a great way to get your camera out more and experiment in ways that you may not otherwise have the opportunity to do.

18 Summers So Make Them Count

We have 18 summers with our children before they are grown. 1-8. It sounds like a lot when we have itty bitties, but then those itty bitties turn into 10-year-olds and 13-year-olds and suddenly we are counting down the years we have left. Before we know it, we can count those summers on two hands and then one.

I have 5 summers left with my oldest and if I’m being completely honest here, I’m sort of freaking out about it. And from what I’ve witnessed with friends and family who are a few years ahead of me, those last couple of years they spend more time with friends than family so 5 summers may really be more like 2 or 3. I think, because of that, I am more determined than ever to document our summer days together. These days can often be hectic and exhausting but while babies don’t keep, memories do. So I am ready to make those summer memories and document them along the way so I never forget this time we get to share with one another.

What Is A 100 Days of Summer Photography Project?

So what is this 100 days of summer photography project I will be partaking in? For 100 days I am striving to take 100 photos, one for every day of our summer together. Although, in actuality, I will take many more than 100 photos, I hope to capture one photo a day that genuinely captures that day.

Some days we venture out and make lasting memories at the zoo or the park or the Science Museum. But on others, we stay in, eat popsicles and ice cream, play in the sprinklers, or just watch way too much Netflix. Some nights we go searching for frogs or take nightly walks or stay up too late watching our favorite shows. All of it makes up our summers, and so my hope is that by the end of these 100 days, I will have a collection of images that accurately represent this summer in its entirety. I sure will miss these days when they are gone.

Below are some of the summer images I have taken over the past few years. I look forward to adding many more to my summer collection this year. Oh sweet summertime, you have my heart.

How do you like to capture your summer memories with your children? Do you have any photography projects that you participate in over the summer months?

Holly Paul

Holly is a 42 year old wife and mom to 3 boys, from Nashville, Tennessee. She is a hot tea lover, book reader, journal keeper, Pinterest pinner, podcast listener, y’all sayer, self-taught graphic designer, hobbyist photographer, writer and dreamer of all things big and small. You can find all of her ramblings here at Blu Nest Bloom.