finale \fi-nal-ee, -nah-lee\,

noun:
1. the last piece, division, or movement of a concert, opera, or composition.
2. the concluding part of any performance, course of proceedings, etc.; end.

My dearest Readers,

It's with a heavy heart that I announce the end of the Photo Declamo word of the day project.

After 85 posts, the project has been a fantastic tool to really get me out of a photographic rut. It challenged me every day to get out and find something new, to really think on my feet and do so creatively within a short span of time.

I want to thank all of you, Readers, for contributing with your photos, feedback and encouragement.

But there's more to come. Ending the word of the day only means I'll open up time for bigger, more in-depth projects that I plan to share with you on this blog. I'll keep you posted with all the new photo projects, lighting setups and multimedia that come up.

And I've got some plans.

In addition, you can always check Dictionary.com's word of the day for your own inspiration. And if you send me your word-inspired photos, I'll be more than happy to post them for you.

Once again, thanks to everyone for reading, and check back for updates in the future!

penury \PEN-yuh-ree\,

noun:
1. Extreme poverty; destitution.
2. Absence of resources; insufficiency.

I got a quick shot of a foreclosed house for today's word of the day. If I had the time, this could have been a really cool series.

This comes less than 24 hours after Tyler and I were discussing the economic breakdown that led to so many foreclosed homes - specifically, the media's different ways of covering and explaining the situation.

My personal favorite explanation was this one. It's an impressive mix of graphics, journalism and analysis. If you were ever confused about how the economy got to this point, check that out.

But for those of you who choose to pass on that, get yourselves out to shoot some photos of penury and send them to me in an email. There are a lot of possibilities for this word!