Picture this: Woody Campbell's one-a-day photo project

I've always taken a lot of photographs; I'm something of a compulsive person. Between 2007 and 2008, I found I had accumulated nearly 20,000 images so it seemed the best thing to do was to systemise everything. The photo-a-day concept provides a context and also a challenge. The rule I've made for myself, since I started seven years ago, is that I can't miss a day. It means I've got a camera in my hand in sickness and in health – hangovers are no excuse.

Of course, there are mornings I wake up and think, "I'm bored of this. I don't want to shoot today", but you have to pick up the camera, make sure there's an SD card in it and the battery is alive and head out the door and do something. Most days, though, I'm quite excited by the project and determined to push myself to stay fresh and relevant.

I originally started shooting on black-and-white film before converting to digital back in 2000. I've shot in both colour and black-and-white, but when I hold the work side by side, my monochrome work is always much better. My style is graphical – particularly that made in New York, where I live. There's a very distinctive look that monochrome offers and that's the look I'm seeking.

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© Woody Campbell [2010]

I never intended this project to be a documentary or diary, but of course it is; I can't help that. If I'm in Spain, my camera is also in Spain. I always compare photographs taken on the same day over the years, physically comparing them on my website. There are good days and bad days, meaning that sometimes, my choice of things to post is pretty limited, while at others, I find really interesting stuff. Occasionally, I surprise myself with what I manage to achieve and I'll think, "Why haven't I done more like that? Let's develop a thread here." The format on my website of always using a photo from several years back forces me to do that – it's part of my process.

Each day, I try to work up four or five ideas. Each one may work out well, but more than likely there will have been several attempts at it. Over 365 days, that turns into thousands of exposures. I couldn't have done this in a pre-digital world. I get the stuff uploaded and catalogued by date and, at the end of the year, I have around 10,000 images. It's a surprisingly huge project – it accumulates rapidly and that requires discipline, not least from an administrative standpoint. I tend to be an early riser and try to get my editing and blog work and Tweeting done before breakfast. However, it's not in my nature to be disciplined – this project has taken some personal reprogramming. When I started it, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Most people are interested when they find out about what I do. It's fascinating because without a lot of promotion, I'm up to 118,000 followers on Twitter and that's my main public, if you will. I feel I'm getting better exposure, feedback and interaction than, say, if I were displayed at an obscure Chelsea gallery. Twitter is raw and the entire worldwide web is there – it's a direct connection to an audience. Whatever happens, I'm committed to doing this for the rest of my life.

WOODY CAMPBELL is a New York-based photographer who has pledged to take an image every day for the rest of his life, which he posts on both his blog and on Twitter; woodycampbell.com