It's a Wrap: the #dailyphoto Project Comes to an End

Sometime in late December of 2015, partly motivated by the recent acquisition of my first decent camera in over twenty years, I decided that I would post an original photo on Facebook each day.

I did not fully realize how much time my little project would take, nor how much I would learn about photography in a year's time.

• I've learned about lines and angles and composition.
• I've learned many of the technical aspects of editing.
• I've learned how the right angle of sunlight can turn an ordinary scene into a magical one.
• I've learned that you like pictures of birds. And sunsets. You heard it here first.

And while most of these images have been flowers and insects and landscapes, I've realized that you really, really like pictures of people. For all of you concerned that you post too many pictures of your loved ones, I say keep posting.

One of the first few photos I posted, an old piece

of equipment on my wife's family farm.

On most days I took at least a handful of photos. Many of the photos were taken in the woods near our home. Others were taken during various trips we took. I don't know the exact count, but I've certainly shot thousands. On many days, after sorting through the ones that were out of focus, overexposed, or just plain dull, I've struggled to find one I felt worth posting. Other times a photo I initially thought was mediocre turned out to be something special. I've spent countless hours editing. And though I truly believe it has made me a better photographer, it's interesting to look back and see that some of my favorites were taken near the start of the year.

It's had the interesting side effect of creating a chronology of my year. For the most part, the pictures were posted within a few days of being taken. It has revealed to me the seasons of our forest (there are more than four). It's created a record of the adventures we've had.

I'm not sure I started out with a real mission, but a mission nonetheless developed as the year progressed.

My mission, I discovered, was to show you the beauty of nature. It was to give you a reason to get outside. It was to inspire you to take and post your own photos, because I assure you any photo you post is at least as good as much of the other stuff on Facebook, so why not?

As the year drew to a close, I felt some self-imposed pressure to post something grand at the end, a capstone, something extraordinary. But it dawned on me that more than anything, my mission was to show you the beauty in the ordinary. There is a myth that all the beautiful things are found in faraway places. But I am here to tell you that there is beauty in a clump of moss. A reflection on a stream. A faded flower. A single leaf.

And so today, on the last day of the #dailyphoto project, I give you my deep gratitude for all of your kind feedback. I also give you a photo of something ordinary, and the wish that you find beauty in the ordinary things around you. May those ordinary beautiful things illuminate your life each day.