Jennifer Hatch, January, Photosynthesis

I'm Jennifer Hatch, and I've been sitting at the keyboard for several minutes unsure of how to describe myself. I live with my husband Jeff and five children, ages 6 to 18, in Kaysville. We've been here more than eight years. I am a volunteer storyteller at the library and teach piano lessons. I love chocolate chips, columbines, Beethoven, garage sales, Muse, TV series binge-watching, temples and hearing my elderly neighbors' stories.

I've known Nora for nearly 14 years, having lived a few streets apart in West Jordan. Earlier this year her children and mine attended the same elementary school -- a real kick for my 12-year-old daughter, who adores Nora's Addie. Nora has been a real light in my life, as I'm sure she is for all of you.

The Project: Capture my life in a photo a day

This post will not be a tutorial on becoming a better photographer. Sorry. (Robyn Noel and Marisa Johnson can give you the goods on that, wink wink.) True, one motivation when launching the project was to get better acquainted with my camera. I can't say whether my photography improved, but my attitude definitely did. That was a surprise.

Just as photosynthesis converts sunlight to energy for plants, my project to capture light energized me.

It started with the camera itself, a birthday gift from my husband back in November. I loved our old camera, a Nikon digital SLR that we bought used in 2003, but it broke this summer. When Jeff gave me a brand-new Nikon I did not feel deserving of it all. I was touched, but I wanted to take it back. There were just too many expenses for our family. Jeff said no way.

Eventually (we're talking a month later) I realized my unwillingness to accept his gift was hurtful to him. Not to mention how I was diminishing my worth. So I decided I needed to make the most of his offering -- and that meant taking pictures. Lots of them. I started the project Jan. 2 not Jan. 1 (so typical of me!) and hope to keep doing it all year.

I posted the daily shots on my blog, and put them in a sequential collage here. I like this little snapshot. I never intended it to be a comprehensive record of my family; rather, it is a reflection of what I found interesting that day. Milestones did get preference, like my 18-year-old blowing out his cupcake candles and my 15-year-old waiting in line for her permit. Some days were better than others. Some photos emerged from purposeful shoots, others were a "Shoot! I haven't taken anything yet today" affair.

(click on collage to enlarge)

These are other side effects of my project:

1. I wanted to do more with my children. I played snow soccer, built snowmen, went on a sun-drenched hike. My 6-year-old son really got into it and was excited when his pictures were featured.

2. I looked at ordinary objects with new eyes. 

3. I defined my style. I like taking candids much more than posed shots. I like leading lines, shadows and reflections. I prefer natural light.

4. Better story-telling. Naturally I didn't limit myself to taking just one picture daily, but knowing I would ultimately choose a single shot framed my thinking. How could I best convey the story? 

5. I searched for beauty that I hadn't taken time to notice before. I got out of the house! I went on nature walks. I can't tell you what a boost this was to my emotional health.

6. I remembered anew how very blessed I am.

This shot was my favorite. Those are my three sons in the front. We went to an outdoor hot springs where rising steam and the setting sun created their silhouettes. I love how even the crazy cowlick of my youngest (the one on the right) is well defined.

I made the collage using Photoshop. I opened a new file and defined the canvas size. This was my background layer. I created a new layer for each photo. I opened up individual photo files and did a simple cut-and-paste. (CTRL A and CTRL C, then CTRL V to paste onto collage file.) Then under Edit choose "Transform" then "Scale." This puts a grid on the photo you've just added. Hold Shift while taking cursor to corner of photo to size to desired dimensions, then click return to set it that size. Use arrow tool to move on canvas.