CHEAP CAMERA/10 SECOND TIMER SELF-PORTRAITURE

Friday, July 1, 2011

About Face - Train Tracks


(Snapped on 6/25/11)

I'm tellin' ya' what, you guys... I'm not all that keen I am on this whole "About Face" dealio...

There is something decidedly off-putting about cranking down so tightly on my haggardly, aged, flawed puss. I mean, personally? I have no other option than to reconcile myself with everything that's wrong with the derned thing - but is it really all that necessary for me to advertise my physical defects on the internet for the whole world to see? The idea that the photos may pop up as Google image search results, causing viewers to gasp, "Ew! DOG face!" does spur a touch of anxiety. 

I dunno...I reckon I'll give it just a leetle while longer...but I'm not sure how much more my ego can bear. 

5 comments:

  1. You're such a woman. I really hope you don't give up on the About Face dealio. It's a great picture of a great face. Feed THAT to your ego :)

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  2. Three thoughts:

    With the defects imposed by time come the wisdom to capture the images in the first place. You weren't able to do this twenty years ago, were you? Think about what you knew how to do then, versus now.

    Steve Jobs said that "death is one of the greatest innovation creators there is, because we know we need to do it now because we may not have tomorrow." It also means (and I'm about a decade ahead of you) that while you may have a lot of tomorrows, your face won't be getting younger during them. So create today... it's the best day you've got. Tomorrow will be the best day you've got then, too... but it won't be as good as today.

    You really oughta give RAW a spin. The Clarity slider can really take a face back in time.

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  3. @ A Redditor - I've taken several more sets of About Face pics....and for whatever reason (probably because I AM such a stereotypically, self-critical woman) it hasn't gotten any easier - to snap the pics., or to look to them. Not giving up YET though...promise.

    @Steve Mouzon - I really like what you said, Steve. I guess I've never thought about it exactly that way before...I HAVE thought about the fact that at no other time in my life, would I have been able to pursue this crazy obsession with self-portraiture (when I was young - I was way too self-conscious about my body...and then married, good little wife, mommy - all that) And you know? Although I do tend to post more flattering body shots (again with the whole vanity thing), I'm not too afraid (ashamed?) to post images that reveal my physical shortcomings (can you say cellulite? haha!) because I've always wanted my photos to be genuine...not over-edited or unrealistically glossy. And although some of the story lines in my pics. are admittedly far-fetched - I strive to take pictures that look like exactly what they are - snapshots of moments frozen in time, and of a real, live, imperfect human, to boot. (Does any of that make sense?) So, I guess the next order of business - would be to try and also embrace the (oftentimes) ugly truth about my face...

    I don't think the SONY Cybershot has the capacity to shoot RAW (and since that's the only camera I use - I reckon I'm S.O.L) However, I probably wouldn't go that route anyway (I still don't use Photoshop, even) - since I prefer not having the ability to tinker with the truth too much, in my pics..

    Thanks so much for your eye-opening comments, Steve...I feel as if I'm already adopting a new mindset about all of this...

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  4. Exactly... this is the one moment in your life when you could have done this. No perfect little 23-year-old face could do. It's a perfect storm of time that could produce your work now. Celebrate that... don't run from it!

    Awesome body... yes... you'll have that for a little while longer. But you'll be a great story-teller for as long as you live. So celebrate that! Forget RAW... that was a bad recommendation. Instead, revel in the fact that your current perfection won't last very long... but you'll make the most of it. THAT is the perfection of the moment that we all hope for... but few of us ever arrive at. Just IMO, of course.

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  5. @Steve Mouzon - Well...obviously you are a "glass half full" guy, Steve - and that's a truly wonderful thing. But your positive and encouraging comments, have helped me to remember that I am a "glass half full" gal! My outlook on ALL of this has improved exponentially, thanks to you. I really appreciate you taking the time to put things in proper perspective for me. Cheers!

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