Take Me As I Am

Chest shot

2006-12-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

The Husband set this one up, and I was amused.

Note the angle, the fact that my boobs are being pushed up, and how uncomfortable I look. Another prototypical MySpace shot.

Ermmm...

2006-12-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

So by now you have realized (all two of you who read this stupid thing) that I am horrible at doing anything consistently. But this time, at least for part of my lapse, I had an excuse. I was barfing. Here is a picture of what I did while I was away. Yes, I am in there somewhere. And yes, it's blurry on purpose.

Day Seven: Rock On

2006-11-24T23:23:00.000-08:00

All blissed out at a show.

In an attempt to appear as natural as possible, I took to this shot at a show in Berwyn (a suburb of Chicago) while taking in a great blues band. I couldn't go for a weekend without live music so I got my brother-in-law Demian to take me and the Husband to a show, and it worked out fabulously. We went to a club called FitzGerald's (I have no idea why the G is capitalized, it just is) near their house and heard three Chicago bands that got progressively better throughout the evening, and this picture was snapped near the end when I had a few drinks in me and had just started to rock out like no one was watching.

I am trying a new experiment where I take photos of me looking like I didn't know my picture was being taken. It's more challenging than you would think.

Day Six: Sly

2006-11-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Secret sly picture, taken on Turkey Day.

Day Five: Hands

2006-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Doozer hands.

I've already tired of this whole photographing my face thing. I don't know how people do it.

Another interesting element of the photograph-onself-for-the-internets manifestation is that anyone with a digital camera and some basic graphic tools can be artistic. Or at least try to be. It has opened up the door for millions of bored youngsters to create their own versions of reality and altered reality, and may just lead to a whole new form of what we consider "artsy." Does it mean that everything we post online is going to be good? Of course not. But I am of the mind that we need as many ideas as possible flowing through this virtual realm (or, "the blogosphere," if you want to be ultra lame about it), so here's my stupid contribution.

Day Four: Contrast

2006-11-20T23:30:00.000-08:00

Self-portrait vs. photographed by Husband.

One of the biggest things I have noticed so far about taking one's own picture is the amount of self consciousness I feel when snapping my own shots. It's an odd task, photographing oneself, and it becomes even more odd when you attempt to make the picture appear as if someone else took it. I find myself sneaking in photo shoots during short periods where I know I will be alone - when the Husband is in the bathroom, when I go into the other room to change, etc. Why is it that an activity that is bound to a deep desire for social attention - i.e., a flattering picture to post on MySpace - feels so lonely? And even worse, embarrassing? Why are young women trying so hard to appear mysteriously, inexplicably beautiful?

This experiment wasn't entirely intentional, but I like the results. I took a series of several shots of myself waiting for the Husband to get ready so we could leave, and in almost every shot I was attempting to appear cool, indifferent, aloof. But when the Husband noticed what I was doing, he smiled, grabbed my camera and took the next shot. Now when I go back and look at the two pictures, and I feel like the Husband-photographed picture is far more flattering.

But I was still a little flustered from being found out.

Day Three: Red

2006-11-19T21:55:00.000-08:00

Untitled prints from the Red Collection.

I was feeling a little more camera shy today, so I took a few shots of my hair, which has now turned red.

Day Two: Look at Me, Look at Me

2006-11-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

Attempt at overt sexiness, take 267.

Today's experiment (er, yesterday's, seeing as how I got too sloshed last night to post anything) entails the age old attempt to define and accept one's own sexiness. I spent a hefty chunk of time (for me, anyway - about 30 minutes) on Saturday looking at myself in the mirror, applying various kinds of cosmetics to my face and photographing myself from different angles. It occurred to me about halfway through this experiment that what I was doing wasn't an attempt to take a flattering picture of myself; rather I was trying to catch on digital film the essence of what I perceive to be attractive. People who see me every day probably don't see this side of me very often, because I rarely wear makeup or attempt to appear remotely pretty, with the exception of running a brush through my hair and smacking on some chapstick, so it was odd to try to embrace my more feminine, vain side.

There is a theory brewing underneath the service but I haven't quite gotten my brain around it yet.

Day One: Appalled

2006-11-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

The view from my computer's monitor.

Today marks the first day of a new experiment. In the age of MySpace self portriature and every free citizen clamoring for their piece of the public domain, I decided to see what it would be like to take a picture of myself - one per day - and record my thoughts about what the whole process feels like. I also find it comforting to create a forum for myself to share some of my more personal feelings and ideas, which I am not quite comfortable sharing over at MinneapolitanMusic. So here we go.

Day one starts out on a down note - when I first took this shot and downloaded it to my computer, I was downright disgusted. I haven't gotten much sleep this week, my skin looks wretched and I could use a good long shower. But to try to groom myself and re-take the picture would be to mislead you into thinking that I didn't actually look like this today, so I am leaving it as is.

So here I am, at work, trying to look like I care and attempting to stay awake until the end of a looooong Friday afternoon. See you tomorrow.