THE LAST HOMEWORK: ALL ABOUT ME

Assignment: Four self-portraits done in specific ways.
(Never having taken a timed picture before I was forced into reading my manual and finding out how to do it!)

The first portrait had to be conventional and direct.

To do this I went into the bathroom where I could take advantage of both the bright light and large mirror over the sink. For my background I used the closed the door. Using my tripod and camera as a prop I took three direct portraits and chose the one I liked best. When I saw the pictures on the computer I realized I should have looked directly into the reflected lens instead of into my own reflected eyes.



The second portrait had to be a more impressionistic view of myself.

I tried a variety of ways to do this. Standing in front of the refrigerator, using the shadows cast by the Venetian blinds I imprisoned my face behind bars. I also tried reflections in a bank window, and our car. I even tried to situate myself so that the rainbow from one of the prisms hanging in our kitchen window would cross my face. Finally I settled on using our barrister bookcase. It’s one of my favorite pieces of furniture and I love all the little treasures we keep inside it. We used to keep it full of books. Now it sits in our dining/living room with three shelves filled with special objects, and with cookbooks on the bottom shelf. Our cranberry crystal is so pretty I tried a reflection there. Finally I focused the camera to take a reflection of me sitting in my favorite chair in the sun room sixteen or so feet away. After many tries I succeeded in setting the timer, running as fast as I could, jumping into the chair, and raising my arms in triumph just as the camera clicked! That was fun.




The third picture had to be a space that represents me in some way. I originally chose my desk.
It starts out mostly bare and immaculate on Mondays. Then come the bills, bank statements, various pieces of mail, reminders, the ever present desk calendar, and the secretary’s notebook listing my TO Dos. On top of that there are often the the items that fall into the category of “Where should I file or what should I do with this one?” Those kind of questions can go unanswered for a few days. It gets quite cluttered when I’m “in the midst” and often ends up in complete disarray by the end of the week. I first photographed "the mess," but when I uploaded it to the Blog I saw that there were too many names, numbers, addresses, etc. As a result I retook a picture of the whole room...a sanitized version of the space where I spend a lot of my time. It was more interesting than a now impersonal desk.

The fourth and last image had to say something about me.
There’s the arm of my favorite chair along with part of the quilt I put over myself while I read. We subscribe to the NY Times online. First thing every morning my husband prints out my favorites from the computer: Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, Bob Herbert, Maureen Dowd, Gail Collins, Roger Cohen, Nicholas Kristoff, etc., along with other articles, editorials, and letters-to-the -editor he knows I’ll enjoy. Throughout the day, in small snatches of time, I read them. The New Yorkers, Health Letter, Scott Kelby’s book on Adobe Photoshop, and the library book I’m presently enjoying are all there waiting for me. I just love having an evening when I can sit down and read.
I like making my own notecards to send to friends and relatives. I am passionate about the Metropolitan Opera HD transmissions in our local theater. The timer is there because time often escapes me during the day and the timer helps keep me on track. I always carry tissues (hidden) and lozenges wherever I go. My political pin expresses my feelings politically. And, of course, the dictionary is my great friend when I’m not sure of or don’t know the meaning of a word. Sometimes, as a special treat, I’ll sit with my New Yorker and a huge bowl of popcorn made very specially by me, the old-fashioned way, in a tall pot on the kitchen stove…..the tenderest I’ve ever tasted.
Now that the class is done will I continue? We’ll wait and see. Maybe a good incentive would be to make a great, big, bowl of fluffy white popcorn to photograph and feature along with my recipe. I would have to eat it as soon as the pictures were taken, of course.