My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
If you’re gazing at this pretty face and it’s Sunday morning, then you will know I’m somewhere in the sky over the east coast where my final stop is in Richmond, VA. Will be staying at the Double Tree, one of our better hotels, where they greet you with these massive warm chocolate chip cookies. I’m posting this self-portrait because I still participate in the self-portrait Friday group on pbase and just figured I’d throw it up here. Hope you have a super Sunday!
This is another example of how my photography has evolved. I find images wherever I’m at with whatever props I have around me. And, since I’m always with me, I do have a model to work with. Then the challenge is to find good light and a simple background to place the model.
Time at a hotel in Montreal with beautiful window light makes for a wonderful studio. My only problem is I do not have a gorgeous model to work with so I end up with a self portrait and some messing around with Topaz Adjust. What a beautiful hotel they have here in Montreal at the airport. The lobby is brilliant with light coming in the massive windows. I had a latte at there coffee bar and then wandered around the hotel lobby this morning.
We work four flights today and end up in Ottawa, Canada tonight.
My self portraits are not about me. I use myself as a model for practice whenever I have an idea or want to try something out. It sure would be easier if I had a model and stayed behind the camera but sometimes I need to be both in front of an behind the lens. Sure slows me down. In this image I’m practicing off camera flash units and ambient light. I then worked on some post work in Lightroom just to see what I could come up with.
… you’ve seen this guy before. And, yes, I also know he’s not as pretty as Tracy, but, believe it or not, he does have some good qualities. Here’s a couple of examples: 1) he’s easy to coax in front a camera, just offer him chocolate, 2) he does just about everything I think he should do and sometimes more, so the interactions good. Of course he’s not perfect and there are a few character defects that are being worked on. He does one thing that bothers me, though. After every shot he has this tendency to run around behind the camera and chimp the LCD looking at the histogram and his expression. He will sometimes grimace and make strange looking faces, maybe a grunt or two, then suggests we try it again. He could also use a haircut!
“Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold.”
W. Eugene Smith
Wow, Friday is already here, another week went zinging by. For my self-portrait I did a quick setup in my hotel room. We do things like this when we’re on the road with some idle time at the hotel. I prefocused and used my self timer. I used the hotel ironing board as my tripod, just about the right height when sitting in the desk chair. This is also the first image I’ve ever processed in sepia, it’s always been color or B/W. I get home at midnight tonight and then two days off. I almost hesitate to post a self-portrait on the same page as flowers and sunrises. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but is delicious in the years of maturity.”
Albert Einstein
Since I purchased the AF-S Nikon 35mm f1.8 G lens, it has become my travel lens while I work as a flight attendant.It’s small size and light weight make it easy to pack in my roller board . I no longer carry a camera bag but wrap my camera, with lens attached, in some clothing and fly the blue skies. And, in my opinion it takes some pretty sharp images. I do not carry a tripod so any images taken will be handheld, as in this self-portrait. The light for this image is from my hotel window just as the sun is going down.
I have a comfortable chair in my bedroom where I can read, pray and meditate in quiet. With the busy world around us we need to find those places of quiet. Creating my sanctuary requires I spend the time alone, I’m quiet and not doing anything that busies my mind and I do my best to relax. This is my sanctuary.