Performance Art

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There’s only so much planning you can do with self portraiture. You can plan the lighting and the framing, and you can think about where you want to be within the frame. But once you’ve done that, you really just have to get into the frame and express yourself. Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to them. I see self portraits (the successful ones, at least) as a form of performance art. You’re the visionary and you’re the subject. What do you have to say today?

Cloning

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I was having a creative day yesterday, when the ideas were spilling out of my head faster than I could track them. Jewelry designs. Photography ideas. Ideas! They were all brilliant!

The problem was, I needed to be having a productive day. A day where I pounded out a bunch of orders. Because there’s a pile of orders sitting on my table, waiting to be filled. Glaring at me balefully, every time I walk by, making me feel guilty.

It’s really hard to be productive on a creative day. I kept catching myself staring off into the distance, daydreaming about this fabulous new bracelet design, or this spectacular concept for the day’s photograph, with absolutely no idea how much time had passed.

Well, at least I got something done yesterday, even if it wasn’t half of what I’d planned to do. I must have accomplished something, because I mailed out a stack of orders this morning. And I got a fantastic photo out of it, too. Wouldn’t it be great if there were two of me? Or… maybe not. I think perhaps one of me is all the world can take.

Moody

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I found another spot in the loft to shoot. The lighting is very moody during the magic hour.

Back in the day when I shot a lot of self portraits (you know, the dark ages of film), I never showed my face. I’d forgotten how much I liked those photos of the faceless person. Magritte, anyone?

Flowers and Bangles

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I got a lovely new shot of my Mod Flower necklace this week. I’m loving having photographs of my jewelry being worn. Of course, they’re mainly being worn by me, since I haven’t found any other models lounging around the place. (I tried to volunteer Andy, but he just didn’t bite.) But what the heck, I’m getting some pretty good self portraits for my Project 365, too. Anyway, I adore this necklace, which I designed to go with my designer dress for the fateful Christmas party. I get a ton of compliments (and new customers!) whenever I wear it.



The chunky bangles are pretty new in my shop. I’ll be selling them singly as well, once I get some photos. I’ve been fighting with the photos a bit - and they’ve been fighting back. This whole photographing bracelets thing has a bit of a learning curve. But I’m liking this “catalog” shot. The bangles are really fab. Very solid and chunky, good fun to wear, and they make a fantastic clunking noise when they swing together. No jingly skinny bangles here! Just big fabulous hammered sterling silver bangles.

Elbows and Earrings

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After three weeks of missing Krav class due to a sore elbow, I finally dragged myself off to the doctors. As I suspected, that punk kid hyperextended my elbow, and as a result I’m going to have to miss the whole next session of Krav. Which translates into 8 weeks off.

After being upset about this for a couple of days, I realized that having 8 weeks off of Krav was a huge opportunity. I can finally get that cartilage piercing I’ve been dreaming about. You see, I have to take all of my jewelry out several times a week for Krav class, or else risk having it ripped out when I’m grappling. Which would be really uncool. So I’d given up on getting any new piercings for another decade or so. But now I have 8 weeks off. I think I deserve a consolation prize, don’t you?

I was so excited, I pretty much went straight to the piercing shop to get this cartilage piercing (the top one). I was tempted to get my nose pierced, too (when will I have 8 weeks off again?), but I resisted.

Scavenger Hunt

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The Project 366-1 people set up a scavenger hunt this year. They came up with 75 themes, and if you want to play you need to find a photo for each one. I’m really enjoying it - it’s a bit like assignments in photography class. How liberally can I interpret this? Can I take the coolest photo? The funniest? The most unusual? Where can I go to find these photos? Can I find a better photo for that theme than I already have?



I spend an inordinant amount of time poring over the scavenger hunt list, trying to memorize it. I’d hate to miss a good photo op. Who knows when I’ll see a mural again, right?



I’d make y’all guess these, but you’ll never get them. So I’ll just tell you, instead. The top photo is “Rust”. They have these little covers embedded in the sidewalks all over the place in downtown San Diego. I was told it was to test the groundwater. Apparently we’re built on some kind of dump here. The middle photo is “Something Found”, which is a funny one anyway, because there are so many different things that could mean. But that floating shoe really caught my fancy. I can’t wait to see what people come up with for this one. The bottom shot is “Holiday”, and it’s a shot from the Martin Luther King Day parade.

Back in the Land of Art Photography

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When I took photography classes, back in the dark ages when photos were taken on film (ah, I miss my old Olympus camera), I used to do a lot of self portraits. You see, I’ve been intrigued with the human form since I took my first life drawing class.

When I moved from drawing to photography, I wanted to photograph people. But generally the only available subject was… me. So I have a lot of photos of myself. I even took self portraits with my large format view camera. You know, the kind that look like bellows in the middle, where you stand behind it and throw a black cloth over your head? The photo I used for my blog header was taken with that camera. I dragged that monster of a camera across a beach to get that shot at the pier.



Yesterday I finally sat down with the manual to my digital camera and figured out the self timer. I’ve been struggling to take photos of myself with my iPhone for the last few months. Because I’m lazy, that’s why, and it was easier than figuring out the timer on the digital camera. (Funny how the photo quality is so much better with the Canon than with my iPhone.) I’m back in the land of art photography now, though, and there’s no stopping me. And I’m getting some great shots for my shop, so I don’t feel too bad indulging myself.

Etsy Front Page!

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It was a lovely surprise to see my Wee Sprouted Curl put on an appearance on Etsy’s front page last night. I sell a lot of these, between nose rings, cartilage hoops, and people who like delicate earrings. It’s a good front page - yellow and Spring-y.

Expect to Be Stared At

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“This one’s hysterical,” Andy said. “You’ve got to see it. You look like you were hit by a train.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I replied. “Did you see the photo I got?”

We went out on a photography expedition this morning in lieu of our regular Krav Maga class. We’re both sidelined from Krav with injuries at the moment, so we’re having to find other ways to spend our Sunday mornings. Inspired by my recent photographic foray around Seattle, we grabbed the dogs and the cameras and popped out the door bright and early to see what we could see.



Unbeknownst to me, Andy was photographing me while I was photographing other things. It’s kind of funny to see myself in action. I’m going to take advantage of these spectacular action shots to illustrate my secrets to great photography.

1) Have no pride. To get the great photos you’ve got lay in the dirt, crawl under benches, balance on boulders, hang over railings, twist yourself into incredibly unflattering poses, and stand like an idiot in the middle of the street. Expect to be stared at and commented on by passers-by. You’ll need your “who cares?” attitude to get good photos. Hey, you’ll never see these people again. Their opinions only last for moment. That perfect photo will last a lifetime. Mind you, Andy did yell at me once for lying on a grave in England. Apparently that’s frowned upon over there. But I got a great shot of the headstone.



2) Don’t wear your good clothes. All that sprawling and crawling is not a friend of delicate fabrics. You need to wear whatever’s old and sturdy and can put up with a lot of abuse. All I’m gonna say on this one is that I look incredibly color coordinated in black and white…

That crazy third shot, you know, the one where I look like I’ve been hit by the train? Yeah, that one. That’s a shot of me taking that gorgeous second shot of the rail. I know, I know, I look ridiculous. And yes, there was a stream of tourists parading by, probably all staring at me like I was deranged. But wasn’t it worth it?

Cool and Casual

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There are days when I’m glad no one is watching.

I’m currently trying to get more shots of my jewelry being worn, which I think is useful for the customers. And kind of fun, as well. Of course, I don’t really have willing models lounging around my loft. So my photos end up being of… me. Which brings the obvious technical problems, mainly that I can’t be behind the camera while I’m in front of the camera. My current solution involves holding my iPhone and aiming it at myself more by luck than judgment, and taking a bucket of photos. Because in most of them I’ve cut off half my head, or moved the camera, or my eyes are closed, or… Well, you get the idea.



So anyway, I was contemplating how to photograph this amber necklace, and I suddenly realized that the light was coming in really low through the French doors. “What great light!” I thought. “How can I take advantage of this?” Fast forward to me, lying on the floor in front of my french doors, trying to arrange my hair and my necklace (and fighting gravity as the pendant tries to slide off my cleavage and up into my neck) while holding an iPhone over my head until all of the blood drains out of my arm, and taking photos without being able to see the “click” button. All while scooting around on the floor on my back like some odd cross between an inchworm and a person, trying to get the light to fall on the pendant. And then trying to look cool and casual while I take the pictures.

Anyway, I love the cool but creepy effect of the lighting in the first photo, and how my left eye seems to glow. The second photo is a much better shot of the necklace, so I used that one in the listing. I’m hoping it looks as “arty” as I think it does, and not just blurry…