Infinite Self-Portrait #2

Infinite Self-Portrait #2, a photo by Xanda O'Peagrim on Flickr.

Some photos, despite any attempt to make the viewer smile, do precisely that.

Caught in the Web

Caught in the Web, a photo by Reney L on Flickr.

A couple of years ago, I started a 365-day project that didn't go much beyond a week or so. My goal was to shoot 365 self-portraits in reflective surfaces. I stopped because I stayed home a bit too much. I quickly ran out of reflective surfaces in the apartment (interesting ones, that is), so I gave it up.

But seeing photos like this one make me want to start it up again.

Retards

Retards, a photo by Petra Cross on Flickr.

Sometimes, while going through the Self-Portrait With Camera pool, a photo just screams to be chosen for this blog.

As I have had loads of fun with my own convex mirror, I think I have a special affinity for reflective self-portaits in which one is used. Perhaps it's the distortion... the caricatured portrait such a mirror creates; perhaps it's that so much of the surroundings are included as well.

Self Portrait with Camera

Self Portrait with Camera, a photo by tara holland on Flickr.

After being out of town for almost a month and—once back—taking another week to re-settle in at home, I'm finally getting around to updating this blog.

I was expecting to sift through older posts in the Self-Portrait With Camera pool, but this was amongst today's photos awaiting approval for the pool and I couldn't resist.

There is something very Rockwellian about this that I love, from the colours to the composition including the backpack, unmade bed and (what I presume to be) freshly-removed sneakers, to the blank look on the woman's face, to the multitude of rectangles within the rectangle-image.

Gorgeous.

I'm a #horny #girl ah ah

I'm a #horny #girl ah ah, a photo by Marie Meier on Flickr.

I've not posted for a few days as I have been going through the group pool from its very beginnings looking for potential blog photos. This one—submitted over the weekend—caught my eye, however.

When I started this blog a little over a week ago, it occurred to me that when I first joined flickr, there was a blog called The Mirror Project, which featured photos from the flickr group of the same name. The blog still exists, but it doesn't look anything at all like I recall it seven years ago or so.

Or maybe my memory is faulty.

Self Portrait

Self Portrait, a photo by Protection Island on Flickr.

A very early addition to the Self-Portrait With Camera pool over six years ago...

Selfportrait

Selfportrait, a photo by iresfurtado on Flickr.

I have been moderating the Self-Portrait With Camera group for several years now. The person who created the group, rougerouge, apparently made many members of the group administrators and when he stopped moderating (for whatever reason), the task somehow fell to me. Or perhaps I just decided to take over when no one else was doing anything. In any event, I've been doing it for the past several years, with some help from rod murrow, who offered to help several years ago. (Thanks, Rod!)

This particular photo is pretty representative of the bulk of the photos in the pool. While many are shot with the intent of being clever, or shot in unusual places or in unusual shiny objects, this straight-ahead, point-the-camera-at-the-mirror-and-shoot self-portrait dominates the pool. So, I guess it's fitting that this photo is the 30,000th photo in the pool.

(I wish that the photographer hadn't flipped the image to right readin, but... c'est la vie.)

objectsmayappear

objectsmayappear, a photo by jm_h on Flickr.

What moments would we miss sometimes were it not for mirrors?

Transalp Mirror

Transalp Mirror, a photo by CWhatPhotos on Flickr.

I suppose this is why there are always mirrors in the Fun House at the amusement parks... they can be a lot of fun.

Broken

Broken, a photo by jo(e) on Flickr.

I've always loved the separate reality that photographing into mirrors creates. Most often, in the Self-Portrait With Camera pool, the photos are simply a momentary document of a person turning a camera towards the mirror or reflective surface. Other times, however, art is created that goes far beyond the mere recording of a reflection.

Double Reflection

Double Reflection, a photo by Nicki 979 on Flickr.

It occurred to me while looking at this photo, while approving/not approving a number of photos in the Self-Portrait With Camera pool on flickr, that I should create a blog featuring some of my favourite photos from this group (and possibly around the web).

Because I'm doing this pretty much on a whim, I'll be brushing up on my HTML and CSS skills and tweaking the design as I go.