Category Archives: Self Portraits

August 24, 2012

Whistler Self-Portrait Goodness

Still more to share about Whistler (can you tell I loved this workshop)!

We spent much of the weekend with our cameras playfully turned on ourselves, be it our hands, our feet, our faces, our shadows or our whole selves. I adored how the participants just went for it. Because we were a small group, I had lots of opportunity to chat with each person and answer any questions that arose, which really was so lovely.

I especially loved our forest classroom, which provided some much needed shade in the hot hot heat, and was right off of a big park. It was full of fallen logs (likely that the mountain bikers rode and jumped off of) but on this day the forest was just ours. These fallen logs made for great spots to perch our cameras and try a whole bunch of different styles of shooting (eye level, from the ground, or even hanging our camera from a tree).

So I thought I’d share some of my favourite shots I ended up taking. It was fun looking at the images as a whole as so many of them were of me demoing and talking as I’d take a selfie. I also definitely took some moments to take self-portaits that really felt like they were capturing the weekend for me.

Here are a few of the self-portraits that came out of this adventure. I love the way when we take self-portraits of a trip they can transport us right back there and these definitely will do just that for me.

August 20, 2012

You are Your Own Muse Whistler Workshop ~ Part One

August 15, 2012

Playful Self-Portraiture

One of my mottos in my courses, especially the self-portrait classes is that Playfulness is an Antidote to Fear.

Its so easy to get caught up in our left brain worries about the technicalities of using a camera, or to let feelings of fear about how the photo might turn out and the vulnerabilities that arise if we don’t like the self-portrait we are trying to take. Those are totally valid feelings, but don’t help us if we get stuck in them and don’t give ourselves the chance to move forward from them.

Funny thing is, when we get playful, be that moving our bodies and doing a silly dance or being goofy; often the photos that will arise from that will be ones we can’t help but smile at. Then before you know it, its not so scary to turn the camera on yourself anymore.

Yesterday I went for a big bike ride on my favourite trail out to a park in Burnaby. I was just doing my usual thing, putting the camera on the ground or on my bike seat and moving and dancing. Then I had a silly thought.

What if I spun around holding the camera? How had I never tried that before?

I discovered that it would (for the most part) keep me in focus but the background in this awesome state of blur.

So yes, I became that girl in the woods spinning round and round pointing the camera at herself.

And it was ridiculously fun.

I’m always excited to think of new prompts for the participants in You are Your Own Muse (new online session running this fall….and an in person version this weekend…yahoooo) but I felt drawn to share this one right away.

You know, just in case you thought self-potraiture had to be all high art and serious.

Not so much, eh!

Will you join me today and do a little spin-selfie with me? All you need to do is aim the camera at your self and spin!

Here are a few other silly shots that occurred from all that spinning:

August 11, 2012

Selfie News

As we’re heading towards fall and a brand new session of the online version You are Your Own Muse I’m starting to get oh so obsessed with self-portraits again. This has been a summer of non-selfie classes…with both The Chakra Photo Workshop and Montage running right now. But as I start to prepare for next weekends YAYOM workshop and the fall online session, I’m finding myself engaging in turning the camera on myself even more and it feels really nourishing to do so.

Some other selfie-centred things happening right now:

The first ever in-person You are Your Own Muse Workshop is coming up next weekend! Hosted by the Whistler Arts Council, we’ll be gathering in the gorgeous town of Whistler, BC, Canada. The workshop still has room….just in case you spontaneously feel like joining us!

This self-portrait above is my contribution to this month’s triptych over at She is Three, a photo collaboration with the fabulous Deb Taylor and Jennifer Deville! Come visit us over at She is Three where we’ll be sharing our stories behind each of our photos throughout the month!

I’m also loving the new self-portraits that Leonie Wise is sharing over at her blog lately.

Have you been turning the camera on yourself lately? Whether it is your first or your 150th self-portrait…feel free to leave a link to your flickr or blog. I’d love to see what you are creating and cheer you on!

July 12, 2012

This is East Van

So, sometime last year I got a notice about a call for entries for the second volume of a fabulous local photography book called ‘This is East Van‘. Two of my friends and fellow photographers Caelie and Krisztina were in last years volume and in the final hour I pushed myself to put in an entry. Lo and behold one of them got into the book.

This past weekend the book was launched with a gorgeous gallery show and celebration. I wasn’t able to make the show but I went by the gallery today to check it out and get my copy of the book. The book is completely stunning and I’m oh so honoured to have an image in it.

What makes a wee bit more special to me is that it is a self-potrait, and more than that, a self-portrait of me holding hands on the sidewalk with a dear friend. It was a simple moment on a sunny day when we were wandering around East Van with our film cameras and I spontaneously put mine on the ground and grabbed her hand and took the photo. I developed it in the darkroom and made some prints, this image being a scan of one of those prints. That image actually means a lot to me and I love the simple story of friendship it tells the viewer.

Here are a few glimpses of the book and the gallery show: