The Forum was about self-portraits this week, a follow up to the recent session on portraiture. Ten members submitted 27 pictures. My three are posted below.
There is a school of thought that every picture you make as a photographer is a self-portrait: it reveals the creative side of your character; the subject matter reflects your interests; and it puts you in a time and place. This is a self-portrait made looking into a mirror. It shows: what I looked like aged around 20, the conventional role of the portrait; how I then would like to be seen; my interest in photography; and something about my level of skill in that art.
Portraits are essentially static, the subject’s appearance at a particular point in time. In the second picture I’ve challenged that by making a composite self-portrait from individual pictures used over the years for ID purposes. It is not simply a self-portrait, but a picture of how others required me to be seen It also reflects the aging process; and because of the changing requirements of ID photos, reasonably flattering pictures become mug shots, I’ve not only become older but I now appear to have more criminal tendencies. (Photo withdrawn for security reasons.)
The final picture was made in a photo booth. Remembering back to how we used to cram into them and pull silly faces, I see the pictures as early forms of selfies. In this picture perhaps I’m attempting to recapture those carefree days. Alternatively: I’m trying to hide my aging face; or I’m aghast at our crazy dystopian world; or I don’t want the camera to intrude – and I should remember that when I’m taking street photos.