Self Portrait Assignment

It's the project I dreaded...the self portrait.  I'm taking a class and needed to come up with a self portrait this week. As with most photographers, I would rather be the one taking the photograph and not being the subject.  However, I've seen some amazing examples of what some photographers are doing with self portraits.  One of my new favorites is Kelli Connell.  I also enjoy the self portraits from Jen Davis.

Seeing so many wonderful self portraits from so many talented photographers can both inspire and discourage you, depending on what your brain tells you.  For me, I absolutely LOVE looking at photographs from all photographers and the group of self portraits that Aline Smithson presented were no different.  Very inspiring! Self portraits can be discouraging since it's such a daunting task for some, me included.

I have many ideas in mind and I may or may not share them here.  I will however, share this one.  I took a break from my garage purge project to see if my idea of throwing my camera in the air would work.  I have several photos of me jumping up and down in front of the camera while it's on a timer to laugh at myself and to see what comes from it.  I thought, "why don't I stay still and have the camera jump around?"  Well, I don't think I said that out loud but I wanted to try the timer idea to see if something could become of it.  On my iphone, I have one application that automatically takes one photograph after a ten second countdown.  I stood on grass just in case I didn't catch my iphone and because I don't have a cover or any type of insurance for it. The click of the "shutter" seemed to be delayed a bit so I would focus on my feet while it counted down and try to throw the camera in the air to get it to snap the photo around the same distance between my waist and feet.

I took around thirty or more shots and twenty of them I kept because there was a hint of me in the photo (strand of hair here, a toe there, etc.). Also, most were blurry since the phone tends to flip around when you throw it in the air.  Once I had one in focus I stopped and put these two together.  I still plan to do more self portraits down the road.  For now, I will stay behind the lens.

Los Angeles Brewery Art Colony Spring Art Walk

I love looking at art, meeting artists and watching them create their magic.  Each year, the colony of artists who live at the Brewery art building in Los Angeles open up their homes to display what they are working on.  It's a wonderful way to meet the artists, look at their work and see how they live.

I walked into the home of Andre Miripolsky and was able to see him surrounded with all of his beautiful art.  Miripolsky is a "world renowened artist who pushes the limits in many media, creating his own stlye of expression in painting, sculpture, mobiles, graphics, branding, production design, sets and costumes: groundbreakig provocateur who marries idioms of art, music and film: name translated in Russion means "field of peace.""

There is also a loft where you can take cooking classes through "Hip Cooks."  The chef lives there and has a very cute little one that was playing on the kitchen table in her beautiful loft.

If you are drawn to the quirky, odd, weird and obscure (I know I am!), there are several artists showing their creations made of dolls, everyday items, musical theatre, lamps and the like.  The overall vibe is one of, "welcome, make yourself at home."

Sometimes I dream of living in a loft not unlike the ones I see in the brewery art colony.  Even though it's right in the middle of the city, it seems to be its own city within a city of artists.

I walked around and snapped photographs of everything I found interesting.  Believe me, there were a lot of interesting things to see in the area.  I am glad that I took a moment to soak up the beautiful art and energy of the event.  There are several art communities in all cities.  I would recommend seeking them out and supporting your local artists.

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