TexasGirl Photography

Lucky, lucky me! I have turned another year older. So here comes my annual sharing of a year’s worth of self portraits.

Luis Buñuel — “Age is something that doesn’t matter unless you’re a cheese”

Mark Twain — “Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.”

Thanks to my short-lived 365 instant film project (I guess I lasted 4 months or so, which is better than I expected) I have a crop of little instant self-portraits to share, and those get to come first. Lomography’s Instant Automat Magellan came with a remote in the lens cap, which is handy!

As usual the rest of the group are from a motley crew of other cameras. Some are pictured, so I know which ones I used. Some have self-timers that needed to be tested out (like the Nikon FG20 my boyfriend recently surprised me with). Every test, of course, demands a self-portrait or two! I’ve got to find some way of getting through a roll and the cats will only sit still so much. Below is the 35mm crop. . . . lots of mirrors and windows! Also, I found out the Contax I own will make double exposures.

On a lark, I got a Holga 120 Pinhole (WPC), and around Pinhole Day I decided to play with it using a cable release. The extra long one I have unfortunately doesn’t have enough pressure to open the shutter the whole way, so I ended up with some extreme vignettes.

Last but not least: Hasselblad, Holga, and Ondu self-portraits. PHEW it was a lot this year wasn’t it! Not sure how that happened. If you made it all the way through, thank you!

The truth is that I don’t try to make myself look good in my self-portraits. If anything, I am trying for the opposite. I’m not what I once was. I’m not 22 anymore. I don’t suffer through countless miles of agonizing running in the Texas heat as regularly as I used to. I’m well aware of the fact that my body is changing on me, and while it’s strange and downright scary to me sometimes, I know that it’s a privilege and a blessing to be around to witness it. What I want to document is the reality of who I am right now, warts and all!