Mirror mirror on the floor

Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.

Why would any one take a self portrait with the camera? someone might ask. And the answer is obvious:

Because you can! And it is fun and easy. And important?

I listened to an episode of CraftSanity where the originator of Self Portrait Tuesday was interviewed. Her name is Kathreen Ricketson, and she has the most beautiful Australian dialect. I think it was very interesting to listen to her. She talked about her school project involving other peoples self portrait and how she also set up a camera in her home to randomly take pictures of her self with family or whomever was in the room. I love that idea! It made me think of my own self portraits, often taken in mirrors. Especially since I myself have so many photo projects going on all the time, almost unintentially or with our any special plan. I just see something I want to take a photo of, and then I do it. The next time I see something similar and shot a photo of it, it might be called a project… Or a theme I’m collecting. I’ve been taking self portraits long before there were blogs, maybe 10 years? At least since I held my first digital camera (not mine, but I borrowed it from work).

I just turned it around, and took a photo of myself. Just because I could, and it was so easy to see the result. I just love that, and also I enjoy having the power to delete all photos I’m not satisfied with. I’m not a big fan of people with own cameras taking photos of me. I like to get the camera back and decide what will be saved for the after world.

I think everyone should take the time to document them selves! If you are the one with the camera, there are likely no photos of you in the end of the day (party/holiday/event). Maybe be one photo of you, if you are cool enough to ask someone, and in only one shot you’ll look strange and your eyes might be closed.

So do it yourself, or make someone else take all the photos for once. Because tomorrow you’ll look different. You’ll forget the dress (or pajamas) you once owned and loved and how the room used to look – and oh, how young you were on those photos… (or what ugly hair cut you had).

For me it’s about accepting myself, and liking what I see. I bought a second hand mirror this weekend when I went to a garden loppis where I listened to live music while reading a good book in the sun, drinking coffee and eating cookies. Mmmmm! The only thing I bought was the mirror, with its golden frame and not to clean glass. I love it, and I knew I would take self portraits in it right away when I saw my reflection for the first time. I saw me, and the blue sky and the white apple blossoms and smiled.

Here are the photos, enjoy:

The mirror price was 80 SEK but of course I bargained and payed 50!