Self-Portraits

I take a lot of self-portraits.  First, photos of people tend to be a lot more interesting than photos of just about anything else.  I'm a person, so that counts.  Plus, I'm always around.  I also think posing myself has helped me a lot in figuring out angles, shadows, etc. for photographing other people.  Still, it does make me feel a bit narcissistic. When I first started doing this, I only showed the pretty photos - the ones where I thought I looked good. self-portrait in the bathroom mirror But that gets boring really quickly.  Now I find myself making all kinds of ridiculous faces at myself and at the camera.  To get the image on the right here, this scene took place: George: "What are you doing in there?" Me: "I'm laughing so the photo looks natural." self-portrait in the bathroom mirror Is this a waste of time?  Am I totally ridiculous?  I guess I've answered that one too. self-portrait in the bathroom mirror

Camping in Greenbelt, Maryland

Before I talk about camping, I want to give a shout-out to Gabe Aceves, an awesome local photographer.  I "assisted" him at a Glen Echo Park wedding that was totally rad.  All I did was load film and watch him work, but it's good to see someone else's perspective on a scene.  I can't wait to see the images! As soon as I got home around 7:30, I quickly threw on some camping-appropriate (vs. wedding-appropriate) clothes and we rolled out to Greenbelt National Park.  I lived in Berwyn Heights, right next to Greenbelt, for a few months when I first moved to DC and I had no idea this park was here.  We saw deer and everything!  Not that George stopped the car for me to take a photo... camping at Greenbelt National Park I have a preponderance of Ben pictures because he seemed to be doing most of the heavy-lifting with the fire. camping at Greenbelt National Park There was wood chopping and my husband did work on this for about 30 seconds.  Note the on-camera flash on the left and the ambient on the left.  I hate on-camera flash! camping at Greenbelt National Park I discovered that I love photographing smoke.  It's so so cool how it moves during a 1/15 frame enough to look like a mystical cloud or some kind of aura.  I think it's really neat - like below how it seems to be reaching around Sai.  Everyone looks really contemplative here.  Except for Colin, who pretty much always looks like Colin. camping at Greenbelt National Park Sitting around a fire is cool and all, but George and I are not the camping type.  We're the show up for a few hours, have some hot dogs and then go back to our clean/comfortable/well-stocked home and sleep type.  Hecks yeah.  It was a long day.  I was really, really glad for my bed. camping at Greenbelt National Park

Tuesday On the Web

Those Tuesday-after-a-holiday days, they are very sneaky.  You think you can get away with not posting and then you realize you have committed to do your "on the web" roundup.  So instead of having a new photo, here's proof that my husband thinks I'm totally awesome.  And yes, my link roundup for the week.

On the Web

What should I do to my work laptop before I leave my job? I'm not quitting my day job any time soon (it's pretty great, actually) but I do need to get a new laptop in the near future, which means turning in my old one.  This is a good resource for anyone turning back in computer equipment for whatever reason. Why going to the gym is a waste of time, money and resources Loved this article about how studies show that exercise doesn't actually help you lose weight and keep it off.  Awesome, since I just joined a gym.  Of course, like anything, knowledge is power.  Don't eat your way to oblivion and you'll be fine. How to poach an egg in the microwave A game-changer, for sure.