December retrospective
Scrivener December 31st, 2007
December retrospective, originally uploaded by Scrivenings.
1. G, 2. Self-portrait at 35,000 feet, 3. you can close your eyes and never be alone, 4. Thingmbob, 5. This is the same fire, 6. waiting on my mood to change, 7. Non-casual Friday jumping jacks, 8. What Christmas Means To Me, 9. She *loved* holding the baby, 10. Aladdin Sane, 11. Sustenance, 12. negative space, 13. Since you left, nothing is missing., 14. Shadow self portrait with very large head, 15. Penguin, 16. Rubies, 17. I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight, 18. From what I’ve tasted of desire, 19. As one who shrewdly pretends that he and the world are friends, 20. jumping beans, 21. Hoodie, 22. Waiting to blow out the candles, 23. Infinite regression, 24. Toffee, 25. Nails!, 26. Wide as the ring of a bell, 27. yes is a world, 28. So we struggle and we stagger, 29. Cause there’s, there a light in me that shines brightly, 30. Seeing, 31. Happy New Year! And 2007? Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.
I hope to circle back later today, after we get home from our New Year’s celebration, or tomorrow at the latest, to write something a little more reflective about what Project 365 has meant for me this year. I’ll pick my favorites from the year and maybe look ahead to the 2008 iteration of the project as well. For now, though, I’ll just focus on December.
On the whole, I’ve been really happy with me pictures this month, particularly with some of the self-portraits. By far, the biggest break-through photograph for me was negative space, really the whole set of those pictures that I took that day, though I’ve only uploaded a few. A number of people saw those pictures and sent me messages one way or another asking whether I am ok, which I appreciate, but really those self-portraits are, I’m pretty sure, signs of health. They are very personal in some ways–a working out of some issues that have been lurking for me for a very, very long time–but also the first photographs I’ve ever taken where I was conscious for myself as I was taking them that I was not just snapping some pictures to see what kind of image I could produce. I knew that I was making art. I’ve had those images more or less in my head for a long time, but have been unable for one reason or another to actually take them.
I’ve also been really happy with some of the more playful shots this month–the Bowie album remake, the self-portrait in bed wearing snorkle gear, Eldest in her penguin costum, the goofy shadow portrait on my cell phone.
At the end of November, I started to make strides in figuring out Photoshop and have been really enjoying playing around with it. The washed-out, near black-and-white portraits have been fun to work on, in particular. I’m hoping to continue to work on these techniques in the coming year.