Self Portrait

I took this photo with my iphone and used the apps: Camera+, FocalLab and Mextures.

‘The human body is the best work of art.’  – Jess C. Scott

‘Your are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed.  And you are beautiful.’ – Amy Bloom

‘Everybody has a part of her body that she doesn’t like, but I’ve stopped complaining about mine because I don’t want to critique nature’s handiwork… My job is simply to allow the light to shine out of the masterpiece.’ – Alfre Woodard

 

I always cringed whenever an art teacher expected a self portrait.  Why in the world would I want to make a portrait of myself?  Why would I want to document my big slightly crooked nose, uneven skin, pimples, little eyes, uneven smile, knobby knees, cellulite dimples, and wrinkles? 

Despite all that, I signed up for Susan Tuttle’s online workshop The Art Of iPhoneoraphy Self-Portraiture.   I wanted to learn about the apps she uses.  I thought the information would be good for landscapes and flowers, I had no intention of taking a self-portrait.

Well that changed.  

I took this photo with my iphone and use the apps: Camera+, FocalLab and Mextures.  I then felt it needed a little softening and I knew the Kim Klassen texture sybil would be perfect.  I used the app Image Blender to add the texture.  

I wanted to try out some of the apps and techniques that Susan teaches in her workshop on a person.  My daughter wasn’t a willing model, so I bought a tripod adapter for my iphone.  I set the timer, took a few pictures and began creating on my iphone.   I became hooked. 

Not only is it a new creative endeavor, it is also a lesson for me in self acceptance.  I close my critical eye and open my photographer’s eye.  I look at Me with the same awe and amazement I give a butterfly’s nose or a flower’s pollen.  I don’t compare one butterfly’s nose to another, or say this flower is better because it has more pollen.  I appreciate their uniqueness, different colors, shapes and sizes, one not better than the other, but each individually a beautiful creation.  At that moment, I accept me as a unique individual too, exactly how I am. 

I encourage you to take a self portrait and celebrate your unique beauty too.  You Are Beautiful! 

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds.  

Thank you for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!

Michelle