Sarah R. Bloom Photography

The Top 10 Reasons I Take Self-Portraits*

People often ask the self-portrait artist why they do it. They especially ask this question of women. So here you have it in that most popular of blog formats: the list.

The Top 10 Reasons I take Self-Portraits

 10. I’m hot.

 9. Because it’s all about control today.

 8. Nobody else takes good photos of me.

 7. It’s fun to role-play.

 6. I didn’t get enough attention as a child.

 5. To see what I look like in different outfits.

 4. It’s sexy.

 3. I’m a total narcissist, obviously.

 2. So you can see what you are missing.

And the number one reason I take self-portraits is….

 

…

(drum roll please)

..

.

.

.

.

 

1. Because I’m there.

 :-)

*For the serious and those in a serious mood, this list is tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek.

Hairs Cut

You know, just in case you didn't see the news on Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr. LOL!

Maybe I can start this new week by getting a blog post written before 10:30pm. Maybe.

Night at the Museum

Shot the Gallery Hop as part of Homecoming Weekend at the University of Pennsylvania last night and three art workshops today. I had a good time and have about 800 shots to parse for the gems.

It was interesting to shoot events with other photographers also there on assignment. Obviously some photographers have to deal with this sort of thing all the time, but it was new to me. I developed some theories and gained some insight for myself about types of photographer styles and how I want to be, and I will write a post about that on my other blog this week.

In the meantime I'm exhausted, it's Saturday night, I'm full of Chinese food, and so I'm going to go watch Up with my family and relax. :-)

What I See Sometimes

I decided that if I write a real post every other day, at least, then I can post just a photo on the days in between if need be. :-)

Push Me Pull Me

I’m doing that push-pull thing again.

I guess it must be normal?

Whenever things are happening with my artist side, I’m immersed in it and feeling positive. Then things slow down; I’m not sure what to do next; and the next thing I know I’m realizing all my work is crap, I have no direction, and oh-my-god I have to get some client work going so I can make some money!

Then things start moving ahead with my other side, the event and portrait photographer side. I have a very fun gig lined up for tomorrow and Saturday as part of the University of Pennsylvania alumni weekend. I’m excited because I actually get to cover the art-related events. This will be a boon to my portfolio and hopefully lead to more of the same kind of work. But I need to get my presence out there for other work as well…need to take advantage of the holidays coming up and the fact that my daughter is in class that “graduates” middle school this year. I’ve decided emailing all the parents might be tacky, but if it leads to a few clients, then so be it.

And then I go back to wondering what I’m doing with my art. I have the opportunity to show at the wonderful & local to me shop Sweet Mabel during December for “Art Under $100”. Last year I showed TTVs so I want to do something different this time. Thinking of printing the rainy windshield images or the fruits/vegetables series. Which do you think would be better sellers?

I suppose you might be wondering about that regular paycheck I said I would get? I have been perusing listings, but my heart was certainly not fully in it. I have some freelance writing coming from Cecily soon that will be a good moneymaker and this weekend could be the start of some good money on a semi-regular basis. So I’m going to give myself a few more months (and recognize full well I might be fooling myself), and then see where things are.

I am thinking a lot about my goals for 2010. Things are gearing up with almost everyone I know for this year to be the one that makes a difference. I have been keeping up with the exercise and getting to recovery meetings more regularly (even chairing a meeting this month every Monday), and I’m slowly trying to adjust my eating habits. I feel better. With the time change it is dark really early again as it gets colder. My tendency is to want to hibernate and I’m fighting it. I don’t want to lose momentum.

I want to see if I can keep this seesaw I’m on balanced for a while.

 

 

The Twisted Reach of Crazy Sorrow

Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

And You Call Yourself A Photographer?

Because I go around calling myself a Photographer (and hopefully sharing images that support that claim), invariably people just starting out will ask me about lighting or techniques or camera settings—and I freeze for a split second like the proverbial deer, and then laugh nervously as I give some vague generality that might sound good. The truth is I’m not so technically proficient. People think I’m playing the humility card or something, but I’m not! I’m just not an academic when it comes to photography.

How do you learn things best? Are you a book learner or a hands-on learner or somewhere in between? I learn things best by experiencing them. I think I’ve always been this way, but it is more so now that I am older. I will read about things, but I don’t retain the information, really, or I remember bits and pieces. Until I put what I learned to actual use, it isn’t practical knowledge.

I did take a photography class in high school and learned to develop and print film and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I am very certain I never had a true grasp on ISO and f-stops. These days that grasp is only slightly firmer. I experiment. I play with the settings. I experiment even more in post processing. I don’t think I can “teach” what I do or explain how I learned it. I didn’t take a class in Photoshop. I learned a little working at a publishing company as the Photo Editor and the rest I learned by just…doing. I never read any books on the subject and I am quite certain there are several functions in Photoshop I don’t even know exist.

My workflow is crap. My filing system is worse. I am familiar with a lot of photographers at this point and just a peripheral awareness of their online postings tell me just how clueless I am about the amazing tools available to me. Though I will and do tap into them as resources when I need specific information. They have it and share it, and it is person-to-person education. I use Lightroom 2 and Photoshop now. I still haven’t read anything about LR2 (actually, don’t tell anyone, but I still haven’t read all of the manual for my Canon T1i I got in July). I was at my friend and fellow photographer Jennifer König’s house the other weekend, watching her process some of her images. I asked her about the exposure tool because I had played with it a few times and knew I wasn’t doing something right. In 30 seconds she demonstrated for me how she used it and it clicked. While I know I could find tutorials that showed these things, there is something so much more fulfilling and tangible when a friend shares something with you isn’t there?

I don’t do things the right way or the best way, but I do things in the way that works best for me. Just please, whatever you do, don’t ask me any technical advice! :-)

When the light fades

When the light fades

wind whips leaves into frenzy

Cat curls by the fire.

It's A Musing

November 1st and the question that echoes through the blogosphere is "Do I try and post something every day for NaBloPoMo (or is that NaNoBloMe)?"

I'm gonna try, not based on my posting performance this past year (which has been dreadful), but based on the idea that if I take on the challenge to post something every day I might actually do it (and even try to make it substantive).

We'll see how it goes. :)

The Things We Leave Behind

Fall, more than any other season, is a meditation on life and death.