I had a hard time this month. Because of some things (some good things) going on in the real world, and because of the theme.
It’s not easy to be bare naked in front of a camera, even if it’s just the camera and you. It feels like too much exposure for me, at least at this time of my life.
This has been one of the coldest winters here (if you want to know where I live, check up Porto Alegre and see how below, way below the Equator line I am, and how close to Antartica and all it’s polar air), and I’ve been a bit sick, and busy, and feeling a bit messy and ugly. Not a very good feeling to register with a shot.
I look up everyweek to the images that has been posted, and see all the images that has been sent, and mostly everytime I think, wow, why couldn’t I come up with this idea and at least give it a try? Well, I couldn’t. But I’m glad a lot of people could, talented, creative and beautiful people. (I still have one week to try, who knows!)
So my picks for this challenge was all about beauty, and beauty shown in the images because it’s felt by the self-portrayers.
I like this photo because of the great light and the new perspective. (See more of Bea.annony)
This one (from Groovyholly) reminded me of a video I’ve seen last month, that a guy made to honor his mom and her body. The woman was almoust 70-years old, and, as she says in the documentary, still looks at her body and sees prettyness.
The movie - that I strongly recomend-, made by Ken Wardrop, had some interesting choices of point-of-view and lights, and the way he shows his mom often reminded me of the ancient venus figurines (as seen here and here and here), that were made to celebrate what a woman’s body is all about: a vessel of life and joy and abundance.
And this one, by Sammiam, is just gorgeous, with the water reflections. A tasteful nude photo that insinuate more than it shows.
I hope you all enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I did. And I hope I’ll be a better self-portrayer for next month.
I know that the Friday is already over, but some problems with my connection at home stopped me from posting.
I was angry and frustraded because I couldn’t make things work - simple computer comands, read from a confusing user’s guide made everything even worse. Then I realized I wouldn’t be able to fix the problem and make the wireless connection work properly on time for me to write to you while Friday was still going on, even if it was the last few minutes of Friday.
And it got me thinking about the meaning of fresh, so I looked up in the dictionary (now, after Friday, away from home). Most of the definitions stated are actually opposite ideas, they say what’s not fresh to build the meaning of fresh.
I don’t know about you, but as I was looking for images of fresh to register, I realized how intangible the idea of fresh is, and how hard can it be to translate it to images.
But the good part is that not everyone found the same photographer’s-block as I did, and the portraits this week were even better than the last!
The light seemed brighter and when I washed my face, I felt some whiskers above my lips. My first impulse was to rip them off, but later on, as I was walking over the balcony to get a bit of sun, they were very useful to help me keep my balance. I think I should have noticed I was becoming a cat.
The oddest thing was that I never thought, for even a second, that it was absurd. Or, at least to me, it didn’t seem absurd. In fact, it felt normal to put a bowl on the floor and lick my meal from there. My friend, at work, tried to pull the bowl from me and I automatically hissed at him. I guess he didn’t enjoy it, but I didn’t enjoy when he interrupted my afternoon nap, at the balcony. It was so warm there!
Today I woke up and stretched my back, and it felt so great to spend the whole morning licking my fur and my hands - hands? No, no, they are looking more like paws right now –that I didn’t even care to miss work. Why should I work? What should I work for? What’s the point of going out if I have everything I need right here?
I just hope my boyfriend doesn’t mind me being a cat and does not go away. I still need him to clean up my litter box!
And if I can wake up and be a cat, bellydancing in public doesn’t seem so absurd.
(A little piece of literature-of-the-fantastic. But what is really absurd nowadays? And it would be so absurd if from now on I decide to be a cat? Or a dog? Or a bird? The outside may still be human-like, but it’s the inside that matters. And why should be any absurd for everyone of us to live up to our desires and thoughts and dreams?)
This was me, Cris, being a cat today. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I grew up with the idea of Politics as a thing distant from me. As I grew up Brazil was in a transition moment of History, because the people were craving for changes, for more rights, for democracy at its fullest. Back then I couldn’t realize how things would change so much in so little time, but I remember sitting with my Grandfather in the couch, watching a lot of men in suits arguing and talking to each other and holding up our flag - and let me just say I was always amazed by the lively green and shiny yellow of the Brazilian flag - and also there was Fafá de Belém, a Brazilian singer, singing Brazil’s National anthem, in a way that even today still gets me emotional.
Those were Congressmen voting for more freedom for the people. That was the vote for the new Constitution, and the Militaries were officially stepping down from the Government, and the general feel was relief and a breeze of new air - new ideas, new opportunities, changes - in History.
A few years later, I felt more a part of this thing called Politics when I painted my face green and yellow and joined thousands of others on the streets to impeach and take a corrupt politic from the presidency. But it still wasn’t then for me to realize how important our actions - as little as may seem right now - for the making of History.
It wasn’t only until a few years ago that I realized I, back then, was living at a turning point time in the History of my country, and then I started to understand that Politics are not distant or far. Even for those who don’t want to take a stand, or don’t want to get involved, it is impossible. If you live in a group, if you interact with you neighboors, it is already Politics.
This being said, the pictures that caught my eye were those reflecting the importance of the individual stand on subjects, any subject, and the influence one might have on the events of the community, or the society in general.
This one, for example, shows us that there’s no better equation for beauty than self-love, self-respect.
The next one reminds us about our choices. We are what we eat, and our lives are what we make of them, and Politics are, inevitably, the sum of our choices and actions as a part of a social group.
But the most significant for me this week was this one. It tells me we need to teach our children about what’s right and wrong, what’s good and what’s bad, because is their duty to continue the steps we take today. And, as we are responsible for the political choices and decisions today, we have to gaze to the past as children, and avoid the mistakes made in the past, in order to grow as a civilization.
I don’t know if I was able to express my idea of Politics. Because Politics, as I see it, is not only a matter of choosing between Democrats and Republicans, it is part of every decision we make, in any level of life.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Happy Easter for those, as myself, who celebrate Easter. And keep in mind, History is what we make of it everyday.
I must say this month has been really interesting, photowise. For me, blue is one of the prettier, meaningful, colors, and it’s been great seeing what everyone understands of what blue is.
I noticed how the photos showed more than the color itself, but tried to show a feeling related to the appearance of the color, and, most of the times, they were positive feelings, feelings of freedom, or joy, or self-knowledge, or growth. Some of the images were simply, pure fun, and these were beautiful as well.
My favourites, for this week, are portraits that could tell a little more about the photographer through the blue shades.
Like this bellow, showing courage in blue, courage to quit a security-giving-job in order to do a more self-fulfilling thing.
Or this one, that shows a search for perfection, the care for every singe detail, such as matching the earring with the top, but still leaving room for fun.
I hope to be able to fix all the connection problems -way- before next month. See you soon.
