The thing I love about photography is the fact that it can be creative. It is not just the practice of capturing the world around us as it is, although that is a valuable part of it, but it is also the opportunity to create images from scratch. This is partially one of the reasons I enjoy self portraits by people. Often, the photographer will have thought about exactly what they want in the photo, creating an image in this way allows you to include or exclude whatever you want. This photo is inspired by some quotes in some of my favourite plays.
The first Under a Blue Sky by David Eldridge “his sightless blue eyes still shone in the sun” and Angels in America by Tony Kushner “A baby…who stares up at us with big mirror eyes and who does not know who we are.” These two quotations really stuck in my mind, the idea of sightless eyes gazing at the sky. I wanted to create an image which showed this idea of looking but not seeing and death, the final view before the end. I knew I wanted it to be a dark photo, not one with sun and I also wanted it to contain a contrast, so I wore my normal clothes as I felt this image of me, as I look day to day would contrast with the idea of death. Finally I knew I wanted two shots, one distanced to show the idea of loneliness and abandonment and one close up to show the eyes.
Taking the photos was actually easier than I imagined. I set up my tripod and stuck the ST550 to it, I was surprised that it had been designed to fit to a tripod, as many of my other compacts weren’t. I then set the camera to timer with the front screen on so that i could see myself. Usually I don’t use the front screen, as I’m behind the camera, and having it on while taking a photo of someone else distracts them. However in this case I found it really useful, I managed to get the shot a lot quicker than I do with my SLR camera, as I could see what I was doing rather than guessing my position or facial expression.
Overall I think in the case of self portraits the ST550’s front screen is a great idea, it made taking the photo I wanted much quicker and easier, and meant I could get in out of the rain!
