Day 18: A Photograph of Yourself
I thought about choosing a few photographs and complicating the issue (like I’ve been wont to do). But then I thought better of it. Exhaustion seems to be getting the better of me these days. I’m fairly productive in the morning but by 5:00 pm my brain is mush. (Thank you female hormones. This should pass in a week.) I’ve been busy working on my photography which is wonderful, but also taking much of my creative energy these few days. Sorry, little blog. I still love you, though.
The picture above is a self portrait that I took around 2010. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the original, so I pulled this one from Facebook — hence the horrible quality. Still, it’s always been a favourite. It was one of our first summers living in this house and I was lying in the grass in the backyard. I remember feeling so close to nature at that time. I could never get enough it. I would always walk barefoot just to bring myself ever closer to the Earth. I had long, black mermaid hair. I also like the fact that you can see my crooked jaw in this picture. It is something that I once hated so much about myself, but have come to love in my older age. Francis Bacon said that — “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.” With age, I’ve come to believe this fact. All of the most beautiful people & things (to my eyes) have some wonderful imperfections. Symmetry is overrated.
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Comments (7)
amy
November 18, 2013 at 7:59 pm
this photo could not be a more perfect image for you to choose.
it encompasses so much about you. it really is just perfect.
Dena
November 18, 2013 at 8:01 pm
Thank you, love. I am glad that you think so. <3
Aiko
November 19, 2013 at 12:10 am
Lovely photo, esp the light on your face. One of my buffs was also born with a crooked jaw. She’s gorgeous – I think that kind of stuff makes you look more awesome. On a more extreme level, once I thought this hipster girl was missing an arm at the elbow and I was like “she looks cool – the half-arm looks cool.” But then she had a whole arm – it was just the way she was holding herself, and I was almost disappointed because she was just “normal”!
Dena
November 19, 2013 at 8:14 am
Ha, that is interesting, the other end of the spectrum. Thank you for your kind words. It’s amazing what age does to the psyche as far as confidence and perception go.
Suzy
November 19, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Love the quote! I never noticed your jaw, just always saw lovely you in your photos: )
Of course, we are our harshest critics. I don’t like the gap in my teeth and yet I’ve had people tell me how awesome or cool it was. But it makes me, me!
farzana
November 19, 2013 at 2:46 pm
You really look at peace! I really love your wavy hair.
Scott
November 20, 2013 at 7:01 pm
Well, I don’t think I have the ability to post a photograph here of myself, so maybe Dena can post her firefly pic of my family apple picking (it’s so great it’s my facebook cover page photo)