My "selfie" image

I've been away from this blog for quite a long time. Life has been hectic and wonderful with our daughter and I have been focusing on transitioning from a person, to a person who's focus is now wildly shifted. I'll write more about that transition later. But for now, I'd like to talk about something I've been thinking about a lot lately. 

Sass selfie

I take a lot of selfies.

I don't always post them to public media, But sometimes, if I feel like it's not too unflattering, I'll send it out. 

I've been thinking about why I do that . 

Adorable baby wearing selfie!

I think that generally, I want people I don't get to see very often to share in m life. Do I think they need pictures of my face to do that? Probably not. But as the family photographer, I have shockingly few pictures of myself. 

But I have a secret: I hate pictures of myself. I am always criticizing myself. "My hair's too gray/frizzy/short." "My rosacea is so ugly/my skin is too wrinkled." "My smile is so goofy and my eyes are to squinty."  

So I decided to take each reoccurring complaint I had about myself and turn it into something I am grateful for. 

"I have too many wrinkles" - My life has been full of laughter and tears, I have spent years focusing on listening, on smiling and sometimes I have cried. These wrinkles are roadmaps of the woman I have been. They remind me of the joy and sadness in my life that has led me here.

"My hair is frizzy/skin is too red." - My hair and my skin are mine. I can put products on them and try my best to care for them, but they are part of what makes me Magpie. Each dot, each mole and red cheek and flyaway hair are part of the whole of me. 

"My hair doesn't look good." - I have to remind myself that there are people who wish they had hair, but for various reasons do not. My style can always change, but I should be grateful for the hair I have!

"My eyes are squinty/forehead's too big/face is covered in moles..." - Everything I usually think makes me unappealing is part of me. I am alive and healthy, I see a dermatologist fairly regularly, and when I squint, it's because that is the face I make when I'm truly happy. It's my most genuine smile. 

Baby bump selfie!

Really, it boils down to hearing all this negative self-talk, recognizing it and eliminating it as part of my daily routine. 

Frankly, as much as I've supported positive self image in others, I've rarely felt it in myself. And now, I'm responsible for teaching small people that they are perfect just as they are. And the number of times in a day the hubs hears me say things I hate about myself will soon become things my children hear. 

I don't want them to start hearing me pick apart every small detail I dislike about myself. 

I am me, My face and body are mine and if I want to teach confidence and self appreciation to my children, I need to start with me. 

Show off your beautiful self and share it with the world! We need to see ALL faces and shapes. We need "everyday" to become the extraordinary we see regularly instead of the airbrushed, photoshopped images we've become used to comparing to.

Let the world see you embrace yourself. You never know who might need to see someone like them be confident!

~MythicalMagpie

Raffle

I am raffling an hour long photo shoot for folks in the greater Columbus area. This is a very fast raffle, to end a week from Sunday (8/28)

See, I have these two friends trying to start up a business and I want to help. Some may recognize these two persons as Seamus and Mike...my Grove Priests. They have, in no way, asked me to do this (and I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here) but when asked, they have never turned down a request to lend an ear, offer a blessing and bring forth a level of piety and generosity I want to try and emulate.

So, to the nitty gritty details, I will be providing raffle tickets for $3 each or four for $10. This includes an hour long photoshoot, with a copy of all the images and reproduction rights ad infinitum. All I ask is that I can add my favorites to my portfolio and with the model's permission post a few to my deviantart page and blog. Please contact me via e-mail if you are interested in purchasing raffle tickets.

ALL of the proceeds will be going to the Magical Druid to help defray their startup costs.

Examples of my photography sessions can be found here and here at my blog.

PLEASE help me help Seamus and Mike and the Magical Druid. And if you'd rather, feel free to visit their site and facebook page and SUPPORT THE MAGICAL DRUID!!!

More Photography

So last night I threw together another photo shoot involving light painting.

The model (it makes me feel so silly to call my friends models, but it's the appropriate term) is Nathan Ross. And he wanted something he could use for character portraits. So he brought his costuming and was extremely patient with me, despite being stuck in a deathly warm gas mask and top hat.

Anyways, here are a few of the pictures I took...(and LOVE if I may say so!)


Comin' atcha!


Contemplative


He makes it look so easy.

Feel free to check out the other shots on my deviant art page.

The process is really fun, but it can be tricky. Each time I set up a shoot, I never know how the lighting is going to work. So at the beginning, there is a lot of trial and error.

If you are interested in doing long exposure photography, make sure you have a camera with an adjustable exposure/shutter speed. This allows more light to be viewed by the lens and allows you to move the light source after the initial picture has been taken.

Set the shutter speed to around 10 seconds and then set up the shot. If you are wanting to have a picture that looks normal with some light painting, make sure your flash is up. Whatever is in the frame for the initial flash will be the photograph and whatever light painting you do will be in the darkness after the flash fades.

(Tip: If you are doing background work, like flashing lights around, try to wear dark colors and move quickly, so you are not spotted in the shadows.)

I will be posting a tutorial hopefully next week.

Hope this is helpful!

Photoshoots - Last Summer

So last summer, I had this idea, to get a bunch of friends and have them model for me.

I wanted three shoots, one with no makeup, jewelry etc, one with day to day vestments makeup, accoutrements and the third as crazy and wild as they wanted to be.

These are the compilations I made last summer.


(Model: Tracie H.)


(Model: Jen R.)

Thanks again to last year's fantastic models.

Now, who is in for this year?!?

Formal Pictures.

I can't wait until I am his wife.

Quick mock up of shots

So, I've decided I can't just get away with three photos from the shoot. There are too many fantastic shots. So, I am breaking them down into different themes.

This is the triad of faces. One with no styling, no makeup, no accessories, one in day-to-day wear and one in dramatic costume & makeup. The full body shots also show the variety, but the differences in the face is awesome here.

Thanks to my gorgeous model, Jen, I have started a new way to express myself through the camera! Thank you so much!!!

Photography and old ladies

Sunday, I had my first model ever. I learned a lot, got a ton of amazing shots and had some lighting issues. All in all though, it was a fantastic experience.

I am looking for more models to get no less than 9 separate models. I am hoping to get a small exhibit together.

I have been musing a bit about the art of photography. I feel that taking photographs is the easiest part of the art. But in no other mediums I can think of, do you create dozens of pieces of art and then choose which ones you're going to throw away or cast aside.

It's pretty odd to me that I've taken hundreds of photographs and I will pare them down to three. That means hundreds will never be seen. I think choosing which ones make it through to the final round is the most agonizing process. Ugh.

Also, I'm finishing my fairy grandmother sculpture. And I thought sculpting a body was the hard part!!! Now I'm trying to make clothing, figure out how to create a doll wig and then sculpt wings. Yikes.

I need to get back at now. Hope to post more pictures soon!!!