Taking Selfies by Reading Lamp
Recently, I’ve been run off my feet. Why? Reorganising my marketing, my point of view about how I make a living…you know, 20 percent photography, 80 percent business.
I took time out, late at night. I wanted to take a damned photo, anything. I tried taking a shot of my cat, Stubbs. She is beautiful, always wants to hang around with me, sometimes she won’t leave me alone. But when I want something, she refuses to play the game.
She’s persistent with want, if she wants my lap, then she gets it. If I want her to help me out, she doesn’t want to. Cats.
So, I set up the reading lamp, and decided to at least take a shot of myself. I like things Noir, dark, and mysterious. It creates not only moody feelings, it creates room for thought in the viewer.
I often have an idea for a photo in mind. Something I’ve seen, or a fragment of a conversation, might prompt an idea for a scene. These things tend to be film-like moments that pop into my head. So, I try them out, make sketches, set up a basic composition — rearrange the room to fit the scene.
