I had this almost overwhelming urge to be in the water tonight, so I took a bath. Not something I do all that often, especially for no reason, just to soak (I had already taken a shower this morning). So I thought I try to get a shot of me relaxing in the bath, just legs and my head over the edge of the tub, but I couldn't get all of me in the shot, so it's just legs. Then I started doing my usual scrutinize myself in the mirror routine afterwards, and thought that might make for an interesting shot as well. Looking at this image now (and striking this pose several times to get the shot) really made me think about why this "self-examination" is a part of my bathroom routine. Seems kind of silly really, I don't do anything about any imperfections I find, I'm just more aware of them. And that is not necessarily a good thing, especially for someone who tends to obsess about anything I find visually unpleasant (I can be especially annoying when it comes to arranging furniture, I just can't stand it when something doesn't feel like it is in the right place). So maybe this is something I will try to abandon. I may even print off this picture and tape it to my mirror for a few days to remind myself how silly and vain it looks when I do this.
Beautiful photos. The legs-only works better than a full shot, in my opinion. I don't think the second is silly/vain at all. It looks natural, normal to me. Of course, obsessing isn't fantastic, but knowing your body's topography can be a good thing, knowing yourself, being aware of changes, feeling comfortable in your own skin.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a fine line. I feel the more aware I've become of myself by using my body as a model has made me much more comfortable with my appearance. But somehow the processes of using myself to create a photo is different from the scrutinizing I do in front of the mirror. Maybe I can find a way to bring some of what I feel when creating a photo of myself whenever I'm looking at myself in the mirror.
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