This first photo I took on the Bonneville Salt Flats, and as I was utterly alone in the middle of nowhere, this is where the idea of being clever about my portraits first came up. What I love about the photo, more than the shadow, is how cool the salt looks. It reminds me of ice. I expected a sandy texture, but this time of year, it was smooth and completely reflective, untouched by speed demons and their tires. In the distance, the salt flats glittered like the surface of a lake. It was beautiful, and peaceful -- just me and the wind for an hour. I’m sure it’s transformed during Bonneville Speed Week, when speed freaks (me, for instance!) come out by the thousands. I’m signing up for the next one!!
One of the other places I stopped along the way was Patrick’s Point State Park along the northern coast of California. My mom-in-law mentioned it and she was right, the sea lions/seals (not sure which) were sunning themselves down on the rocks. They seemed to revel in making a huge ruckus. Not unlike the rest of the Seal family, might I add! ;-> I happened to arrive at low tide and a couple of photographers took me under their wing and showed me the coolest places to climb down to the rocks along the beach. I took this one of my shadow on the rocks that had just been exposed by the outgoing tide. There were hundreds of tide pools teeming with starfish and other aquatic life. It is insane to me to witness life carving out a niche, merely to surrender the space to the ocean again and again. Profoundly beautiful and poignant, too.
In the photo, my shadow is the circular form in the lower right corner. I altered the color photo first to black and white, and then I applied an effect that makes it look like the photographic negative. I get kind of a ghost-like feel from it. And, as I had just started on my journey, I wasn't feeling totally corporeal yet, anyway. So, it fits.
The Magic 8 Ball also led me to Ashland, Oregon. I hadn’t been planning it at all, in fact, I’d been expecting to go north to Portland, but the 8 Ball knew better. I spent three days there in Ashland, catching some wonderful plays at the Shakespeare Festival, wandering through fantastic parks, watching deer wander down the main street and making friends with a little black bird. And, the people! The people there are amazing!! I felt so welcome there. I’ll write another post about that experience later. But, the self-portrait I took there was of my hand through the glass of my brunch table at Green Leaf by the creek that runs through town. I like that you can see my wedding set through it, as the hubby was having to live vicariously through me on this trip, and so I took lots of pics of the rings that represent our trip.
Another surprise stop for me was Bend, Oregon. As was the theme of the trek, I met the most wonderful people there and spent time looking at the world through Amy’s eyes. I met her there during my first few minutes in town -- she’s a professional photographer, an art-recommender extraordinaire, and purveyor of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (who knew it would be the perfect thing to drink in Bend? ;->). She likes asymmetry and lines and all things spatially wonderful and wonky. We made a perfect pair! So, in keeping with the weirdness of my self-portraits, I asked her to do one of me. (Yes, I realize that cancels out the self part of self portraits...but work with me, people!) Here, we are at a park by the river that cuts through town (I was stunned by its presence!) at sunset. We took advantage of the wonderful light and both our shadows are shown against the rocks. I love how it turned out!
And, I love how the trip unfolded…
More soon,
Peace, Love, and Self-Portraits to you all!
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