This week's Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily post at wordpress.com is "Reflections"
This challenge has gotten me quite reflective. About the many years of looking through the lens… A spectator to the world around me but also a director, choosing what to highlight, what to put front and center, and what to say about it. But this challenge is not about reflections of the mental kind but the real physical ones.
Reflections hold a special place in my photography. I am always eagerly looking for them to incorporate into my compositions because they are a great device to reinforce images, adding ambiguity, and enriching layers of meaning.
Every so often something strange happens when I look at a reflective surface. All the sudden I become aware of myself and I am always startled by it, as if in a mini out-of-body experience. There I am, staring back at myself holding a camera. My reflected self wants to photograph me, I become self-conscious and I feel like turning away and hiding. It is as if the immersive act of photography had me blindfolded to the reality of being physically there.
After the disconcerting feeling starts to fade, I take hold of myself and think for a second. Why not? Why not record the recorder? Why not immortalize the artist that is in me? I slowly lift my head, reveal my face, and click. A cameo appearance...