Friday, January 4, 2013

Focusing on Life - 1/52 Pictures

I have mentioned my admiration of Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime on my blog before - she is a woman of many talents!  Her jewelry designs are no less than brilliant and her range of media astounds me - wire wrapping, leather, SEED BEADS (ugh!  I cannot do this AT.ALL.), enameling, etc., etc. etc.  She is also an excellent photographer.  She posted a new challenge on Facebook - "Focusing on Life - 52 Photos".  Once per week, she sends the participant a prompt, and we are to take a picture to post on our blog, Flicker, or Instagram.
 
Well, my photography skills are pre-beginner - at best - but I signed up anyway.  My word/mantra for 2013 is "Fearless"...so what better way to rally to the challenge?  I carefully chose "Fearless" to combat some of my low self esteem and lack of self confidence issues. Ha! I about died when I received my prompt for the first photo - Self Portrait
 
Have you ever seen a picture of me on my blog?  NO.  A picture of me on my Facebook page?  NO.  My Etsy Site?  NO. That little photo to the right on my blog sideline is of my long lost best friend Sam.  Ask anyone in my family - I tend to disappear at "family photo time". 
 
Well, Sally, I took 127 photos.  Yes 127.  Glasses on.  Glasses off.  Smiling.  Not smiling.  Black and White.  Color.  Ugh.  I did learn from Sally tips that my camera has a self-timer feature! Ha!   Who knew? At least I learned something!
 
Anyway - here it is.   I really do smile alot in "real life", but here I look so pensive.  Appropriate pose for this post.  'Nuff said.  Except, I can't wait for next week's prompt!
 
 
 


Seriously - I thank you Sally.  It took everything I had just to TAKE the pictures, much less post one! 

Please be sure to visit Sally's blog here to see the links of all of the participants.

Thanks for stopping by!

55 comments:

  1. Ha! this could have been my post too! I take plenty of pics, but HATE to be the one in the pic. 'nough said

    ReplyDelete
  2. =D
    I did too...but I didn't count how many snap I made with many different angle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love this shot, Patti...your eyes are so beautiful!! And it shows off your beautiful earring too...fearless with the photos...a great start to your 2013!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Atta girl, baby steps ..361 more days to increase your Fearlessness! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's a beautiful photo. You have the most beautiful green eyes. I love your word of the year and I can't wait to see the rest of your challenge photos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Patti~it is so great to SEE you!!! Your eyes are gorgeous. And I know the rest of you is too. I know that without ever having seen you in person before. I run when the camera comes out too. I hate having my picture taken. I am too critical of how I look in them. Fearless. That was put to the test with this challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hate photos of me and I really struggled with this too. You are beautiful and fearless and I look forward to more photos!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful post Patti. Love the pic. Congrats for being so "fearless."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well hello there Fearless Patti!!! I love your photo and I love your post ... it's nice to know I'm not the only one who gave my camera a workout for this challenge! Now that we got the self-portrait out of the way, the remaining 51 photos should be easy! =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great! You go, girl! Miss that gorgeous smile!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Patti that is fantastic picture, I really struggled with this prompt too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fantastic photo, Patti! My eye is drawn right to your beautiful eyes! Self portraits are hard for everyone, like I said in the email we tend to focus on the negative about ourselves when the viewer only sees the beauty!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's a great pic of you! I know what you mean about having your pic taken - I'm the same way. I finally posted the one Carol took of me in Stacie's class but that is the only one!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Actually I only took 15 pictures, and ended up with 2 that I thought were useable! I try to hide when cameras come out too.. Love the picture!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great shot! One of my goals is to get in front of the camera more so this was just up my alley. ps - you have amazing eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Patti, you are a beautiful lady! I'm so glad to SEE a picture of you so that I can finally put a face with the name. GREAT shot. I understand the total number of pictures as it's so hard to take pictures of ourselves and seem them objectively (and positively). Wonderful exercise and, again, beautiful image of a beautiful lady.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think this is a great photo Patti - so thoughtful and I suspect a look many us see in others but not in ourselves. AS Sally said your drawn straight to your pretty eyes. I hate being photographed too so I went for humour in mine. Nice earring btw :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yep, you now have a new nickname for 2013...Fearless Patti! Love seeing your beautiful face! Looking forward to seeing what everyone does on this great project!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Patti, you're beautiful, don't be shy. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Beautiful photo and great job stepping into your unknown zone. By the way you have stunning green eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well Patti, I see a beautiful, talented woman. You have lovely eyes--what color are they? I know we are always the hardest on ourselves, myslef included. This first assignment was like torture for me, but if I didn't learn anything else, at least I learned how to use the timer on my camera.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congratulations on your "fearless" portrait!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Patti I love, love, love this picture of you! You don't look pensive you looked focused and fearless! Need more pictures of you!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Patti,
    You are a very beautiful Lady your eyes are a gorgeous green (one of my favorite colorS). I really like your word for 2013 Fearless, I just know you will totally empower the word by year's end.
    Therese

    ReplyDelete
  25. I too have a folder full of shots that i took and discarded. I had a few shots with my mouth covered with the mug of tea because it seemed all my smiles looked fake and the serious ones made me look angry! :) I think we all struggles with this stretching exercise. Beautiful eyes and a wonderful picture!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great eyes and rocking an awesome set of earrings :-) Great picture!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful eyes!! I signed up today, lets hope I'm not to late. :) I hate having my photo taken, but I can somewhat do a decent one if I take it my self. :) Looking forward to next weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have to say the 'eyes' have it! I really like this shot - glad you are 'fearless' this year!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh my goodness! What gorgeous eyes!! They say that the first thing people notice about your are your eyes :) Have a great day!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Awww I always love to see pics of people. It's like a character in a book. You have an idea in your mind and then you see what people look like. I can't say I had tried to imagine what you looked like, but I'm so glad to see you. What beautiful green eyes you have! xo Genea

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great photo, Patti! Your eyes are so beautiful, and that's the first thing you notice in that shot. It's wonderful to be able to put a face to your name now. Here's to a "fearless" 2013 for you!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I have to agree, you have very beautiful eyes. I bet when you are upset, they spark.....good picture. I am seeing that all of us are beautiful in some way....Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  33. It actually makes me a little sad that so many of us have a problem with this. We are all beautiful inside and out but somehow we have a problem believing it as far as having our picture taken. Hooray for us all, we did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Heeee....but no, I'm not laughing at you, please believe me! I'm laughing because I was exactly the same way! This prompt really stretched the limits for so many people, I think. But what better way to start something cool like this, right? And honestly, I *love* your shot. It's perfect for a beginning :) We should really know, after all, who we are playing with, yes?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Great shot. 127 wow.. I am the same with photos of myself, i hate having them taken and i am always the one behind the camera.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I sooooo feel ya with the poses and smiling/lack of etc. I think it turned out great. Really!

    ReplyDelete
  37. love the fact that the focus is on your eyes.. they are beautiful.. well done.
    jenni

    ReplyDelete
  38. I can't say anything that hasn't been said . . . beautiful eye's, great picture!!!
    Jan O

    ReplyDelete
  39. Beautiful eyes!! Beautiful picture! Proud of you!!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I see a spark of determination in your eyes, great photo. I think that we are all glad that prompt is out of the way, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if we finished with another "selfie".

    ReplyDelete
  41. I'm happy to see your face! And it's a beautiful face so no reason to hide it away. It's great to have a face to go along with the "voice" on the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Nice to see you! I am so glad you joined the challenge; it is going to be a lot of fun! You are off to a great start being "Fearless"!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Your eyes are stunning! Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Fearless -what a powerful word! And good on you for following through. 127 photos shows a huge commitment.

    It really is great to see you, and I have to agree - you have stunning eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Beautiful Patti! You are fearless! You mentioned low self esteem and I have to share a little story. I wore the earrings you made (just for me, without knowing it) on Christmas day. One of my brothers who really is a sweet guy but that is generally not in my direction. I caught him looking at me. So I turned and he said "I like your earrings (big pause) they look nice on you. I almost fell out of my chair, but thanked him and I sure felt better about myself that day. Thank YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  46. A beautiful photo! I also tend to rather hide behind the camera at photo time AND I tend to be my own worse photo critic! Perhaps we will learn to relax and overcome our self-criticism over the next 51 weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hello beautiful! Look at those gorgeous, soulful eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  48. Hey Patti UGH I did the same and ended up on the floor with Tessa! Not my favorite place I would way rather be behind the camera. XOXO You did good!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Goodness, you made me laugh(your comment on my self portrait! http://hundredcolors.blogspot.com/2013/01/self-portrait.html). And those eyes of yours. Looks directly to the heart. :) That DOES belong to a strong lady!!

    ReplyDelete
  50. 127 photos! wow! Well, I think you're beautiful. :) Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  51. it's tough this seeing ourselves, isn't it?? i confess i wouldn't have had your perseverance - 127?? wow!
    thanks for stopping by :)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Patti, oh I cannot believe you took that many photos! I took a few of you at artBLISS and they were all wonderful - you are photogenic, lady!! :-) And as Sally said, your eyes are so beautiful - you're an easy subject. :-) I hope to see more of YOU in your blog posts now that you are officially FEARLESS!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Great Pic! Boy do you have beautiful eyes!!!!!! This reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock still. See you are a natural born STAR! Cool light too:)

    ReplyDelete