Bruja's Photo 52 + Night

[SimonTALM]

Jill, fabulous story and a fabulous photograph, you've really captured the light brilliantly (I presume this is natural lighting as I think the catchlights are window shaped). All I can suggest you do is to print it and frame it.

MKII is definitely the better image IMO

 

[Bruja]

Well done Bruja, great story that proves "health is wealth"
jon

Thanks John, appreciate the support

And yet another interesting insight into your life Jill. I'm glad you have found wealth in your love for each other, it really does transcend everything else.
The picture aint bad either.
Mark.

Glad you're glad and that the picture ain't bad too

Jill, fabulous story and a fabulous photograph, you've really captured the light brilliantly (I presume this is natural lighting as I think the catchlights are window shaped). All I can suggest you do is to print it and frame it.

MKII is definitely the better image IMO

Thanks Simon. Yes it is natural light as I much prefer it to flash for portraits. As for MKII, in the first crop I was concentrating too hard in getting the eyes on a third and missed the fact I'd chopped the top off his hair off. Just goes to show - I've learned yet another lesson thanks to the people on here

 

[Dark Star]

MKII wins for me, what a story and what a lovely sentiment and image you've presented - I'm sure that the love you have for each other is in a joint account with an enormous interest rate

First class interpretation and shot!

 

[Bruja]

I'm sure that the love you have for each other is in a joint account with an enormous interest rate

First class interpretation and shot!

Thanks John, the interest rate does vary from time to time - but that's pretty normal and we've never been overdrawn

Glad you think it's such a good shot

 

[Daysleeper40]

MKII is definately an improvement - but I love the lighting regardless of how you crop it

Lovely sentiment - I think we can all relate to what wealth really means and your story sums it up perfectly.

 

[Bruja]

Thanks DS, I'm glad it has struck a chord with people and that you like the lighting

 

[Spartacus]

Well you know I'm a great fan of all your work...

So I'm only going to say for me that is a lovely story...and lovely photo to boot...that's real Wealth...

Keep Healthy Wealthy and Wise...

 

[jeangenie]

Jill, with a story like that behind it, the picture could have been absolute rubbish and it wouldn't have mattered at all. Not many people find that kind of love anytime in their lives and Reg wasn't the only one with a tear in his eye.

... and in case, you're wondering - I think the picture is as fabulous as the story.

You are an inspiration.

Jean

 

[adrury]

Sorry, I have an essay looming so my catching up with threads is a bit hit and miss.

A lovely story and a great picture to go with it. I am glad you posted a second pic as it is better. I like the lighting used and the skin tones for me are fab.

 

[Bruja]

Well you know I'm a great fan of all your work...

So I'm only going to say for me that is a lovely story...and lovely photo to boot...that's real Wealth...

:nuts: Thanks Marcus, it means a lot

... and in case, you're wondering - I think the picture is as fabulous as the story.

You are an inspiration.

Jean

Thanks so much Jean and.... you're not too bad yourself

A lovely story and a great picture to go with it. I am glad you posted a second pic as it is better. I like the lighting used and the skin tones for me are fab.

Thanks very much Angela, and I hope the essay goes well - I remember that feeling all too well

 

[Bruja]

Well Happy Campers, here we go again

Identity seems like such a simple concept. You could say it is the things about an item/object/person etc that allows us to know what it is - to identify it.

There are specific things that can identify people for official purposes: photographs, fingerprints, DNA, Iris recognition, but are they who we are? :shrug:

In real lfe we have a lot of different identities, for example, in my case grandaughter, daughter, eldest child, victim, niece, friend, girlfriend, lover, wife, mother, lecturer, acupuncturist, writer, photographer, mother-in-law ,acquaintance, student, barmaid etc etc etc

And in each case my 'self' has been different. In other words, we can present a different version of ourselves depending on what role we play, what relationship we have with the other people involved, what our and others' expectations are about us, who we are in that particular situation.

This was brought home to me quite graphically the first few times I went shopping with my electric wheelchair. I loved that wheelchair . It was a motorised shopping trolley as I could hang all my bags on the back. I could go shopping by myself and I could shop until the batteries went BUT, the first couple of times I went with my kids they didn't like it. Not because I was in a wheelchair but because of the way people looked at me, the way the treated me. They said they didn't like people to feel like that about me. As though I was being pitied. But I told the kids (they were 13 and 15) that those people didn't know what I was thinking, that I was thinking 'Get out of the f.....g way, I've just seen my next pair of shoes'

But I also noticed that people were a lot more friendly towards me, more helpful, and people who would have just ignored me in a lift for example would make conversation. My identity was different in their minds because I was in a wheelchair, whereas in my mind I was just the same Jill (and still am )

So, in reality, we are a mass of identities and which one we portray changes all the time. Irving Goffman described people as 'actors on a stage', which sums it up pretty well for me. We talk about putting a different head on depending on what we are doing, so you could say we largely go through life wearing a series of masks. And here's one of mine

IDENTITY​

 

[corky]

love it!! excellent slant on Identity

 

[Dark Star]

Wow - great narrative Jill, always good reading your words as much as seeing your images and what you say is so true too!

Great image (even though masks creep me out a bit ) - in this case the words and the image are so well combined! The eye contact is terrific!

Where did the mask come from? Is it a local one?

 

[Bruja]

And I've even done a reshoot on Reflection

I've not tried to improve the original picture, just thought I'd give the theme another go. It's not a particularly startling picture, but the whole picture is a reflection in one of the sun porch doors of our house showing part of the pool. There's even a reflection in the reflection

I jus wanted to see how it could work, which is what this challenge is all about for me

REFLECTION RESHOOT

So I've been a busy little bee this week

And the sun has returned at last, 30 C today (but don't hold that against me )

 

[SimonTALM]

IDENTITY - Well you've certainly stepped out of the box for this one haven't you Great idea I do find the image slightly dark though with quite flat lighting, no where nearly as good as the lighting from last week. But I do agree with Dark Star that the eye contact is brilliant (if a little intense and scary)

 

[Bruja]

love it!! excellent slant on Identity

Thanks Corky, I climbed out of the box for that one

Wow - great narrative Jill, always good reading your words as much as seeing your images and what you say is so true too!

Glad I haven't lost the knack

Great image (even though masks creep me out a bit ) - in this case the words and the image are so well combined! The eye contact is terrific!

Thanks John, self portraits are never easy and I don't want to admit how many shots it took to get 'the one' as the mask kept slipping (no pun intended )

Where did the mask come from? Is it a local one?

It was €1.50 from a local Todo shop, they're like pound shops in the UK but mostly run by the Chinese here.

 

[Bruja]

Well you've certainly stepped out of the box for this one haven't you Great idea I do find the image slightly dark though with quite flat lighting, no where nearly as good as the lighting from last week. But I do agree with Dark Star that the eye contact is brilliant (if a little intense and scary)

Thanks Simon, I was just using natural light again, as you can see from the eyes, and direct light was just blowing out the mask. And it was a self portrait which didn't help I have got an alternative with my eyes closed but it doesn't have the same (scary) effect.


I was going for intense and scary though so I'm glad it came across

It used to work on my students by the way

 

[Toothie]

For some reason the identity shot is really freeking me out, i think its the stare in the eyes, great take on the theme though and a brill shot imo

 

[jeangenie]

Jill, you've expressed so eloquently what I thought about how we all have different identities and present different identities to different people. And then people interpret our identities through their own filters as well!

What comes across so powerfully is that you are very clear about your own identity (I've got no idea who I am ) and then to see the mask picture is quite literally shocking. Talk about the power of an image! It's certainly stopped me in my tracks. What a superb interpretation of the theme.

And a reshoot, too! Lovely reflections shot with that tantalising thought of warmth and sunshine - ahhhhhhhhhh Definitely a gold star this week.

Jean

 

[ScotlandTheScare]

Identity - it kind of creeps me out. You have no idea what the person behind the eyes is thinking! But its an interesting portrait I think

And your reshoot is a nice composition - and it is amazingly clear since its a capture of a reflection on a glass door! In fact - you cant tell its a reflection which is what I think I am wanting in that image - some idea that we are looking at a reflection - even if it is part of the door handle strategically positioned. That way it would hammer home the reflection theme

 

[Dark Star]

Wow that is a shot of a reflection - amazing! As Stewart says a part of the door added would have hammered it home! That is so clear! And How envious am I that you have that within a few yards of you Grrrr !!!

 

[jgs001]

Jill, Amazing. You've summed up identity so well, and that shot is startling, and fits so well. The reflection shot is excellent and clear

 

[Spartacus]

Your identity is just something else...

It's a shocker...:nuts: but wow doe's it make you have a reaction...

That's so scary, if I was to walk in to a room with someone sat in a mask like that my feet wouldn't touch the floor.

I love your build up to the shot...

and then you go and frighten the daylights out of me...

Great interpretation and so well executed...

Your reflection shot...now that a different story...you got it all going on, I love all the shapes/reflections and the colours...superb.

So I now forgive you for the scary one...

 

[Bruja]

For some reason the identity shot is really freeking me out, i think its the stare in the eyes, great take on the theme though and a brill shot imo

Thanks Ruth. It seems lots of people think it's scary but I'm glad you think its a brill shot

What comes across so powerfully is that you are very clear about your own identity (I've got no idea who I am ) and then to see the mask picture is quite literally shocking. Talk about the power of an image! It's certainly stopped me in my tracks. What a superb interpretation of the theme.

Thank you so much Jean, as you can guess I gave it a lot of thought as I tend to think of the text then take a shot to complement it. I thought the hardest thing was going to be actually finding a mask, but, as usual, taking the shot was much more difficult than I anticipated

And a reshoot, too! Lovely reflections shot with that tantalising thought of warmth and sunshine - ahhhhhhhhhh Definitely a gold star this week.

Jean

Identity - it kind of creeps me out. You have no idea what the person behind the eyes is thinking! But its an interesting portrait I think Thanks STS, and I think that is often true in real life too

And your reshoot is a nice composition - and it is amazingly clear since its a capture of a reflection on a glass door! In fact - you cant tell its a reflection which is what I think I am wanting in that image - some idea that we are looking at a reflection - even if it is part of the door handle strategically positioned. That way it would hammer home the reflection theme

I'll bear that in mind for next time

 

[Bruja]

Wow that is a shot of a reflection - amazing! As Stewart says a part of the door added would have hammered it home! I know, I'll try that next time. maybe we can have a Reshoot, reshoot? That is so clear! And How envious am I that you have that within a few yards of you Grrrr !!! Yeah, but the water is only 14 C Brrrr. It gets up to 28 in the summer though

Jill, Amazing. You've summed up identity so well, and that shot is startling, and fits so well. The reflection shot is excellent and clear

Thanks John, glad you like the shots. The Identity one seems to have shocked most people

 

[Bruja]

Your identity is just something else... Thanks, I think ....

It's a shocker...:nuts: but wow doe's it make you have a reaction... So I've noticed althought that wasn't my initial intention.

That's so scary, if I was to walk in to a room with someone sat in a mask like that my feet wouldn't touch the floor.

I love your build up to the shot... Well this is honing up my writing skills, and I've got a degree in psychology so that probably helped

and then you go and frighten the daylights out of me... Sorry

Great interpretation and so well executed... Wow, thanks

Your reflection shot...now that a different story...you got it all going on, I love all the shapes/reflections and the colours...superb.

So I now forgive you for the scary one... Glad you ended up happy

 

[Bruja]

Well, what a week! I had a great idea for Wisdom but then Reg got a cold (Man Flu ) and by Thursday I was feeling ropey too, which does me no good at all. But as a result of that I had another idea and today finally got the energy to put it into practice.

What does Wisdom mean to me? Well, it's about choices. We can use our knowledge, intelligence and experience to decide which choice we make in any circumstance.

Sometimes we hear things we don't want to hear about ourselves or about others. Sometimes they are good things and we don't hear them because we can't believe them, sometimes they are bad things about ourselves that we don't want to believe because we don't think they are true, or at least we hope they aren't, but we believe them anyway. For me it was when I was growing up and it took me more than 30 years to realise they weren't true. When we hear bad things about other people sometimes we secretly hope they are true because that way we can feel better about ourselves. But we have a choice and we have, if we are lucky, wisdom on our side.

Sometimes we see things that we don't want to see. When we look in the mirror , when we look at others and their behaviour and we make judgements about what we see. And usually that is based on our perceptions about what's right and what's wrong. But they are just our rules and we don't know what else is going on in their lives, what makes them behave they way they do. Nevertheless we make a choice as to whether their behaviour is good or bad. But, once again, we have a choice, and if we are lucky,wisdom on our side.

Sometimes we say things that are unwise. In temper, in the heat of the moment, through ignorance, through not seeing someone else's point of view, or through just not thinking. I've been guilty of this on more occasions than I care to remember. Because of frustration, thinking we are being helpful or because we think we know more than the other person, thinking we understand the situation, or, sometimes, just because we care. And, yet again, we have a choice, and, if we are lucky, wisdom on our side.

I think you can see where this is going. So, here's my take on Wisdom.

WISDOM

Hah, got you

But not really, because there are links to the proverb 'Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil to the teachings of Buddhism that if we do not hear, see or talk evil, we ourselves shall be spared all evil. This could be considered similar to the English proverb "Speak of the Devil – and the devil appears."

So there you go, not as off the wall as you thought

Hope you enjoyed the story, and the picture of course

 

[jeangenie]

Hah, got you

But not really, because there are links to the proverb 'Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil to the teachings of Buddhism that if we do not hear, see or talk evil, we ourselves shall be spared all evil. This could be considered similar to the English proverb "Speak of the Devil – and the devil appears."

So there you go, not as off the wall as you thought

Hope you enjoyed the story, and the picture of course

Hehehe - you got me.

As always, Jill, very nicely explained, and an excellent picture to go with it. I've got mixed feeling about the background, at first I thought it was a bit distracting, then I decided it was vibrant and balanced the rich colours of the Buddha. :shrug: I'll come back to it.

btw - your Wisdom sounds a lot wiser than mine.

I hope both you and Reg are feeling better - and well done for getting such a good shot when you're under the weather.

Jean

 

[Duckydoodle]

Jill your thread is amazing and I look forward each week to checking out not only your images but your pearls of wisdom. Your words are so encouraging and inspiring as are the images that accompany them. Your wealth shot was great and the sentiment so heartfelt and honest. Identity really touched a chord with me and I loved the image of a woman behind a mask hiding so many different selves. Your wisdom shot was a great interpretation. Keep them coming Jill

 

[Dark Star]

Jill your thread is amazing and I look forward each week to checking out not only your images but your pearls of wisdom. Your words are so encouraging and inspiring as are the images that accompany them. Your wealth shot was great and the sentiment so heartfelt and honest.....Your wisdom shot was a great interpretation. Keep them coming Jill

Couldn't have said it better myself

Great (and honest) words, great shot!

 

[Bruja]

Hehehe - you got me. There's always one

As always, Jill, very nicely explained, and an excellent picture to go with it. I've got mixed feeling about the background, at first I thought it was a bit distracting, then I decided it was vibrant and balanced the rich colours of the Buddha. :shrug: I'll come back to it. It's a very important colour (well in Chinese Medicine) as red, or in this case deep pink, signifies the Heart, but I also felt it needed to be vibrant as Wisdom too is vibrant, positive and life affirming

btw - your Wisdom sounds a lot wiser than mine. I didn't say I always put it into practice, but I'm learning.

I hope both you and Reg are feeling better - and well done for getting such a good shot when you're under the weather. We both are, thanks.

Jean

Jill your thread is amazing and I look forward each week to checking out not only your images but your pearls of wisdom. Your words are so encouraging and inspiring as are the images that accompany them. Your wealth shot was great and the sentiment so heartfelt and honest. Identity really touched a chord with me and I loved the image of a woman behind a mask hiding so many different selves. Your wisdom shot was a great interpretation. Keep them coming Jill

Thank you so much Maureen, such great support is much appreciated

Couldn't have said it better myself

Great (and honest) words, great shot!

Thanks John, if I keep this up I'm thinking of doing a photobook at the end of the year. What do you think?

 

[SimonTALM]

Jill, I'm surprised you didn't take a self portrait for wisdom, you appear to have almost Yoda qualities about you - your thread is peppered with wisdoms (If I was a mod I would have set Yoda as your forum title already )

I like the photograph of Budda, the back lighting is great touch and really gives some depth to the image. Whilst the uneven lighting is ok, I think on this occasion it would have been better if it was more even (the right side is too bright for me).

I hope you and Reg are fully recovered as I'm very much looking forward to you shot next week - relationships will suit you perfectly

 

[Bruja]

Jill, I'm surprised you didn't take a self portrait for wisdom, you appear to have almost Yoda qualities about you - your thread is peppered with wisdoms (If I was a mod I would have set Yoda as your forum title already ) Well suggest it to them then, I'm too shy

I like the photograph of Budda, the back lighting is great touch and really gives some depth to the image. Whilst the uneven lighting is ok, I think on this occasion it would have been better if it was more even (the right side is too bright for me). Could be a reshoot then. I'm learning a lot about lighting from this challenge

I hope you and Reg are fully recovered as I'm very much looking forward to you shot next week - relationships will suit you perfectly Oh no, I didn't think portraits were my thing, but perhaps this challenge is proving me wrong Thanks again for setting it up as it's doing me the world of good as it has reignited my passion for writing. And we are both recovering, thanks.

 

[corky]

with all the sentiments

J

 

[Bruja]

Thanks Jon

 

[Toothie]

Excellent take on theme, i think we could all do better if we followed those words of wisdom

 

[jgs001]

Excellent take on the theme, superb image with a wonderful backlight and very wise words to go with it. Excellent work Jill. Maybe it's time to PM Marcel with a request or should we start a petition ?

 

[dizzy]

Great Shot, again! I have to completely agree with Simon too. I think you should have done a self portrait for wisdom. Really looking forward to your next installment!

 

[ScotlandTheScare]

Well - bang on the money there - good image although I wondered to myself how it would look being slightly more muted in colour. Thats just me though - I love the textures on the hair and of the well worn metal. We all learnt something too!

 

[Bruja]

Great Shot, again! I have to completely agree with Simon too. I think you should have done a self portrait for wisdom. Really looking forward to your next installment!

Thanks very much David . But would that have been arrogant rather than wise?

Well - bang on the money there - good image although I wondered to myself how it would look being slightly more muted in colour. Thats just me though - I love the textures on the hair and of the well worn metal. We all learnt something too!

Thanks Stewart, and it's actually a painted resin and sits on a chest in my bedroom