Saturday, October 23, 2010

Self Portrait with Pipe

Amanda and I broke with tradition today.  Instead of walking several miles throughout town, trying to explore new routes, discover overlooked gems, we headed to the South End and beach walked.  It was ideal...very low tide.  The cold wind was blocked by dunes of popples*.  I toted camera, of course, as I have been trying to do more of lately.

I took a couple dozen photos.  In reviewing them I deleted some, naturally.  I'm trying to be a bit more selective in my review process.  Is it a 'good' shot, technically well-composed, color good?  I don't like to 'doctor' photos if I can help it.  Sometimes just some cropping.  Then come the next questions.  Is it a photo worthy of keeping?  Why?  More often than not the deletions outnumber the keepers.  That being the benefit of digital...just go for it, experiment, erase it if you fail...some techie advances have been good!

Self-portrait with Pipe
For my self portrait I was inspired by a self portrait taken by someone dear to me.  The concept the same...the emphasis quite different, I think.  To that person who's brought much to my life...thank you.

*popples are stones that have been washed smooth and rounded by years of tossing in the surf.  In Rockport, many of these stones came from the local quarries and were once ballast in sailing vessels.  Removal of popples from Rockport's beaches is prohibited.

4 comments:

Bernard said...

Well, I'd thought you'd taken up smoking when I read this, this morning and you were painting a self portrait as Van Gogh did. (if I remember correctly?)
'Popples' - what a lovely word.
They are known as cobbles here, and I don't think is illegal to take one or two. Perhaps, by the truck load!
I have a number all around the garden, one from each place where I have had a holiday. :)
We also have 'cobbled' streets, but these are stones cut into 4" cubes.
Cheers......Bernard.

deb said...

I do believe that you are correct about Van Gogh.

rocks-in-head scribbs said...

"Popples," eh? Out here in the West, we'd probably call 'em "li'l rock thangs what go in boats."

Imagine getting busted for stealing rocks off a beach!

A Van Gogh-style self-portrait? With or without missing ear and funny hat? You'll have to take a snap of that and post it.

deb said...

Hmmm, should I mention that popples fetch a good price in rockless south Florida?

Don't ask.