selfies

I don't like having my picture taken.  I'm not what one would term photogenic, rather someone who is likely to render your beautiful portrait lens redundant and in need of repair.

When group photos are being taken I'm the one shying away at the back hoping not to be seen, while other, more confident souls make their way manfully (and womanfully for that matter) to the front of the group.

I'm even more happy behind the camera, light meter in hand, flash at the ready composing the shot and pressing the shutter.

Not that I'm a portrait photographer either - landscapes are more my thing - but I will have a go from time to time.  I've offered to take a series of portraits for a close friend when his girlfriend visits him in the UK in the new year - a gift for someone who has supported me both through my illness and before, when I've found myself at a low ebb, principally when my mother passed away earlier this year.

There's one portrait I'm particularly proud of.  It's of my daughter, Bethan, playing a game on her iPad and is lit purely by the light from that device - no other light source at all.  The camera used (a Nikon D700 which is particularly adept at capturing images in really low light) helped.  I called the picture "Isolation" and I think it sums it up perfectly.

I've asked my friend to think in advance of some locations for his photos - I hope he chooses somewhere where the light is a little less challenging than this picture.  Daylight would be nice for a start.

Anyway, I was going to end this post with my first ever selfie but I've chickened out I'm afraid.  You'll have to make do with the picture of me on my walking frame for now, but suffice to say the beard is now much fuller although rather disappointingly my hair seems to refuse to grow.

Perhaps it needs more light on it.