There are many reasons why photographers make self-portraits. It’s a simple way to explore technique. The model is constantly available and always takes even the weirdest direction without complaint. The sitter’s boredom threshold can be managed at will. Self-consciousness shouldn’t be a problem: who else is watching anyway?
Of course there may be an element of vanity or narcissism in the mix, but if the genre was good enough for acknowledged photographic masters such as Lee Friedlander or Richard Avedon, then it’s certainly good enough for the likes of me.
In this instance all I needed was a different avatar for my current Internet presence. It was a chance for the child in me to play with some of the domestic lighting in and around The Tree House, just to see what sort of shape one or two of the apps1 on my iPhone could make out of it.
1. Photogene to crop it and remove the colour, then Perfectly Clear to finesse it.
