The self-portrait challenge

An online photographer friend asked me to take on a challenge with her (check out her gorgeous photos at just jane photography)--taking 365 self-portraits in 365 days. Of course I wanted to say "no." I don't even wear clothes 9.5 days out of 10, let alone makeup. Yes, any picture counts, so long as it includes part of your body, but there are only so many photos I can take of my hands and feet!

But depression likes it when I say "no." It likes it when I never leave my basement lair; when my closest friends are thousands of miles away; people I know by their blog, twitter and Facebook personas; people I wouldn't recognize if I passed them on the street.

So I said "yes." Tonight I uploaded photos from my first 5 days. You can keep an eye on me here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freelikewater/. After uploading the photos, I send them to the group 365 days, where anyone can see and make comments.

On day one, I started with my hand. The second day, I hid most of my face with a fake flower. The next day I had freshly washed hair, making me a little less shy. Today I discovered that makeup doesn't matter when you have Photoshop! The skills Pete taught me way back in 2003 are back in play. (Check out Picture me thinner for the full story!)

This picture challenge is already helping me with my 101 in 1001 list. (It's nearly finished--I promise!) Completing this challenge becomes part of the list, as does learning to use the timer on my camera. I'm quite adept at the holding-your-arm-out-as-far-as-possible headshot, but that will get old, too. Also on my list: getting a DSLR camera and learning to use it (when I can afford one, of course). Another goal in my 101 in 1001 is going through every single Photoshop tutorial I have and actually learning to use the program--beyond simply cropping, changing lighting and contrast, and making my skin look as perfect as possible. Daily photos equals more practice, leading to finally mastering (or beginning to master) Photoshop.

Many days will be tedious, I know, but today, as I uploaded my first photos, I felt excited to be photographing and photo-editing again. Pete's own talents as a photographer may have nurtured my passion, but I don't have to lose everything I love along with him.

How about you? Is there something you used to love that you let slide along the way because you felt you didn't have time or because someone else didn't approve? The meaning behind so much of what I'm beginning this year--to what I meant to begin when I first started this blog--isn't about being perfect. It's about the journey, and about the surprises you discover about life and about yourself along the way.

I don't have to be who I've always been--and neither do you. A hopeful notion, don't you think?