This year my monthly shot won’t be a landscape image like it has been in previous years:
Scenic Location 2011 - Sandford Mill Lock
Spring Chicken
Instead, I am going to force myself into taking a self-portrait every month! Don’t all faint with surprise, you know how I hate them. So they are not going to be your average self-portraits but something which will fit into the Face Down Tuesday group. Yes, each one has to be taken on a Tuesday and I’ll be face down – showing my best side!
I’d been thinking about this for a few days and so decided today that I had to make my shot for January (I’ll be away for the last Tuesday in Jan) as I had a good idea for a location locally.
I woke up to a frosty start, donned my warmest hat – and trotted off to the local park… Where I shot some pleasant winter scenes such as Spring Chicken (left).
Thankfully there were only a few dog-walkers about, off in the far distance:
Tree Silhouette With Dogwalkers
Nobody was in the playground so I snuck up to the top of the slide and scouted for my first shot. Originally, the idea was to take my wireless triggers so I could set the camera off remotely from my chosen location. I had packed camera, tripod, transmitter, receiver, fresh batteries for both (it was cold and they could have failed) and I thought all was fine.
I set up the gear, plugged it all in and then realised I’d left one vital cable at home – the one which takes the receiver signal into the camera shutter port – so no remote triggering! Rats! It would have to be self-timer after all. Several shots later, I eventually got this one:
No Head For Heights...
However, I wasn’t too happy with it as I appear to be headless and that wasn’t what I wanted. Also, I nearly killed myself a few times trying to get up from that position – I was just holding on to the slide by my feet, and its sides were very slippery as the frost was melting in the sun – so trying to get up proved very difficult and somewhat un-ladylike!
My real location was the other slide in the park – about twice the length and the other side of the hill, in the shade. So that meant lots and lots of frost on it. No chance of sliding from the top (I would have just stuck). So I went for the following, shot as if I’d already come down:
Face Down - January
Dief with my camera
Quite a lot of work and a little pain and suffering was involved, but it was fun to do and in the end it was very satisfying to get the picture I was after. Even so, I won’t be indulging in this silliness once a week like some of the other Face Down Tuesday crowd!
I do have an idea for February (to be taken while I’m away) but after that, we shall see! The only other thing to note is my lovely hat – Diefenheader – who seems to have a life of his very own. Mustn’t leave him unattended with my camera again, you never know where he’ll go with it!
I’m also very relieved that nobody was about whilst I was shooting it – I might get the reputation of being a mad-woman. Oh, OK, probably too late for that!