Friday, August 5, 2016

Selfie Self-Portrait

                                             Heading out to Sea ~ Onboard the Queen Mary II, Ieaving New York, July 24, 2016 © Marissa Roth

Photographers have long taken self-portraits as a means of personal evaluation, literal self-reflection, documentation, memorialization…and probably healthy ego.

I am wondering, if, in this era of the selfie, the notion of a self-portrait takes on two-dimensional meaning. Is a selfie a self-portrait in the grand tradition of portraiture ~ thoughtful and insightful as to whom the subject is? Or, is it merely a transient record to be beamed on social media in an instant of self-promotion?

In any event, since I have embraced modern times, and all of its attendant social media demands that seem to propel careers forward, I have nonetheless decided not to make pedestrian selfies that look like everyone else’s, but endeavor to find a modicum of creativity and individuality in the photographic process.

No comments:

Post a Comment