A Self-Portrait

My aim for this assignment was to try to show a little bit about myself and what is important to me.

I have always considered myself to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of none; I have studied many subjects from engineering to psychology, from computing to photography and have been equally erratic in my working life. As I settle into my forties, I have come to the realisation that I’ll probably never have a highflying career in any of these areas but I will always have colour and with that, I am happy. It is the variety of life that keeps me ticking.

There have been times when I have tried to fit it all in at once but with valuable lessons learned, I have learned to say no and to focus purely on what is important in that moment. Burkeman (2014), on reviewing Schultz (2014) book, ‘Overwhelmed’ advocates scheduling time to only those things that are the most meaningful in your life. Everything else can fit in around, and if it doesn’t, so be it. This advice allows me to enjoy the colourful nature of my life, rather than being overwhelmed by it. Burkeman (2014), Schultz (2014)

My life is divided into several parts, which can be simply broken down to home, work, study and leisure. These parts vary wildly in intensity and importance throughout the year but all feature strongly enough to be included in my self-portrait.

Sontag (2008) suggests that ‘photography reinforces a nominalist view of social reality as consisting of small units of an apparently infinite number – as the number of photographs that could be taken of anything is unlimited’. Sontag (2008)

Focusing not on several photographs of one moment but on several photographs of one person, myself, I have attempted to show my own personal reality. The five staged portraits show the five main elements of me, from left to right; the student, the photographer, my pursuit for fitness, the tutor and the wife and mother. My five realities are enveloped in a colourful celebration of the freedom to let go and focus on what’s important right now.

My World in Colour:

References:

Burkeman, O. (2014) This column will change your life: Stop being busy. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/19/change-your-life-stop-being-busy (Accessed: 10 January 2016).

Schulte, B. (2014) Overwhelmed: Work, love, and play when no one has the time. United States: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

Sontag, S. (2008) On photography. London: Penguin Classics.