As predicted, I was unable to keep myself away from the face transformer for this week’s self-portrait challenge, I can’t stop trying to freak myself out. I also threw in a little pikipimp to spice it up.

I’m not sure what I’ve created here. Is this an undecided individual, someone who perhaps hasn’t quite “picked a team” yet, or is it definite—pink team all the way? Then again, maybe this guy is just playing with his feminine side for laughs, such a joker he is.

One thing I do know is that I’ve never seen a dude with a long spindly neck like that before. It’s weird, I don’t think it looks so spindly on the real me.

So what do you think, is this new fake tattoo better than my last fake tattoo?

Here we have my latest Self-Portrait Challenge entry. This black and white theme is absolutely my favorite so far. There are limitless possibilities and when you’ve got just the right photo it can make everything look so much better.

For example, the original version of this photo was total crap. I decided it may be salvageable, so I slapped it around a little in Photoshop and tried to show it who’s boss. But it was only after I turned it black and white that I found it to be something worth posting.

Click image for a larger view.

I’ve been finding it hard to stay awake during the day which is just as annoying as not being able to go to sleep at night. I can’t win. I was so tired when I was trying to take my self-portrait that I decided to just lay down take the pictures since that was all I could handle. I took about four shots and gave up because the effort it required to set the timer, run across the room, lay down and look relaxed was far too exhausting.

Note to self: I must get a remote for the camera.

Continuing on with the Self-Portrait Challenge’s December theme of “red.”

I have no insightful stories, memories or inspirations for today’s portrait. It’s just red.

Continuing on with this month’s self-portrait challenge theme of “glam,” I’m noticing that it is really much more difficult than taking photos of imperfection (last month’s theme). I find that I have to take at least 60 to 80 photos and 99% of them suck.

No matter how much makeup I trowel on it doesn’t seem to really show up in the photos. Perhaps this is due to my mediocre photography skills, old digital camera and unprofessional lighting equipment, I don’t know. Whatever the reason, I could tell that this week’s entry was going to need a powerful lot of Photoshopping.

I’ve been trying to stay away from “glamorous” and stick to the theme of “glam” and as I mentioned the photos I’ve been producing are total crap. At one point I was starting not to care what theme it was, I just wanted to take a photo that was decent. So as I was having a small fit in my studio, I spontaneously yanked the backdrop off the wall, dumped it on my head and sat two feet from the camera just before the auto-timer took the photo. I looked at it and was shocked that it had potential. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I decided that one was good enough and stopped taking photos.

Here’s the one photo that wasn’t a loser. It has nothing to do with what I was trying to accomplish that day and I don’t care. It also bears little resemblance to what I actually look like, again, I don’t care. It is pure fiction. I just wanted to produce a successful image that was interesting to look at.

 

Fic·tion :
An imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented. 

This week’s self-portrait was indeed a challenge for me. I’ve been sick for days so trying to cover up my big, red, puffy eyes and the corpse-like pallor of my skin required a hefty application of makeup, a very big bright light to burn out the detail on my face and finally converting the photo to black and white to eliminate any trace of illness.

And what have I created…I think it’s a mannequin.

(alternate photo on Flickr!)

Actually now that I’m looking at it, I think it owes a nod to the ever-so-popular “Pat Benatar album cover” genre:

New month, new Self Portrait Challenge: 

Lets ditch those imperfections and go all out GLAM for November. Yes lets glam it up with some disco, diamonds and glitter.

I suggest some gorgeous shots - really over do it on the posing and makeup and dressups and show us the extrovert you. The sexy mama in the kitchen with the peek-a-boo apron or how about some diamontes on those dungarees, stillettos, feathers and lycra.

Damn, my Peek-a-boo apron is at the cleaners, and I snapped the heel off one of my favorite stillettos while I was “working out” with my new stripper pole last weekend. What are the chances! So with my best props out of commission, I kept it fairly conservative and made due with a giant set of fake eyelashes and a lil’ Photoshop pizazz.

(View the alternate photo on Flickr)

Initially I was put off by the “glam” theme since I’m less than entralled with my appearance lately and figured there’s not enough makeup in the world to make me look acceptable. But as I started to think about it, I remembered that I’ve been into adopting glam characters forever.

Frequently my halloween costumes had some “fabulous” aspect to them:

When I was little, playing dress-up and getting all glitzy was a big hobby of mine. I had a wardrobe that would make a drag queen salivate. It was full of outfits, jewelry and accessories that were my grandmother’s and mother’s castaways from the 60’s and 70’s.

Chokers, tiaras, gowns, hats and fancy shoes enhanced my ability to act out characters and speak with a multitude of dialects and accents. Parading through the house as a fine English lady or donning a white pair of go-go boots and purple mini-dress transported me to these worlds and kept me endlessly entertained.

Anyone who has lived with me as an adult knows that I never quite gave this hobby up, although it seems to have fallen by the wayside these last few years. You’d just never know when I’d come skipping out in some bizarre outfit or have a face full of makeup with a turban or cowboy hat on. Playing was a specialty of mine and I think I need to rekindle my enthusiasm for it, lighten up and act a fool more often—I should take advantage of it before I’m so old that I actually become one of my characters in real life.