Behind the Image
A quick and efficient photo
On a cold yet pleasant December afternoon, I found myself standing outside the quaint cabin I’d been watching for the previous few weeks. As I supervised the owner’s adorable 17 year old dog go to the restroom, I look out and see this tree stump, positioned in a way that is simply begging for a spotlight- wanting nothing but attention, and so I surrender mine with little resistance. This tree, though currently dying and missing the majority of its emerged self, still stood beautifully in this section of forest. This was a perfect pedestal for myself. A perfect pedestal to display nude skin in a cold environment, highlighting both this beautiful passing life, and a small amount of humanity.
After bringing the dog back inside, and mustering a little courage to brave the cold without my clothes on, I grabbed my ready camera gear, walked down the deck stairs, and started to set up the lone shot.
Now in order for this to have the effect I wanted I needed undisturbed snow, and a pose that’d elicit authentic emotion. I was lucky that on this day, the moisture level in the snow was a bit high, which means that when I reached the tree, I could cut and separate the majority of the snow from the stump so I’d be able stand without being in the snow itself. Reaching the tree was just as simple, though, it certainly came with a couple slips. Walking outside the frame, I found good entry behind the stump that would hide any footprints I made via snowless patches and dips in the forest floor. At and behind the tree, I had enough room to place my shovel and clothes as I posed for a few photos.
Before shooting the photos nude and facing the cold, I wanted some test shots so I could see how my body and the camera position looked. What makes shooting self portraits difficult is not knowing how the subject (myself) looks until the photo has already been taken. Shooting digital makes things a lot easier, however it also creates a bit of a lazy photographer within myself- sometimes shooting a couple hundred photos just to yield a handful worth keeping. If I were shooting film, I’d either be burning a massive hole in my pocket, or making the absolute most of each frame, telling myself “tough luck” once the 24-36 frames were up.
With this test shot, I was happy, and after a few more shots of myself clothed (to document myself at this age) I went ahead and undressed for an attempt at the shot I envisioned just an hour previous.
The final unedited photo
Here’s the final unedited photo, slightly zoomed out, and a bit more blue and raw. In the edited and final version, I cropped a small amount to bring a little more focus to the subject (myself), and adjusted some colors to bring a little warmth to my skin, and a little more green to the trees behind me. Ultimately, the post-processing was minimal. I shot this within an hour, and had the photo done within a few days of editing neglect. This photo, as included in the previous blog post “Cabin sitting: A collection”, holds pain. I’ll allow that post to share the emotional journey I experienced shooting and processing this photo, along with several others.
