The majority of my travelling has been done solo and somewhere along the way I realized that I have a love/ hate relationship with selfies. Taking the ” perfect” photo can take so much time. And what is the perfect photo? Throughout my journeys within 18 different countries, my picture taking style continues to change. A look through my albums reveals I have been one, or all, of these people at some point in time:
1) Take only scenery shots. Avoid people at all cost. ….This was great until I realized that there was no real proof I was even there!
2) People, People, People. I would get home and realize I never took enough pictures of the amazing people I met!…..But then I would have no good scenery shots to blow up and frame….
3) Black and white. I like to tinker with my camera and see what I can create through effects and lighting. Awesome…but then I get home and think…this is not what I saw!!
Then came the “SELFIE”: Very time efficient, proof I was actually in these places, scenery included as long as my zoom wasn’t on full force ( Talk about ugly!) It became almost a game for me. Kind people everywhere would come up and offer to take my picture, obviously feeling sorry for lonely old me. Their reaction when I’d say, “no thanks,” was almost as much fun to see. So, today I went through my online albums and made a folder of selfies. Double chins, bad hair, flash face, boob shots ( from when I tried to take ceiling selfies), food in teeth, crooked nose, and…the occasional picture that I’d actually look at and say,” Hey, I look alright!” Or more importantly, ” Wow! I was there!”
My selfies remind me of the independent person I was, and still can be. They have evolved into “USies???????”Close ups of my husband and I and a tiny bit of whatever is on our background. Proof that we were there. Somewhere. Together.
What is your style of picture taking?
Cruisin Christine 
Hey Christine. We usually travel as a couple, and also try the odd selfie. Easily, 95% of the time they are totally useless. One shot that you didn’t mention is the “forehead” shot. I seem to snap a lot of those. And Terri is about 8 in. shorter than me, so getting both faces in the frame is almost impossible. Surely, someone has written a how-to on taking selfies. That would be a serious contribution to world culture and a step forward for mankind. ~James
LikeLike
Ha. It’s a good thing my husband and I are the same height! The worst is when you forget that your zoom is on. Yikes!
LikeLike