I've been trying to get into modeling lately. Hell, why not? Stacy Keibler's legs supposedly measure 41" from ground to hip; mine are 42" (she can DEFINITELY out-dance me, though...whew!). I'm artsy, probably not a bad actor and at least moderately attractive. Most of all, I think I have a modicum of style and attitude. And at the end of the day, art is art and subjective by nature, so whatever.

Besides, the world deserves to know just how awesome I really am.

Self-gratification aside, I think it'd be fun.

So I decided to try taking some photos of myself last night. Not the first time I've ever done so, but I had something very specific in mind this time. Roughly 10 shots yielded 1 that I felt was useable, and I wasn't even completely happy with it. Clearly there are some body awareness limitations I need to overcome if I am to make this work.

Some day, I will own a house where the walls are painted with a blue-based color rather than the bland ass yellow I seem to perpetually find myself in. Not only is it unflattering as hell in photos but it looks like the inside of a smoker's parlor.

My current camera, a Pentax Optio, was bought as an impulse to replace my previous Fujifilm. Note to self: never buy camera on sale without checking user reviews first. I hate this fuckin' thing. It does take REALLY good outdoor photos, but unlike my old Finepix, I am unable to get a decent photo of myself. Perhaps some camera geek will read this and offer some tips?

30 minutes or so in Photoshop did very little for the photo, I'm afraid. I managed to get rid of some of that awful coffee-stained background (it was even worse before without the flash) but overall, the major limitation here I still feel is hardware. You can only do SO much in the digital darkroom, and I'm not exactly a novice with PS (although a tutorial on removing color casts comes to mind now). In the end, I used Curves and applied a Smart Blur to my skin tone to even out the dappling caused by the camera.

I need a better camera and some more lights. I was thinking before bed of ways to create a backdrop slide in my room so I could change the color easily. I really want to live somewhere with hardwood floors rather than carpet (although my Dyson would go to waste then).

And since I've migrated from photography to vacuum cleaners, I guess it's time to call this one done!