Creative Selfies

Selfies are very popular but I suspect that many people think the craze began with mobile phone cameras.

This is certainly not the case and there are many examples of ‘selfies’ dating back to 1839 when the first known photographic self portrait was taken by Robert Cornelius. Of course, painters have been producing self portraits since the early 15th century. Vivian Maier was an amateur photographer who has a fascinating story. Born in 1926, Vivian worked mainly as a carer in Chicago and spent much of her free time roaming

the streets with her camera. She was secretive about her hobby and her photographs were only discovered upon her death in 2009 when an estimated 150,000 negatives were discovered along with around 2000 prints, colour slides and dozens of home movies. When her images were made public online, they went viral and experts compared her work to some of the great street photographers of all time. They were widely exhibited, several books were published and a documentary film was made of her life. Type her name into the search engine of your choice to find out more about her remarkable story. Among this vast archive of work were several selfies, mainly reflections in shop windows and mirrors but also pictures that include her shadow and the occasional posed shot. These alone were published in book form after her discovery. In most of these images, Vivian uses herself as just one element of the overall scene rather than vanity shots. In my opinion this creative approach is really interesting and has inspired me to experiment with this idea. Here are shots of me in reflection and also my mysterious hooded shadow ! I make the choice of whether to include my camera or to disguise it by tucking it into my body and shooting from waist high. The surrounding scene is important in the Images as this gives a sense of place and suggests a story which may be interpreted by the viewer. I would encourage you to try this as a project, see how creative you can be.

Have fun doing it. If you would like to be added to my mailing list, Please email me: steveboylephotos@gmail