Monday, March 9, 2009

How do you look?

A couple of weeks ago, at two social gatherings, I asked different people, mostly women if I could take a close-up of them. They all said yes. I edited the photos and turned them into Black and White. I was very happy with them; so I had some printed and I matted them, and gave them to my subjects. Each subject was over 70, and most were over 80, the reaction of each woman was horror, the men were more neutral. Below is a sample of the before and after shots.


The main thing I learned from this is, people don't accept how they look. Most, look in the mirror and see themselves as 30 or 40 years younger. Bob and I have had a couple of discussions about these reactions, because we've both been pretty amazed. We both want to look good, and dress well, but accept all those wrinkles and gray hairs as badges, like merit badges; look how far we've come. So, have you looked in the mirror, lately. How do you look?

I want to add that each of these women is beautiful, in looks, spirit and behavior.  I featured the center "model", at Murrieta365, the other day, and more that one commenter mentioned how beautiful she is.

Wrinkles Poem by Feenix
Category: Writing and Poetry

The wrinkles on her face
Delineated her past

Like a complicated network,
Some lines merged with others.
Some led nowhere.
Some connected with others,
Creating an intricate maze,
With no possible solutions

She'd never imagine
Erasing the exquisite lines.
Why would she?
Some stemmed from
The happiest moments of her life.

The deep laugh lines
Were as profound as
Her sense of humor.
Winding lines that reflected the joy
In her life and the foolishness that
Fueled her buoyancy.

Some wrinkles emanated from sadness.
They perpetually marked some of the melancholy
Into the volumes of her manuscript
Never to be forgotten.

The energy that stimulated her passion
Was flawlessly captured in the striking wrinkles
Creating a visible diary of her years.

She was at the helm of her vessel
Navigating through the sea of life
Through unpredictable waters
That at times were uncontrollable
But at other times drifted her to bliss

The weathered face was battered by the elements
But she wore her wrinkles
Triumphantly and proudly
Like medals decorating a uniform.
Honoring her valor in all her conquests and challenges.
Memorializing her remarkable life.

5 comments:

Daryl said...

Aging gracefully is all I ask ... good genes helped along by wearing sunblock

Mrs. G. said...

How do I look? Damn good. You too.

dot said...

Jan, I've been enjoying your people pictures and the project you did was interesting. All those ladies look good to me.
I hate my pictures and I have since I was a child. Aging has been hard for me but on the other hand I'm glad that God has let me live as long as I have. PS I'm 63 but please don't tell anyone. Well Daryl already knows because we've had a discussion on age. LOL

country mouse said...

The models are fantastic and I really like the way you've cropped them all!

I hate photos of me too. There's something about the translation from 3D (what I see in the mirror) to 2D that is unflattering. My daughter and I have had discussions about this phenomenon and how different people in our family have differing levels of success in that translation.

Jientje said...

It's funny, but I dread seeing pictures of myself most of the time too. But I love the ones from a couple of years ago. The same pictures I dreaded when they were new. I look at them now and see what I did not see then? That I did look good, that I was not overweight?
We should look at wrinkles and scars like medals of life. What a lovely way to put it!

I love that poem!
I'll have to come back through Explorer though, for I can't see the pictures.

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