This is a self-portrait — logically I will be on it somewhere, and you may discern me under the red umbrella nearest to this shiny ball thing. I’m in the garden early — but then again I started work early (7:45) and sat upstairs marking for several hours. Semester 2 is now officially done, though, as far as I am concerned.
Spent the first few hours of my Xmas break having an extended lie-in, then spent the next few wandering around Bradford, a place I have come to quite like down the years. This complicated selfie was taken in the National Media Museum (which lately has become the ‘National Science and Media Museum’ so it can continue to squeeze funding out of our reluctant state apparatus): a kind of ‘digital hall of mirrors’ installation. As you can see, despite my advancing years, my body still refuses to shed much hair.
I am against the exploitation of Halloween when it comes to the selling of vast amounts of ephemeral plastic tat. But we had an invite to a party tonight, the costumes we wore had been worn before and will be worn again — though maybe not that V mask which I found terribly uncomfortable and which, all evening, was worn purely for the photo opportunities. C’s ‘Corpse Bride’ wedding dress was definitely getting another outing, though. Preparations are, here, still in train (pun intended).
Can I go any lower with the self-portrait, in various ways? Rembrandt, eat your heart out. Once autumn really kicks in, the stone floor in our kitchen gets too cold without some form of protection.
First shot from Manchester since the 6th. Do I really spend so little time there these days? At some yet-to-be-determined date in the future, I will, of course, take my last ever shot from there, not so much the city but from campus more specifically. I will not be working at uni for the rest of my life unless that life ends unexpectedly, and fairly soon. But for now I am still going in. I do not know what this sculpture represents though it has clearly been built from the same stuff, and at the same time, as the building that surrounds the courtyard in which it stands. If I have a favourite place on campus, this is probably it.
In the last of my taught classes last year, it took about three-quarters of an hour (or felt like it did) for all the students to get their shots with teacher that then go onto social media, somewhere. (And, see also 2022’s version of same.). As I am, essentially, a grumpy man, I insisted that this year I would do it on everyone’s behalf. Apologies to those whom I have eclipsed.
There have been very few shots of my 4,858 so far which have been taken using the self-timer, but there have been some: any of the astronomical efforts (e.g. this shot of Jupiter and its moons, of which I’m still quite proud) will have used it. But I’m sure this is the first where I’ve used the timer to take a photo of myself, with or without others, and used it as the daily picture. So there you are, this is what I look like when I’m not taking a photo.
It’s been a few months since I did a self-portrait, and the prospect of this one did occur to me while sat having a pre-meeting cup of tea in Tim Hortons, pondering how we can find ways to continue the collaboration that has brought me here three times now. I am here sat in more or less the same spot from which I took this shot in October 2021, and armed with the knowledge of the venue, the building in the background and Google Maps you can probably pinpoint the exact location should you wish to.
Another day of data inspection and introspection brings to an end a whole week of much the same kind of stuff, so ending it with a rather ghostly self-portrait seems appropriate. Yes, I’m in a pub (The Albert), though not drinking rum.
He was inside Nightjar. I was outside, enjoying the first beer of the weekend (and also wondering whether it was about to rain). I didn’t mean to get myself into the shot as a reflection, but once I saw that I had, I decided it might be saying something about me seeing into the future…. if you get the point.
It did rain, by the way. But only a little.
Actually this photo started out as more of a picture through the window I sat before, as I had lunch: but maybe it’s subconsciously significant that it didn’t work out that way. I like the ‘cut up’ or collage effect: very Cubist.
Being 42 