The Selfie Generation...

 Since we don't travel a lot, I noticed some things on our most recent trip. There were the obvious differences between California and Utah (some similarities as well like a lot of space where no one lives...). One day, we loaded up the van and headed to Universal Studios, Hollywood. If you've been you understand it's a place many people enjoy. 

As did we.

The Harry Potter land was amazing. I've seen pictures, and I know it's not Universal Studios Florida, but I was impressed. Seeing Hogwarts atop a mountain looked spectacular. So much so, I snapped a few pictures. Felt I had to.

I noticed many people getting selfies with that incredible backdrop behind. While we were there, our group took several selfies, both as a group and as smaller groups, and we went about our day at the park.

While my wife and I waited for the kids to get off the rides and other attractions, I noticed people were taking a lot of selfies. As I explained earlier, that's not unusual, but what was unusual is they were taking selfies when it didn't look like the selfie celebrated anything special. I know I'm older and not up on the "hippest trends," but I thought selfies were intended to remember a special moment...

Not for a moment that happens all the time, regular walking around, standing in front of a pole with no discernible markings, looking at the sky. And it wasn't just a singular person doing this. It seemed so strange to me...all these people walking around the park taking pictures of themselves that seemed to be preserving pretty basic historical things.

Weird.

Maybe it's just a California thing, or not. Maybe we need to get out more...

Or not.

I'm Not So Much A "Selfie" Guy...

 I'm not so much a selfie guy. It's not that I dislike selfies, per se, but my mind does not go to "I'll take a selfie" when I'm in a situation where many do think, "I'll take a selfie." Then they do.

A few weeks ago, I ran into several friends at FanX, Salt Lake's own comics convention. Thankfully, one of the friends is a selfie person so she snapped a picture of all that were gathered.

I'm glad she did.

This particular selfie brings me a lot of joy. These are theater friends. I've been in shows with them, been cast in shows by them, and spent many many hours together. When you do a show with a person, you share experiences, share art that's relayed to an audience. There's a bond that exists and grows stronger the more shows you do. It's hard to explain fully.

The picture reminds me of those times, the long rehearsals, tech weeks, opening nights, the run, then closing nights.

Like I said, I'm not a selfie guy. Maybe I should try to be. The pictures bring back some wonderful memories.

I Had No Idea I Looked So...Evil

The other day I donned a turtleneck shirt--because it was cold. Plus, since I was on a break from work due to Thanksgiving, wearing a warm turtleneck was a cozy thing to do. After I put it on, I caught myself in the mirror and thought the item of clothing made me look a little smarter than I normally look (t-shirt and jeans...). I decided to snap a selfie and maybe I'd use it for my Pic Of The Day.

That's just what I did.

I post my Pic Of The Day on social media on four sites: Facebook, Twitter, MeWe, and on my daily blog. If people respond to my pictures (not all of them generate responses...), it's most likely to come from my Facebook post. I chose this picture as my Pic Of The Day on November 29th. So far, I've received 63 reactions, fifteen comments, and one share. 

I had no idea I looked so evil.

Sure, responding with a gif of Mike Myers portraying Dr. Evil is appropriate--even expected. If I hold my pinkie finger to my face and arch an eyebrow, I can cosplay as Dr. Evil with extremely little effort. I get it and I think it's funny (if you're bald you either have a good sense of humor about it, or you're bitter--I prefer the former...). 

What I didn't expect were the comments that suggested I was evil, or I looked evil. A few comments said I looked like, a criminal mastermind, a British villain, a James Bond villain (they're not always British...). You get the idea.

I suppose we all have an opinion of how we think we look to the outside world. We may be right on, or completely wrong. Then again, is there a true representation of how we look since the perception is in others, in those who are looking? I guess the way we look actually depends on everyone else, or, in other words, we can look as different as there are people on earth, or even more because people can look at someone differently depending on a number of factors.

I haven't worn the turtleneck since last week. Since the turtleneck is warm and the weather will only get colder, I'll most likely don it again. And when that happens, will I feel evil?

I just might.

Posing With Plastic...

There's an office in the valley that houses a lot of amazing things. It's the headquarters for the FanX Comic Convention. There's posters on the walls and various statues. I've taken pictures with some in the past--Han Solo encased in carbonite, Gollum, or if you prefer Smeagol. The last time I was there, they had a few new ones I hadn't seen before.

I just had to take some selfies.

I am not a selfie person. As you can tell from these shots, I don't do them well. As a photographer, composition and set-up are important, so are lighting and expression. I can look at each of the four and find faults. We all know people who take and post a lot of selfies. And most of the time, they do a good job with their shots. Maybe practice makes perfect. Then again, maybe they're just better subjects to look at.

The question is, should I take more selfies, or just get by with the ones I do take? Personally, I'd prefer the latter. After all, these pictures give you a sense of what I was trying to do, have a little fun showing off the awesomeness of their office.