Self Portrait Tuesday (on Wednesday).

Selfportrait


Over the last few months I have been observing Self Portrait Tuesday entries with interest. Love the idea. Love encouraging people to photograph themselves. To see themselves through the lens of their camera in so many different and creative ways.


The theme this month is Personal History. I think the idea of this theme finally pushed me over the edge into creating something. I have done quite a few scrapbook pages of myself as a child and a few which compare and contrast my life now and then. I am lucky that I have a lot of photos to look through, reflect on, and create with. Thank you Mom and Dad.


And obviously, I did not take either of these photos of myself. So I guess it sorta qualifies as self portrait. That's ok. I am enjoying the process.


As for my process, I brought the two photos together in Photoshop. I adjusted the opacity (so that you can see the younger photo of me beneath the recent one) and blended them together (so that there is not a hard edge between the two) with the selection tool by deleting one side of the "now" photo of me. I used a quote and a butterfly brushe that Rhonna created for Two Peas and a new font along the bottom called Two Peas Funky Doodles by Elsie. I manipulated the crown by rasterizing the type layer, removing the word queen, and adding in me. If you aren't familiar with Photoshop it probably sounds like a foreign language but it really is not too tough.


Looking forward to seeing more of these as they get linked up to the self portrait site.


And guys, really, thanks for all the comments on the post yesterday. Totally appreciate you guys connecting with me in regards to kids, eating out, expectations, etc.

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49 thoughts

  1. Amy B says…
    01/04/2006

    Love this picture!
    I have a question about the letter A stamp on your album in the lastest CK, I NEED it and I couldn't find it at any of the sources listed. If you have a second could you let me know. NEED it! You always have the coolest stuff:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Tawnya says…
    01/04/2006

    Darling! Perfectly done!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. kah-mei says…
    01/04/2006

    Ali, you are beautiful. Your art is beautiful. All so cool.
    K.

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Shanna says…
    01/04/2006

    Hey Ali! I come out of lurk mode every now and again! Just wanted to say that I emailed you a personal history doc with photos you may find interesting!!! You may already have it or something similar but I figured I would share. After all.....look at all you share with us! ;o)

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. elsie says…
    01/04/2006

    how cute!

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Jennifer says…
    01/04/2006

    Ali, when are you coming over to the digital dark side?? That photo collage is awesome and I know a lot of digital scrappers who would be soooo inspired by your work....I know I am!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. corinne says…
    01/04/2006

    that is just amazing Ali. the little crown, is just perfect, love it all!
    corinnexxx

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  8. joy madison says…
    01/04/2006

    I'm the owner of the SPT group on Flickr, and one of the contributors on SPT's blogspot.....I see you've come over to the dark side:) I just wanted to tell you there aren't any rules to SPT really....just that its on tuesday and that it says something about you! So technically this is a SPT whether you took it or not!!! Again, Welcome!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Dee says…
    01/04/2006

    Oh My WORD!! Actually I typoed.........Oh my WORK!! so take your pic! This RAWKS big time!! What a fab Idea! You are such an inspiration! Thanks so much!!
    ALi RAWKS!
    "D"

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Jennifer Alfonso says…
    01/05/2006

    Ali,
    This is so cool! And Simon IS just the spitting image of YOU! On another note, I got this in one of the many autism newsletters I recieve. I read it again yesterday and thought of you. Sometimes when I am the one having a meltdown raising an autistic child, I read this little note and everything in the world is right again. Having Vince and his autism has made me a better mother, wife, daughter, nurse and friend. You may have already read this but here it is:
    Welcome To Holland
    by Emily Kingsley
    I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this.......
    When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland".
    "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy! All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy!"
    But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
    So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would have never met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced (or faster-paced) than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And the rest of your life, you will say, "Yes ,that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.
    (The author, Emily Kingsley, has a son with Down syndrome and used to work for Children's Television Workshop. She was instrumental in the showcasing of children with disabilities on Sesame Street.)
    Have a beautiful day!
    Love,
    Jenny

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  11. Deanna B. says…
    01/05/2006

    I'm with Sharyn (Torm)- lovin' your PS work... Incredible! Yet if you ever convert over to digi completely I'd cry. LOL : )
    You really make me want to dig into PSE though Ali! Thanks!

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Raven says…
    01/05/2006

    That is so awesome. You need to have that up on the wall in a frame.

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Cindy says…
    01/05/2006

    I love this. Beautiful. I am having trouble reading the quote though. Could you clarify it for me? Thanks.

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  14. Michelle OKeefe says…
    01/05/2006

    Ali,
    It is gorgeous ! I love it and going to try this myself. Thanks for the inspirations, a l w a y s ............
    Michelle

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Erika Follansbee says…
    01/05/2006

    Hi Ali! I read your blog often, but I have never left a comment although your work always blows me away. Today I cannot keep quiet!! Your self portrait is just AMAZING. I love what you do :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Rachel says…
    01/05/2006

    ah, yet another reason to look at my ps a lot closer now! love this!!! especially the crown!
    cheers,
    rachel

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Bonnie says…
    01/05/2006

    Hi Ali!
    I met you at CKU-A Stamford in October. (I gave you the autism awareness ribbon car magnet)
    I am a teacher of children with autism and can offer a little "advice" on taking Simon out to restaurants. I get asked about this by parents of my students often.
    To begin with, it's really important to practice, practice, practice. It's hard to expect anything from Simon out of the house that he hasn't shown he can do at home and/or at school. Like eating out at resturants. Try to get him to sit at the table for longer and longer periods at home and reinforce him with something special.(The actual eating is really a separate issue) Then I'd try going to (casual)restaurants frequently just to practice. Maybe go just for dessert, or a treat, then for a quick dinner, etc. Try to set up all the situations with a reinforcing situation at the end so he sees it as a pleasant activity.
    As far as giving him too much leeway in these situations, it's hard to say because I don't know Simon. A lot of children with autism do not understand that a behavior may be OK in one situation, but not in another.
    I always tell the parents of my students that they are entitled to have a day off, a night off, etc, and sometimes you just have to overlook things and have a good time. As long as Simon isn't disrupting other people's dinners and you're not at fancy place, relax and enjoy yourself! You'll be back "at work" the next day!
    Bonnie

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  18. Tina J. says…
    01/06/2006

    Ali,
    I'm just now looking into Photoshop and wanted to ask you a couple questions. Mind?
    The link you provided sends me to a page, showing a 150.00 dollar version of photoshop. Is that all you used to create this picture? My husband (a computer geek for a living) was telling me that I'd want the 650.00 dollar version...
    Also, I'm pretty computer literate, do you think I would need to take a class or is it pretty user friendly?
    Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
    Tina J.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Joy U says…
    01/06/2006

    Ali, this is pure genius!!!

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  20. Joy U says…
    01/06/2006

    Ali, this is pure genius!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Laura Fitzmaurice says…
    01/07/2006

    Ali,
    I'm new to your blog, so I'm not so familiar with your situation. I love your work, you really inspire me.
    I have two kids one is 5 years and the other is about to turn two years old. Going out to restuarants with any children is hard! My kids are not autistic, but my son does have a very sensitive gag reflex, so throwing up was a regular occurance for him. It would happen without notice, I can laugh about it now, when he has pretty much outgrown it, but I do have lots of embarrassing moments with him at resturants. I am by no means comparing him to autistic children, but dining ANY kids is always an intresting experience. I recommend patience and as long as he is not being disruptive to other people let him stand up out of his chair. Take it from me I've had to walk outside with my kids , so the people we went to dinner with could finish their meals. Practice always helps you can't expect never to take your kids out to dinner with you. I think other people with kids understand the situation.

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  22. Lisa Cohen says…
    01/10/2006

    I have been observing these as well and just added a link to it on my blog...to help encourage me to go there and eventually post! I would love to get into this more... and also Illustration Friday... now that I have my wacom pad I'm ready to go!

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Kimberly Giarrusso says…
    01/12/2006

    Wow. I have to tell you that this photo has my heart beating a million miles an hour. Maybe I am overly senasitive today, but your photo made me think of my own life, and how it comes so quick. I really feel like yesterday I was a child relying on my parents. Now I am the mother of three, and I think ahead to their future. I think how fast their time as children will pass. Thank you for creating such a beautiful piece of art. You really touched my soul.

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