♥ Lotusland Fine Art ♥ About Me follow wlotus at http://twitter.com	Through the Eyes of A Lotus	Joie de Vivre	Archives	Previous	Next
	18 February 2010
	On 21 February 2010, I will celebrate my 41st birthday. Turning 40 last year felt anti-climatic in some ways; I did not have the means or the mental energy to plan a celebration with my loved ones. In other ways, it was a big deal. 50 doesn't look all that far away from where I am sitting, and neither do the health challenges that can come with aging. On top of that, my parents are getting older, a fact I try not to spend too much time thinking about, lest I freak out. (They must have missed the memo that said they were supposed to be young forever!) But this entry is not about the perceived down sides of aging. This entry is about enjoying life, something I was not able to fully do in my 20s and part of the way into my 30s. The older I get, the more I learn about myself and enjoy living my life. I set out today to make a photograph that captures that joie de vivre, and this shot was the result. I dressed in white for this shot, so my skin and hair would create a more powerful contrast against the white, seamless background. My flash is mounted on a tripod, which I stood on a tabletop directly behind my camera to insure even lighting down my torso. At first I used my white, shoot-through umbrella, but the hard shadows from my hair (caused by the unmodified strobe) make the image far more dynamic. The photo vibrates with the energy I felt as I moved my body in time to the music blasting from my stereo. This is me, 4 days from 41. I love my life. Can you tell?