Here is a collection of photos taken in various circumstances, showing some of the different ways that I have chosen to present myself visually from time to time. As you can see, there's quite a bit of variation. It can depend rather a lot on my mood at the time and my life circumstances, among other things. Click on the thumbnail if you want to see a larger version of the same picture.
This is the most recent picture of myself I have, and the expression is a very typical one for me.
It is a self-portrait I took just before heading off to a party, hence the blue hair. I rather
like the colour actually, and was vastly disappointed when it faded to a delicate
duck-egg blue within a week or so of being applied, and then on to bleached-white the next week.
Ah well, at least I have the other half bottle of blue hair dye to inflict on my unsuspecting friends and
relatives sometime in the future, the next time I have one of those "I've gotta do something odd with my hair"
moments. Still, it could have been worse. I don't have pictures of the time I dyed my hair orange white and
blue stripes, or the time it was done in orange and black layers, so I'll just have to leave those to your imagination.
This photo was taken by a friend of mine when I dropped around to visit him and show off a Noo Bike
that I had just acquired (I think it might have been the KR250, from recollection). The picture is
a couple of years old, but I do rather like it. I think it's a pretty good likeness,
and gives a reasonable impression of what you would be most likely to encounter if you met me at some random time
(ie when my hair wasn't dyed an odd colour or shaven off or some such). These days, my hair tends to oscillate between this
sort of length and short-but-shaggy. Like the previous image, it shows a very characteristic expression and posture. It also looks a lot
like my own mental image of myself, unlike most photos of me that I've seen, which may be why I like this one so much.
And here
I am demonstrating my favourite pastime (reading)! This picture was taken by
the same friend who took the previous one. I particularly like the soft focus and
the lighting that he used for this photograph, as it evokes
the mood of the time it was taken very strongly for me. I'm dressed in a formal gown because I was attending
the wedding of some friends of the person who took this photo. We were staying a flash hotel in the Blue Mountains where the wedding
was to take place. This picture shows a quiet moment before the wedding ceremony, as we waited
for other guests to arrive from all over Australia. That hotel did breakfasts to die for, by the way.
This is me in a femme mode. Yes, it does happen occasionally! This picture was
taken some five years or so ago during a commercial photo shoot, so I am wearing
far, far more makeup than I ever would do under other cirumstances; however, the
clothes are from my regular wardrobe and are the sort of thing I might wear if in that sort
of mood. While this is an attractive look, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable doing this much makeup-and-hair-mousse in real life - but as a one-off, it was rather
fun. The hat is a particular favourite of mine. I used to wear hats a lot more in the past than I do these days, but I
still have a soft spot for this one. I like to imagine that it has a certain rakish charm.
And
finally, here is a picture of my SCA persona, Lady Jane Ascham, a lady from Elizabethan London. Or more correctly, my previous
SCA persona, since I've recently recycled Lady Jane and now have a new Anglo-Saxon persona instead (Cyneburh, from
the Kingdom of Kent during the Seventh Century). When I obtain a suitable picture of Cyneburh I'll add her to this page - she's
a far cry from this somewhat prim and proper Lady! And when I can work out how to get slide scans of an acceptable quality using the
equipment that I have access to, I'll put a better picture of Lady Jane up here, as well. I have several very good slides that
show the details of the black gown far better than this one does... but they may have to wait until I work out how to electronicize
them in a way that will show those details.
