A Day of Smiles

I smiled more today than I have in a long time. Not all of them were natural smiles, and the camera captured that. Photos tell the truth when there's a fantastic photographer behind the lens. And Tammy Labuda worked her magic today to capture who I really am, not just my fake reality show.

About a month and a half ago, I entered a blog contest to win a free photo shoot. I wasn't lucky enough to win the main prize, but Tammy gave out a great consolation prize, of which I was one of the recipients.

Yet, it was a bit ironic that I had even entered the contest. I notoriously hate pictures of myself. I don't feel or think I'm photogenic. Mostly because I don't think pictures of me look "like myself," whatever that is.

In spite of my hangups, I asked Tammy to take some head shots, fully realizing that head shots are a bit like putting the cart before the horse because I haven't needed them for most of the writings that I've submitted. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with Tammy. The photos on her website are so "real." And I'm all about real and authentic.

So I "cashed in" my consolation prize today and spent the bulk of the morning smiling at the lens of her camera as we picked vantage points outside at the Kimbell and the Botanic Gardens, two of my favorite places. Although the temperature was a bit nippy, we couldn't have asked for the sun to be any brighter or the sky to be any clearer.

And I think there must be something special about having pictures taken outside in the natural lighting. During the sneak peak that Tammy gave me of the shots she took, I glimpsed a bit of myself that I hadn't seen reflected in a picture before. I'm not exactly sure I can pinpoint it. Maybe it was the freedom to be myself or maybe it was the unexpected joy of making a new friend.

When I have the finished product, I hope to post it on the blog and let you decide. In the meantime, check out Tammy's website.