Submitter's name:	Joel Wilcox
Title:	Popsicle Portrait
Gear used:	OM-2S + winder 1, Zuiko 35-70/3.5-4.5 (in 35mm range) with light green filter, mounted on BG2 with T20 for fill, Bogen 3221 with grip ball head, M.Remote Cord.
Diaphragm:	F11
Shutter speed:	1/60
Film used:	T-Max 100 (normal development in T-Max developer)
Technical information:	The fill was not enough to meet the challenge of the hard side lighting, and the green filter was not a good choice as it darkened my daughter's red blouse. But I hadn't planned on having her in the picture. I was just shooting these wretched self-portraits and grinning at no one when she saw me and came out on the deck with her popsicle and climbed on my lap to get into the picture. She makes the picture more interesting to me, but I also look somewhat more normal as a result of her being there, and it's still a self-portrait as you can tell from the M.Remote Cord in my right hand. The shot is a "verticalized" horizontal (heavily cropped on the sides).
Subject information:	Rear deck of our house on the Iowa River in Iowa City, Iowa USA
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (ogreve@web-wizards.com)

How cute! This is one of the nice things of having kids (around). Yes, she does make the picture more interesting; now we know a little bit more about your family too. :) Good choice of picture.

Comment left by: Dave Bulger (dbulger@austin.rr.com)

Excellent! Your daughter adds the necessary personal touch that turns a good portrait into a great one. I believe portraits should provide an insight into someone's existence and their context within it, and you've done this very well.

Comment left by: Steve Goss (steveg3@flash.net)

It would just be a picture without your daughter. Here, she gives you a reason for providing a lap.

Comment left by: Mike Butler (abutler@flash.net)

Joel, I have to agree with Steve. I wish I had thought to include my daughter in my self portrait, it would have helped me look more relaxed as well. I don't know if sons can do that the way a daughter can, but I'm a proud Father Of Only Daughters. (Thanks Ken N.)

Comment left by: Ian Nichols (i.a.nichols@bris.ac.uk)

I can only agree entirely with the comments from Olaf, Dave, Steve & Mike.... and add that I like the lighting in this. I think a "proper" amount of fill would have reduced the contrast between subject(s) and background and taken attention away from them.

Comment left by: B.B. Bean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

I wouldn't worry about the low fill ration - there's still plenty of shadow detail. And like the others, I agree that your daughter adds a lot to the picture - there's something going on now, instead of just seeing a man on a porch.

Comment left by: Ron Spolarich (caesar2@mediaone.net)

Despite the harshness of the lighting, it's still a great image! Your daughter will look back on this one with great affection! I'll take a cherry pop BTW!

Comment left by: Gary Edwards (garyetx)

I've been looking at all of this self-portaiture stuff. Occurs to me that we Olympus shooters are an extraordinarily homely bunch, but Joel, you and Dave Bulger have shown that this group seems to produce very pretty daughters.

Comment left by: Siddiq (no e-mail specified)

...and sisters ;))

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

Yes! Having her in it with you helps "tell a story" about you. Well done. I also do not think the lighting balance is any problem; you have enough to get very good shadow detail. It is obviously a very bright, clear day. Too much fill would have made it look unnatural with the distinct railing shadows just behind you.

Comment left by: Alan Krantz (no e-mail specified)

I really like this picture. What more needs to be said ?

Comment left by: Chuck Norcutt (norcutt@attglobal.net)

Very nice. Maybe a bit more fill but I think it looks fine as is.

Comment left by: Ken Norton (image66@attglobal.net)

Havin been to Joel's "low rent river house" I must say that I'm a bit disappointed that he doesn't include the river in more of his pictures. A lovely family he has and I'm glad he included part of it in this portrait. I figured that he probably would have done a shot in front of his Jazz Library but that would have required a really, really wide lens.

Comment left by: Andy Beals (bandy@cinnamon.com)

At first I thought the same thing about the fill flash, but after reading through all of the comments, I agree that it looks great, with just the right amount of fill. Having your daughter in it increased its "keeper" value by an order of magnitude -- this shot belongs in your family album. What did the addition of the filter do to your daughter's complexion, though? I like the lack of a camera in this shot, as well. As clever as all the mirror tricks are, it's a bit tiresome for A Photographer to always be hiding behind a camera. With an air-bulb release, you could have tapped it with your foot and freed your hand. I've used this approach when taking some stereo self-portraits of myself and the family.

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