Who hides from the camera?

      I do! I do! For the past... well I'm not really sure when this started but I am going to guess about 5-6 years I stay hidden from the camera. I am the proverbial picture taker. Always hiding behind the camera. I've become quite good at my photography craft. I've been published several times and I have even photographed friends and their families for family portraits. What most people dont realize is that this has a deeper reason than just my love of taking pictures. You see, photos are a captured moment in time.. and they don't lie. How many of you have done this? You are getting ready for a night out or a significant event where you go all out. You get your hair "did", you put your make up on, and you put your best clothes on. Now I realize this happens more to women than men but still you get my point. You make faces in the mirror and you think, "Damn I'm hot. I'd do me!" Deny if you want but we all do it- short, tall, skinny, and fat, we all do this at some time or another. Then you get to where ever you may be going and without fail someone snaps a picture of you. Now this can either be posed or completely off guard but usually the same result occurs! You realize very quickly upon observing the photo that the hot outfit you picked out is in fact not that flattering. Your hair never looks the same as it did in the mirror and as for the total image- often you find yourself totally unrecognizable. In fact, if it weren't for the tell tell outfit you may even be inclined to  say the photo victim was someone else entirely. But you can't! It is YOU!!! What happened between the mirror and the photo. I mean you were prancing around at the event as if you were the hottest thing there but the pictures reveal a complete and total hot mess!! The reality is the mirror often times is a liar. It gives us the illusion of perfection in just the right lighting but my friends the camera is the truth teller. It doesn't lie. It doesn't cover. It only shows a true image in time and yes that is really what you look like to everyone else. So for this reason I have forbidden anyone from photographing me until recently. While I still don't really like to see myself in pictures I know that part of transforming into this better me also means that i must learn to look at myself again. The weight continues to slowly come off and I want to document my progress. I can't see it myself in the mirror ( she's a liar anyway) but I can see it in the photos. So here goes... This is my most recent photo. Please be kind.