And in the Aw, What The Hell category...

[darkemeralds]

Not long ago, I challenged ravurian to get a photograph of himself at his most fabulous, and I said I would do the same. While we wait for Mr. R...






I don't know whether this is the most flattering picture, but I liked it the best of all the ten zillion I took trying to get something I could bear. I think it speaks the most truth about me.

Honestly, I wouldn't have posted these three weeks ago. Things are converging, and I'm growing down into my real, actual, 55-year-old self, so I figure I might as well show my face around here.

Comments

[andeincascade]

Well, hello you! You are stunning.

[nwhepcat]

I think you look awesome, and thought so when I met you at Writercon.

[branchandroot]

I wish my silver looked that good! I'm still dying it red and gold because it's just dusted all over.

[donutsweeper]

You look AMAZING! Absolutely beautiful!

[sporky_rat]

You have got the most beautiful shade of silvery grey hair.

*is in awe*

[panisdead]

YAY, YOU'RE SO AWESOME!

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts

[karen_jk]

You have such a distinctive face! And none of the bits of yourself you've shared so far revealed what a beautiful smile you have.

Both pics are nice, the second is stunning.

[darkemeralds]

Aw, shucks! Image control, baby! The older I get, the more careful lighting is my best bud.

[darkemeralds]

Right back atcha, gorgeous! :D

[darkemeralds]

Thanks. It's been a long time coming: I started going gray when I was 29 (high fever--that's my story and I'm sticking to it) and colored it for twenty years before finally throwing in the towel. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the horrible, ever-present roots, when I was finally through the painful process of growing them out, looked much better than expected.

Oh, and pearl powder. Let us not forget pearl powder, which is liberally present in these photos.

[darkemeralds]

Well...thank you! Wow. Good light today.

[darkemeralds]

Thanks. It was a hell of a long road getting to it: it started at age 29. Your icon is wonderful!

Re: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of the Parts

[darkemeralds]

Oh, I'm glad you like that second one. I wasn't sure how it would come across to people who've never met me. When I looked at it small, in my camera, I thought it was ambiguous whether I was crying or laughing, and that's what I liked about it. Nobody reaches this age without having learned how close together those things are in life.

One of the problems with regular snapshots and candids is that for a lot of us, the camera emphasizes what the eye edits out, and doesn't capture personality or spirit very well (lucky the photogenic person who gets the opposite effect). It's so shocking to feel one looks pretty good, or at least acceptable, then to see a photograph that is nothing but dark circles and sagging jowls, puffy cheeks and wrinkles and hooded eyes (not to mention "figure flaws"). I deleted literally dozens of pictures like that to get two showing something like the person I see in the mirror on a good day.

[darkemeralds]

YOU TOO!!!! \o/

[cattraine.livejournal.com]

Still beautiful! \0/

[without_me]

I'm still at the coloring stage; I hope one day to be able to have silver hair as lovely as yours!

[darkemeralds]

:D

[darkemeralds]

It was a great relief to stop coloring, and now and then when I think about coloring my hair again (usually when someone mistakes me for being even older than I am because of the gray), I remind myself how hideously difficult the growing-out process was. It took a couple of years and several really expensive transitional coloring jobs from the salon, and I'd never want to go through it again. It's very liberating not worrying about roots after 20 years of worrying about roots!

[cookiemom6067]

You're gorgeous!!!! What a beautiful smile.

[dine]

yep, you're looking damn fabulous, all right

[darkemeralds]

I thank you and my dentist thanks you. :D

(I'm actually quite pleased to see some resemblance between my anime-self in this icon and my real self--LOL!)

[darkemeralds]

LOL! Your two cents' worth, huh? Love your icon. And thanks.

[lamentables]

WOW!

Fabulous.

[darkemeralds]

:D Thanks.

[without_me]

If coloring were more of a pain for me, I'd probably consider stopping--but it really isn't. I use semi-permanent so I don't have a stark line of roots, and it just takes 20 minutes or so every 4-6 weeks (whenever I notice it starting to get particularly dull). Also, I fear instead of beautiful silver I'll just have brown mixed with ugly streaky white. Ah well. If this is the biggest thing I can find to complain about, my life is pretty good. And more importantly: you look marvelous!