Do you like getting your own picture taken?
I'm not necessarily against the idea, but I'll be honest - having my picture taken in a posed-fashion makes me very uncomfortable! And I'm much more likely going to be volunteering to shoot the picture than be in it. In fact, the thing I love the most about photography is that I'm sharing what I see with everyone, so with few exceptions I rarely appear in pictures. I have a lazy eye that I'm very self-conscious about, so if I do have my picture taken I'm usually squinting my eyes or looking away from the camera to mitigate.
What is your favorite picture someone has taken of you?
I have a couple actually...
In 2007, my wife and I got married in England, but given a lot of the guests couldn't make it out from Canada we held a follow-up Canadian reception in Cochrane (Alberta) the following summer. It was the full shebang again, full meal, guests, dance, photographer, the works. So - while we loved the photographs from our actual wedding day, it was a wet day in northern England in late fall so the setting is a little gloomy... We have a canvas on our living room wall of my wife and I chatting at the 2008 Canadian reception, just against an overexposed sky, and I love it!
In 2011, our daughter was born, and I took a few weeks off work on vacation to be with my newly expanded family. I fell asleep on the sofa with my daughter lying on my chest, and we both look very peaceful.
In 2017, we took a trip to Disneyland, and being a huge Star Wars fan I HAD to meet Chewbacca. I am clearly the most excited in the picture.
But - they're all private and personal to my family & friends, so I pick this blast from 2007...
And yes, my wife bought me that mug as a wedding gift...
If you could have anyone take your picture, who would it be and why?
Either Annie Leibovitz or Steve McCurry (NatGeo photographer that shot "Afghan Girl") - but not for why you think. I'd want to learn as much as I could from their process as possible, and I'd love to get to hear all the stories they could share. I wouldn't even care if we didn't get a picture.
