February Photofest – Year 10!

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As per usual January has lingered but finally it is done and we can hop from what always feels like the longest month of the year to shortest which also means it is February Photofest time.

Introduction to February PhotoFest

If you are new to these parts (grins suggestively) then let me explain. February Photofest, of #FebPhotoFest as it is known on social media was a project I started back in 2014. I had previous done a Christmas themed month of images during December but wanted to do one that was more open about what I could post. February seemed the ideal month, due to it’s length but also it is a time of year when the weather is not so great and so being inside blogging seemed like a good idea.

I never expected anyone to actually join in with me. That first year I set it up as a project for me but the next thing I knew other bloggers started joining in and well that was 10 years ago and I have been running it every February ever since. If you want to know more about the project, what you need to do to join in and to find the other bloggers taking part then head to the FebPhotoFest Page.

So here we are, 10 years of February Photofest. I am proud of that. I proud that my self portrait work has endured and that even on days when I have struggled to find any words for this space I have still found pleasure, hope, joy, pride, but maybe most of all myself in my images. I hope that always continues but it is here today and tomorrow and for the rest of this month at the very least and that is enough for me right now.

What to expect this month

At the very least an image post here on my blog 6 days a week. I don’t do Sunday as I post my Sinful Sunday on Saturday evening. That will be 25 posts over the whole month all image based. Some might just be an image and a quote, some might have more words along with the image. There will definitely be some 100 word stories. On Thursdays I always do Throw Back Thursday were I re-post an image I have previously shared but that I have edited differently. On Friday’s it will be Boobday and Monday’s will be Scavenger Hunt images. The rest of the days of the week? We shall see why my impulses take me.

Day One

In case you have not noticed today is a Thursday which means we are starting things off with a Throw Back image.

I posted the original of this shot during last years FebPhotoFest in this post, No Reason To Hide, in which I talk about my abdominal scar and why this image was a challenge for me to share. This edit is a simple switch to black and white. I did up the exposure of the reflection as turning it black and white it seemed to get a little lost. The effect of that is the reflection has more depth than the rest of the shot and your eye is drawn right into it.

I am not sure I can pick between the two. Often when I do these edits one of other, either the original or the new edit will stand out to me as the one I like the best but this is one of those ones where I love both of them. The original one in colour as a warmth to it that this one is missing, also the yellow tinge of the curtains fits with the tones of my skin and centre of the flowers. It all just works but the black and white really draws you into the mirror image, there is a lovely depth to it and where the complimentary colours have been lost they have been replaced with complimentary shapes.

I can’t pick a favourite. They are both really good in their own way but I am curious what you think. The colour or the black and white? Let me know in the comments below.