Another Objective

[cbertsch]

Although I'm often taking pictures, it doesn't happen that often someone other than myself photographs me and even more unusual that I get to see the results. That's why it was a treat that Matthew, whom I met on my mid-April trip to Seattle, sent me a link to the shots he took of me at a friend's housewarming party. He was using a traditional camera with black-and-white film, which led to a great conversation about photography before and after the onset of the digital age. I love that this particular photo, though it has obviously been "remediated" into JPEG format, still bears a trace of its development:

I also like the fact that I'm making one of my characteristic faces, the sort I pull in conversation, but which I struggle to capture in self-portraits. Part of the reason is that I'm usually talking with my hands when I make those expressions, something that's hard to pull off when you're holding a camera away from your body.

Comments

[zonaroja.livejournal.com]

awesome pic!

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

It is, I must admit. I know that expression from my father. And Skylar too. We call that thing that happens with the bridge of our nose the "Bertsch nose."

[(Anonymous)]

Great pic -- it reminds me of class. Hope you're doing well, --jm

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Which class? So many "JMs." Well, more than a few, at any rate.

Thanks for the comment!

Sorry!

[(Anonymous)]

I need to develop a livejournal account. JM from your first grad class, the one that included the following quotes:

"It's one thing to yearn because you're mutilated; it's another thing to have mutilated yearnings." (C. Bertsch, 1/30/01)

"I'm totally in favor of montage." (C. Bertsch, 1/30/01)

"It's a good thing to say at parties--'I'm a historical materialist.' It's a sure way not to get laid." (C. Bertsch 1/30/01)

"Pretzels of Revelry." (C. Bertsch, 2/13/01)

"Heideger was a brilliant man. I hate him. Well, he should be hated. He wore ugly suits and had a ugly mustache. And he was a facist. Well, in his own fashion." (C Bertsch 2/13/01)

(Much credit to the esteemed ED for her note-taking skills, as well as the organization necessary to still have said notes years later.)

Re: Sorry!

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Oh, hello! That's going way back. A Zig or a Zag?

::smiling::

I can't believe I said such over-the-top, silly things at that juncture. That whole year is a blur because I was still new, had been so ill in the fall, and got pneumonia again in the middle of the class.

You can still create a free LJ account. It just will have ads on it. Or so I'm told.

[elizabeg.livejournal.com]

That is *totally* a cbertsch face! And I can absolutely see why it's hard for you to catch in self-portraits, but I'm glad someone caught it on film.

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Me too. It's interesting to see a face you only feel yourself making, for the most part. The muscle memory and the image overlap in interesting ways.

[flw.livejournal.com]

Now you need to write a book!

That picture is classic. You are simultaneously amused, irritated, frustrated and intrigued.

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

I'm like frickin' Falstaff, I'm so round!

What sort of book?

[flw.livejournal.com]

The kind that has a photograph on the sleeve, under the "About the Author" blurb. I was saying that you need to write a book so that this photo can be the... what do they call those photos anyway?

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Author photos!

Yes, that would be neat. I need a pipe.

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

I like that pic but, it could be intimidating if you were my dad; know what I mean? In the classroom, I have no problem especially, if getting challenged.

[cbertsch.livejournal.com]

Interesting. It's kind of cool to think of myself as intimidating! I tend to feel meek, more often than not.

[quuf.livejournal.com]

I've seen that look in person. It's terrifying!

But seriously: It reminds me of something I once read about one of the Analytic philosophers—Quine, maybe. He had a habit of shooting some hapless student who'd made some insufficiently precise remark a deadly look and asking, "What EXACTLY do you mean?" Jesus!