January 04, 2025 Subversive Selfie Project Post

            I snapped this selfie while filling my SUV at a @shell station in Langley following the screening of the 4K 30th Anniversary re-release of David Fincher’s SE7EN, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Reflections are often used in film to highlight the duality that can exist within people. I remember several scenes in Alfred Hitchcock’s film PSYCHO that play with this motif: when Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) brings Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) food on a tray, he stops beside one of the motel’s windows, it’s blinds closed inside the room this window is a part of - and we see Norman’s reflection highlighting the duality inside him, of the people he represents through his personality, and how that impacts his intentions with Marion; and earlier when Marion is first introduced to her motel room, she stands before a mirror, and she’s clutching her handbag and the secrets that it holds which are related to her own poor choices which Norman has no clue about, and never will.

Every day we are reflections in the world. We glimpse our reflections through the mirrors in our bathrooms or hallways. We catch a glimpse of ourselves in our rear view mirrors if we drive. Or we can find them in unexpected places like I did when I decided to capture this picture. When we snap selfies we see a digital reflection of ourselves on our smart devices. The image I project today often lacks confidence and I wonder how many notice it. When I pass others I usually keep my head down, letting my life be distracted by my own iPhone, be it doom scrolling or catching @pokemon in @pokemongoapp … it’s odd how we can be in public surrounded by and passing by maybe dozens or even hundreds of people everyday when we navigate our cities.

In a rare instance where I wasn’t distracted, a few days before Christmas, a woman commented on my Grinch cap and Christmas shirt, that it made her laugh. She also noticed I’d been walking with a limp and commented on it, and I answered how my feet and legs have been messed up thanks to my depression and diabetes. It was then that she prayed for me, and after she left, I cried. My hidden loneliness was revealed in a single, brief instance.

05/365.

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Taken in: Canada / British Columbia / Township of Langley / Walnut Grove (show map)

Taken on: January 5, 2025

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Sets appears in: • ARTWORK: subverted selfies 2025 • ME: steveleenow

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro, f/1.8, 1/20 sec, 4.2mm, ISO 1000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.05 sec (1/20)
Focal Length:	4.2mm
ISO:	1000
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Instagram
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