Portrait/ Self-Portrait
Jennifer Huhn

I'm not really sure what to say about myself, and I think you'll learn more about me if I tell you what I did for this assignment, and why I did what I did. First of all I thought this was going to be the most difficult assignment of all and it was until I had my worst day on campus thus far. I was so upset and so frustrated I could not wait to leave school.

I went directly to St.Cloud, then to Crossroads, then to Ragstock. I told the cashier that I was a design student and asked her if it would be okay if I took pictures in the store. She called her manager and yes it was okay for me to photograph in the store just because I bothered to ask. The display that they had set up at the time consisted of several antique mirrors, so I staged a photo-shoot in the store. I like to play with light and angles and mirrors. Wherever or whenever there is something or someone dark there is always something or someone who is light. I caught a few people in the pictures that I took, but they were warned and many were blurred out in the shots. I decided to use two people from there. One was a girl that was in her early teens she is in "Stardom" and "Nonchalant," I remember when I was that age I believed that I could conquer the world and I still do, that's "Stardom". The other picture that she's in she knows the camera is there, but she doesn't seem to care and I don't seem to notice her either, that's "Nonchalant." Another was a guy who approached me out of nowhere and told me that everything was going to be okay, that's "Solace." I always hope that everything is going to be okay but some days it means a lot more to hear it from someone else. In another photo he is hiding behind me and the light from my camera's flash. He is in "Hidden in Light" and "Solace." As long as I was in the store anyway I did some shopping after photographing myself. I hate being in pictures.

I wandered around the mall for awhile before going into Wet Seal where I staged another makeshift photo shoot in one of their dressing rooms. It had kind of a minimalistic, European vibe which was a severe contrast from Ragstock. So I took some pictures of myself again, I kind of felt strange taking pictures of myself in the dressing room. NO I DID NOT take any nude or partially nude pictures so you might as well kick that thought out of your head. I'm not like that and it ticks me off when people think I am. There is a girl in this area that looks almost identical to me and she is like that and that really ticks me off when I'm mistaken for her. It makes it very hard for me to be nice. Anyway, back to my story, I took a couple more pictures. I finally tried on the jacket that I picked out and it fit like a glove so I bought it. Its a black damask print, very trendy, very Victorian, and very European.

Anyway, my super crappy day turned into a rather good one. I got away from school. I finished taking pictures for an assignment that seemed monumental and nearly impossible. I also purchased a super cute but not girl-ly coat, which I haven't worn yet because its too pretty and I don't want to wreck it.