Undoing my braid, there’s always such a feeling of release and relaxation when the tightly bound hair slips through my fingers.
I’m also posting this picture because I’ve been feeling particularly large and ungainly lately. This photo feeds into that feeling and I did start with several closely cropped versions of just my hands or some other detail.
With the full body shot, my first instinct is to focus with disdain on the parts I see as negative. By making a Sinful Sunday portrait out of this as it is, I force myself to take note of the parts I can admire and to make an effort to admire the parts that make me uncomfortable. (Maybe even to see the beauty in those rolls).
One of the most lovely and helpful things about the Sinful Sunday community (for me) is thinking about how my image will look through other people’s eyes rather than just through the filter of my own baggage.
Maria, you are simply beautiful through and through. the soft focus on this image remknds me of classic paintings…
Thanks so much! xoxo
I totally agree with f dot here – this image is gorgeous. So beautifully composed too x x
Thank you Tabitha!
I love long hair. As for the rest of you, well… IMNVHO, you are beautiful. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I can totally identify with your feelings on this. Sometimes I feel more ‘exposed and vulnerable’ in my images than I do at other times but that is often about the image because I look at it through harsh self critical eyes…. the ones that make me feel that way tend to linger longer in my edit folder until I am ‘ready’ to let them go and accept them and me for who I am.
Mollyxxx
Yep, I actually took this earlier in the week (which is unusual for me) and kept wavering on it, but finally decided to post.
My first thought when I saw this was that you look like a gorgeous, classical painting. The way your arms are angled as you undo your braid, the composition, your beautiful self..It’s a lovely image and I’m so happy you posted this version.
Thanks Malin! I hadn’t looked at it like that. This is what I mean by seeing the images through other people’s eyes. Now I can see a painting rather than just focusing on the parts I’m still coming to terms with. It helps 🙂
i love the way the image causes your eye to follow your spine down.
And for the record- my first thought was ‘wow, she has great shoulders!’
Thank you Constance!
We all have images that we don’t like yet others won’t see what we dislike even though they can identify with those feelings. I have one in particular I’m working up the courage to post.
Yes, this is exactly why I love Sinful Sunday. It’s important to see the images we don’t like through the eyes of everyone else. I’m looking forward to seeing yours!
This is a really beautiful photo, you look wonderful! I love how the soft focus gives it a bit of a dream-like quality. It’s amazing! Xxx
Thanks Livvy!
I wish I could say something with delicacy and taste but when I look at this image I am suddenly a farm-boy again. Crawling beneath the picnic table to gaze up the skirts of the farmer’s wives and admire their thighs. Your shape is the ideal and your curves are burned into my genes. My genes tell me your shape is the only acceptable shape because your shape is healthy and nourishing. Ok, I am going to look away now but thanks Maria.
Ha! Thank you for sharing that, Eugene! I love the picture you paint with your comment. It’s definitely making me smile. Thank you for that 🙂
I know exactly the feeling you describe here – I’m always tempted to crop in that way. I’m so glad you didn’t though, because this is stunning, and so are you x
Thanks so much Charlie!
Gorgeous image! I get the feeling of wanting to crop but that would have been an injustice here!
~Kazi xxx
Thanks so much, Kazi!
Versions of Ourselves | exposing40
[…] Maria posted her beautiful photograph last week there was so much I wanted to say but I held back, not wanting to hijack her […]
Very beautiful. I love undoing my hair after a long day.
It feels so good!
Like others here, I look at your image and see a classic painting.
The image is beautiful. When I first saw it, I found myself looking at the ‘action’ – your hands and your hair. Then my eyes wandered down your body, taking in the detail and loving what I see. Because, It’s beautiful.
My mind also went to my own photos, knowing I have rolls like that too and wondering why I hate mine so much, while obviously appreciating yours in this image. Our self-image is a strange thing…
You’re beautiful!
Rebel xox
Thanks so much Marie! It’s so funny how we see a flaw in ourselves but beauty in someone else. Hopefully we can slowly change our own attitudes. 🙂
This is simply beautiful. I adore the feminine sensuality and softness in this shot.
February Photo Fest 2018 - Plait - Maria Opens Up
[…] 6, 2018 by MariaSibylla Leave a Comment This is a front version of Undo, a photo from 2015. I had a hard time posting that one, I thought the front shots were just too […]
lovely:)))))))))))))