Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Family Scowl: The Not That Camera Shy Self Portrait

Tomorrow is the theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers, playing around with the notion of Camera Shy Self Portraits. As a lead-in, I thought I'd mess around with my standard photo that appears in comments throughout the blogs I follow. This shot was taken some years back on the deck of the Visitor Centre in Algonquin Park. My face happens to be setting into that genetic quirk that runs on my mother's side of the family- from my grandfather to my mother and aunts, to some of my cousins, and yours truly- there's a tendency for our face to set into an expression that suggests we're thoroughly annoyed, even when we're not.


And so as we head into tomorrow, I added some memes into this photo.






59 comments:

  1. LOL! So it's not just the family I married into that puts on scowls for the camera! On my side of the camera I take it as a challenge to "break the scowl."

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  2. I have always liked your photo.
    Fabulous !
    It is either a yes I can destroy you with the blink of my right eye or I can tango but why should I.

    cheers, parsnip

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  3. Are you Patrick Stewart's son?

    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  4. Want to tell us that your hair do not grow ...? :=).

    Tomás.

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  5. I have always thought it goes with your description of yourself - a rogue and scoundrel.;)

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  6. We have a good impression of your thoughts too now.

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  7. Clever. Perhaps we're related. I assume the same "look" in photos and am always amazed at the easy "smilers." What program did you use to make the memes?

    Janis
    GDP

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  8. I take a terrible photo and hate having my photo taken.

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  9. You look terribly fetching in your self-portrait!

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  10. My face,in neutral, looks as scowling as yours...sometimes I even have a reason.
    Jane x

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  11. Love your photo captions, William. And I think the photo is just fine, as long as it is the usual you.

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  12. I'd say, "They don't like the scowl look?... fuk 'em. That's just me."

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  13. hahahahaha! I might not use it on a meme though.

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  14. you do look rather deadpan, but in a handsome sort of way. :)

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  15. Oh yeh that's some scowl William, will we see a smile tomorrow I wonder :)

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  16. Some might say you would be a good poker player.

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  17. Ha! I hadn't noticed you had a scowl on your face until you mentioned it. :)

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  18. I like your eyes. Your eyes tell a thousand expressions. One you're a deep thinker.
    Very intellectual. Even if you do not think you are.
    The rest of yourself is pretty much right.
    Can I add good looking and not be forward for an old lady.

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  19. @Kay: it seems a challenge to actually smile for the camera!

    @Parsnip: that's an interesting way to put it.

    @Bill: it's such a rarity for me, though I do laugh!

    @Cloudia: I did think of using a Picard quote for a meme.

    @Tomas: I shave it off, usually every other day. I like the look, and there would have come a time it would have gone anyway. Getting rid of all of it for a cancer benefit felt liberating.

    @Jen: it certainly does!

    @Marianne: indeed.

    @Janis: I use the meme generator at Imgflip; it's a site that's very easy to use.

    @Gill: I tend to be the person taking the pictures, so I rarely turn up in photos.

    @Kate: thanks!

    @Hilary: I do try!

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  20. @Tamago: thank you!

    @Jane and Chris: it's often when I'm lost in thought that my face sets to that expression.

    @Tanya: thank you.

    @Linda: I've always liked this shot of me.

    @Birdman: I could have gone with that too!

    @Tex: thanks!

    @Grace: let's just say not quite!

    @Sharon: I've played poker, and I was good at it, but it's been some years since I've played the game.

    @EG: it's the perpetual scowl. I could be related to Tommy Lee Jones, who has the ultimate scowl.

    @Carolann: thanks!

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  21. You had fun with this one. The look is strong and stable.

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  22. This is what I like best about you, partner--your twisted sense of humor!

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  23. I'll bet that the scowl is just an act and you are really a pussycat.

    Thanks for the visits while I was in Italy. I will have to start catching up.

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  24. I was going to say William a smile would be nice ! So serious . My mum would of said wipe that scowl off your face and buck up lol ! Thanks for sharing , next time smile I am sure you have a nice smile ! Have a good day !

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  25. That made me laugh. Yesterday, I told my husband that I am getting old and grumpy. He just smiled.

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  26. Hahaha sometimes I wish I had a serious 'nothing face' - it might stop all the random people who talk to me all the time...

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  27. @Red: it's my peculiar sense of humour!

    @Norma: very twisted indeed! Thank you!

    @Jack: an act? Perish the thought!

    @Country Gal: a smile would feel unnatural to me in a photo!

    @Judy: best that he not say anything!

    @Aimee: the red hair also tends to make people want to talk to you!

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  28. Funny memes. Love the last one especially. I just assumed the scowl came from too much sun on a bright day. ;-)

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  29. I wouldn't want to cross that guy! ;-))

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  30. Ha ha!!! This is hilarious! Though I think we all wouldn't mind a new image to go by, this is a good one.

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  31. Great self-portraits. I do like your sense of humor. It reminds me how people always ask me to smile when taking my picture. I tell them, "I AM smiling!" Aargh!

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  32. Haha. Love this post. It's funny how a facial trait (and others) is carried on through generations.

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  33. Nice to see you up close! And thanks for the laughs!

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  34. Your post of the day is smashing ! I love it !

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  35. You made me laugh... The last one is my absolute favorite!

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  36. Haha! I must say though that the first photo without text expresses most :)

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  37. Boromir is following your blog. :-)

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  38. No, no, not a scowl at all! That's your serious look! Like those old photographs where people had to stand with their heads in a vise for a long, long time!

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  39. The second to last one gets my top pick.

    Very funny.

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  40. @Eve: thank you!

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Halcyon: no, it runs in the family!

    @RedPat: I have that look about me.

    @Krisztina: it is a shot that I've enjoyed using.

    @Lowell: my sense of humour is quite unusual!

    @Pamela: it crops up repeatedly, though not in all members of the extended family.

    @Ciel: you're quite welcome!

    @Anna: thank you!

    @Mariusz: thanks!

    @VP: it's a saying I've always liked.

    @Marleen: as I've said elsewhere, I suspect Tommy Lee Jones and I are related.

    @Revrunner: I'd better warn him about that ring of power.

    @Cheryl: that is my serious look!

    @Whisk: thanks!

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  41. I want to know how he became your ex-b-in-law - did your sister divorce him or your wife dis-own him?

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  42. Although I have the feeling I'm missing some inside information here and there, I like your sense of humor.

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  43. Very clever, I like the train story best..

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  44. Very clever for sure. You've a good sense of humor too!

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  45. I try not to judge a book...
    That said, when you began visiting my blog posts, I found you to be a much nicer person!!!

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  46. @Gerald: he was married to my sister- a loudmouthed, bigoted moron. If he ever meets a bad end, I'll need an alibi. Incidentally, both of my sisters would qualify as unpleasant relatives; I've not spoken to either of them in a long while, and would prefer to keep it that way.

    @Jan: I suspect if those unpleasant relations saw these posts, they'd be quite unhappy with me. Fortunately I don't care what they think anymore.

    @Geoff: it's an old saying that has always appealed to me.

    @Barbara: thank you!

    @Jennifer: I can be nice, but when provoked, not so much so. Let's just say the idiot ex-brother-in-law provokes.

    @Jen: thanks!

    @Randy: thank you.

    @Linda: thank you!

    @Babzy: thanks!

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  47. Very funny captions, William, and it would be hard to pick a favorite as several gave me smiles, unlike your photo😉

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