Up here in Nacogdoches, we managed to escape the blistering heat a little while longer than down in Houston. Until about midway through June we could still sit outside on the porch in the mornings and evenings, but that’s over for now. Now, it is brutally hot here just like everywhere else, and Nac is an outdoor sort of town, so a lot of the things we want to go do and see have to wait until it cools off.

My sister came up for a visit a few weeks ago, and to be honest, it was kind of weird. I don’t think I was ready to open the place up to others yet, if that makes sense. I’m a pretty introverted, homebody kind of person, so entertaining really isn’t my thing. Usually I can handle it when it’s family, but I just wasn’t ready to entertain someone yet – especially since I really don’t yet know what my “places” will end up being yet. I was still trying things out that I’d never experienced, and taking her along, with mixed results as you can imagine. We still had fun hanging around the house and watching the rabbits and deer (as well as a lot of TV in the sunroom) but I felt kind of exhausted when she left. I think it’s just not yet time to be having company as we are both still wrapping our heads around the fact that we live in the country now. It’s a huge change from living in one of the largest cities in the nation to a small town. It’s a wonderful change, to be sure, and I haven’t regretted it one bit, but it’s going to take time for me to embrace the novelty of it to the point that I want to share it with others. I guess that sounds selfish, but I’ve never been a let’s-throw-a-housewarming-party kind of gal, and I guess I need more time here with just Doug before I’m ready to share.

I attempted, before it got too hot, to take some levitation photos outside, with mixed results. I’ve always wished I lived in an environment where I could take self portraits outside in some interesting location as a set piece, but I don’t know how to do it properly. I am so used to working with studio lighting and a totally controlled environment (with the exception of plane photos), so when things don’t look right while taking outdoor shots, I am clueless as to how to fix it. It’ll take a while to learn, and for now it’s too hot to even try.

Also, we’ve discovered that a doe has hunkered two fawns back in our woods, and if we go anywhere near them they take off and disappear for several days. I’m sure they’re fine and they clearly are comfortable in the area, so they have several locations around here where they can safely hang out, but we certainly don’t want to scare them off forever, so we’re staying off our walking trails for the moment. I haven’t gotten any decent pictures of them yet, because unlike back in Houston I still haven’t set up a camera that’s ready to go at all times (something I need to hurry up and do as deer and rabbits provide nice photo opportunities regularly – sometimes right outside my window) so I’ve had to settle for phone photos which have been pretty crappy.

As a fashion and makeup fanatic, I will say that so far I haven’t seen much that’s going to tempt me in those areas around town. We have a Belk store, which is basically a Kohl’s under a different name, and some boutiques with names like Glamour and Guns that all sell the same rayon dresses and rhinestone-embellished jeans. Suffice it to say I am not going to be tempted to go out and spend a lot of money on clothes like I was in Houston. Thank the gods for online shopping, right?

I will say, though, that there is an EXCELLENT Goodwill in the historic downtown area – it’s probably the nicest Goodwill I’ve ever been in. Super-clean and organized, with hardwood floors and everything. It looks nothing like the Goodwill that was right by our house in Houston, and it’s a great resource for photography costumes. In fact, once it became clear it was too hot to take shots outside, Doug and I stopped by there a few weeks ago and I picked up some things to wear for photos. I’d also bought a few wigs from Sams Beauty online, so last Sunday I set up my office for studio shots and took some pictures.

I also put on a full face of photography/drag makeup, which I have not done in forever. Since I’ve gotten so good at adding makeup in post, I’d gotten to a point where I quit putting a lot on because it takes at least half an hour to do, but in looking over old photos there’s no denying that the best sets always involve me wearing full makeup, and really, it’s not like I am pressed for time up here. Plus, it was quite fun to go through the whole process, and since my office here is a bit smaller than my old one in Houston, and the light is better, I actually didn’t have to set up a bunch of my lighting equipment to get good shots, which saved both time and space. You’d be shocked if you saw how tiny the room is where I take these photos, and just how cramped into a little space I am when posing – it’s kind of ridiculous, but hey, it works.

I also have a blonde wig like the one above that transitions from blonde to blue, and I found this awesome old 60’s style blazer with big lapels that’s bright blue with white polka dots, so I’ll be taking pics of that outfit at some point in the near future. Overall I was pleased with how many good shots I got out of this shoot, so that makes me optimistic for the next one. It’s good to know that even though my office is smaller I can still pull off a good photo session, and can do it without having to set up as much lighting as I had to do at home.

It’s also good to know that at 54 I can still pull off a good drag look. Obviously, these are processed, and my drag makeup in person would not pass ANY drag queen tests, but for photos and with a little bit of digital magic I can still pull off a good selfie. I am always drawn towards photos in a set that look as little like me as possible; since I only work with my own face I’m always looking for expressions or poses that I haven’t done before, which is still possible after all these years as my face changes, so hey, a positive side of aging! Take, for example, this photo I took well over ten years ago:

This was probably taken in 2011 or 2012, and I had barely any makeup on at all. I definitely look a lot younger here, and it’s wild that I’ve been taking selfies long enough to make the comparison, but I’d say the source material is holding up as I get older. That may sound conceited, but I don’t really give a damn. Since I don’t like working with other people when it comes to what I consider art more than traditional photography, well, it’s good to know I’m still a pretty good subject to photograph. I’ll definitely be sharing more selifies soon, for anyone who cares. 🙂