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Even though I haven’t been posting (or taking, for that matter) a lot of pictures recently, I still spend a good chunk of time almost every single day browsing through Flickr. I love going through my contacts to see what they’ve posted, or browsing the ‘interesting’ photos of the last 24 hours, or surfing randomly from person to person through comment chains. When I come across a photo I find particularly interesting (for whatever reason), I mark it as a favorite and move on. My favorites, then, have started to become a sort of repository for what I consider ‘good’ photography. In other words, my favorites can serve as a study of my personal aesthetic preferences. The image up top is a collage of my 36 most recent favorites, as of Thursday afternoon (I’ve added one or two more today). Indulge me in a bit of harmless introspection. :)

Vivid colors seem to be a key factor. Out of the most recent 36, only one is predominantly gray (although even it contains some blue). My eye seems to be attracted to rich colors in general, not specific hues and combinations of hues as I’d previously assumed. For instance, although there is quite a bit of blue pictured, other colors I didn’t think I preferred so much are also present. Greens, oranges, and reds are all better represented than I would have expected.

Human figures also comprise a larger number of my favorites than I would have thought. Of course, most of those people are women (go figure), and at least four are even of the same woman (solea, who is also my background at home, and whom I would marry were she to ask). Of the 36 photos, 13 are of people: 9 women, 2 men (well, one man twice (noqontrol)), and 3 children. And one stick figure, which I’m not exactly sure how to classify.

I like macro shots. A good third of the photos I’ve saved as favorites are close-ups of one sort or another. I also seem strangely attracted to water droplets, as three of the last group feature nothing but. Looking more closely, I think two of them are actually the same leaf in two different colors. I don’t think I ever noticed before. :)

Other random observances:

• I have two bird pictures saved. I don’t think this means anything.
• Building edges are surprisingly underrepresented, as I consider them an obsession.
• I seem to prefer people and man-made objects to nature. If nature is represented, it’s usually the (blue) sky.
• Almost all of the human faces are cut off. I don’t seem to be a fan of traditionally framed shots.
• I’m still a big fan of blues. A good 10 of the photos are faves in part because of the blue.

What does all this say about me? I’m not really sure. I suppose these photos represent the sorts of photos I would like to be able to capture myself, although interestingly my own photos generally don’t meet many of the presumed criteria. I need to find some women in colorful clothing who will let me take close-ups. :) I bet that’s where having a girlfriend would come in handy. Well, that among other reasons.