At the Pictures

Did someone call for a narcissist? Can't come now, too busy looking at my reflection in this pond...

Yes, that's right. Courtesy of a fabulous hairstylist and photographically-talented friend, I had a very self-indulgent Friday.





I knew it was going to be an expensive hairdo - but it had been over two years since I last visited Stewart. He'd moved salons since; but I tracked him down to The Design Studio through a friend. It's quite a new salon, and it has two private rooms instead of banks of chairs in front of mirrors. I received a head massage and treatment as well as a stint in the vibrating massage chair during the cut and colour process. It was marvellous service; and the end result was (gasp) $209 worth of saucy new hair.



I was going to meet Aurelie at the Brisbane Powerhouse to do a photo shoot; she's in her final year of study and the novelty of taking pictures of self-obsessed improvisers hasn't worn off yet. I am all about "offering my services as a model" to "help friends" in their "chosen field of endeavour". Yeah, that's it.



But the hair appointment had gone on far longer than I expected, and I'd texted Aurelie asking to reschedule. However, upon seeing just how awesome my hair looked after being comprehensively GHD-curled by Stewart, I rang her back to insist upon a brief photo session at her place - if only to get some evidence of how sweet my hair actually looked for once.



So I motored on over to Aurelie and Dan's place at Moorooka, where Aurelie was in the middle of setting up an impromptu studio in her lounge room. I used the bathroom to whack on some make-up. It was a fairly slapdash effort; I've never been terribly good at applying make-up, my face seems prone to self-smudging.



Aurelie made clever use of her sofa, curtains, even Dan's Iron Improviser set dressings as backdrops, and positioned herself on top of tables and chairs in order to get better angles. Dan, meanwhile, proved himelf a top-notch lampstand - holding up lights on Aurelie's command, and clicking his computer screen to ensure it remained on, bathing the room with its liquid crystal glow. We chatted about Impro Mafia, the upcoming Off the Cuff Festival, and other non-linkable topics. The "impromptu" photo shoot turned into a two hour session!



Aurelie kept asking if I was okay, comfortable etc; I replied "Are you kidding? I could do this all day!" I just love having my photo taken - but normally I always look a bit naff, or round-faced, or blubbery in all the wrong places. Aurelie, however, is a gem behind the lens, as you can see from the small selection here. I'd recommend checking out her Flickr stream if you want more examples of her skill!