Catch A Wave.

On those rare and special days where I'm having a particularly good hair day, I get this perfect wave in my hair. I have long wanted a self portrait of a little surfer riding the wave in my hair. Every toy store I have been to for years I have kept an eye out for a tiny surfer. But the best I've been able to find was an assortment of tiny sea creatures I found at Toy Joy in Austin, TX. Even Amazon & AliExpress couldn't help in my near endless search for a tiny surfer dude. I was close to resorting to spending $20 on a single Lego surfer because he was all I could find that was the right size, but not the right pose. Until one magical day in my Amazon recommendations I saw a pack of green plastic surfers in a variety of poses, the exact kind you'd find buried in a pile of cheap toys at an old dollar store. After they arrived I had to buy some tiny paint & brushes at Hobby Lobby to make the little green guy look more human. 

When it came time for self portraits in the studio, I had a couple problems. First it was not a good hair day, so I spent more time playing with & perfecting the wave in my hair than I have ever spent dealing with my hair. Secondly, instead of the little surfer riding the top of the wave in my hair, he would just sink down into my hair. So I crafted a miniature tripod for him using cut sections of paperclips and some hot glue. Then I precariously balanced the surfer on my hair and had to keep perfectly still while taking the self portrait.

In the photo with the more purple background, you can see a section of the paperclip tripod still showing in my hair. Also I realized the red surfboard wasn't standing out enough in my hair, so I repainted it white. And I changed the lighting in the background to feel a little more ocean-y, then added a burst of orange backlight to give it a sunnier look.