I guess that I could be accused of shameless self-promotion by reposting more photos of myself, but I am so happy with the way that they turned out. Cindy Dyer is such a talented photographer who so perfectly captured my personality in these photos.
Our initial goal for our little photoshoot was to shoot some colorful images to help me celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month, an annual month-long celebration in June. As stated in a recent presidential proclamation, “Pride is both a jubilant communal celebration of visibility and a personal celebration of self-worth and dignity.”
The goal of this month quite simply is to highlight the efforts of so many people to live freely and authentically. It is my firm conviction that diversity is one of the elements that makes our human communities stronger and more vibrant.
Mike Powell 
Great photos, Mike. You are very photogenic. Cindy is a very talented photographer just like yourself!
Thanks, Tricia. I was actually picked out of the crowd one time at a large photography class that I was attending to be a model. I think we had already covered getting beauty shots and I was the subject for capturing “character.” The photoshoot made me appreciate the difficulty of posing and presenting a subject for a portrait. It is definitely not just “point and shoot.” It is a side of photography that scares me a bit–I am much more comfortable taking photos of wild creatures.
How exciting! I bet you’d be great at portrait photography too. I don’t for one minute think the detail of your photographs is easy.
I was really pleased today that I managed some really good photos of lavender with bees, one I think will do as the cover for my collaborative poetry pamphlet being published later this year.
I love it!! Beautifully composed photo and very attractive subject:)
Thanks, Ann. It was a fun photoshoot and I am amazed at how good Cindy made me look. 🙂
Wow, Chuck Taylors with pride colors 👏👏👏. How cool is that. Oh yeah, nice portraits. Sorry, over shadowed by Converse.
When I was growing up, Chuck Taylors were available in a limited selection of colors and styles, but nowadays there is a wide array of materials, colors, and patterns you can get and even options to individually customize them. In the early days, I recall, we’d call these shoes “sneakers,” well before all of the running shoes came on the scene and then were followed by speciality shoes for separate activities. I felt retro wearing Converse All-star hightops and Levi’s 501 jeans with the button fly. 🙂
I’m old enough to remember when they were Chuck Taylors . I’ve been in and out of fashion 100 times by now 😂😂😂. I still call them sneakers 🤣🤣
Here’s to diversity! Fantastic photos – the light in your eyes & all that color. How anyone keeps white jeans white is beyond me, but makes a great photo.
Thanks, Jazz. It was fun to wear all of that color and I was happy that Cindy was able to capture so well the sparkle that I was feeling. As for the white jeans, I must confess that I got them specifically for this shoot and suspect that they will not remain white for too long if I wear them regularly. 🙂
Lots of joy and brightness in those shots, Mike. They are great images about and by talented photographers.
Thanks, Chris. Joy and brightness were in fact what I was feeling when we were doing the photoshoot. It was so light-hearted and fun and a little silly and I realized that I had not felt like that very often during the past year.
They are great images that capture your personality so well, Mike. I don’t blame you at all for posting them and did not think of them as anything but celebration of both the month and Cindy’s wonderful portraiture. Great smile! ❤
Thanks, Steve. You understand perfectly my motivation in posting the photos. I like the fact that Cindy was able to capture a genuine smile and not the forced fake smile that people put on when you ask them to smile.
Very nice set, Mike… the eyes are the window of the soul. 🙂
Thanks, Eliza. I love the way that Cindy was able to draw attention to my eyes and make them sparkle. The colors were enough to draw attention to my soles. 🙂
Wonderfully fun and colourful!
Thanks, Liz. I had such a great time doing the little photoshoot with Cindy. I was able to cast aside all inhibitions and felt joyous and energized (and a little silly) as we playfully tried a variety of different looks and poses. I am thrilled by the way that Cindy was able to capture the genuine and authentic “me.”
Fantastic photos by Cindy! I love your vibrant expression and the bright color!
Thanks, Leah. I felt energized and yet comfortable during that little photoshoot and I think that my friend Cindy, who as you can see is amazingly talented, capture that feeling of brightness in me and the clothes that I was wearing.
Excellent photos, love the splashes of color in the background and the tie die hat brings back fond memories.🌈 Thank you for sharing Mike.
Kudos Cindy, great photography🙏
Thanks, Suzette. I love bright colors (I drive a KIA Soul that is “Ignition Orange”) and this was a nice chance to wear some. The tie-dyed hat was Cindy’s idea. She saw it in a store and decided it would be a nice addition to our planned shoot and bought it for me. I grew up in the 1960’s and 1970’s and have fond memories of tie-dye clothes from that era (and even made some t-shirts myself using Rit Dye and rubber bands). I’ll pass on your kudos to Cindy, who, as you can see, is a wonderful photographer.
A pleasure. And yes please do relay my appreciation to Cindy. Great job. Have a great day. Thanks again Mike.
Love the sneakers, love the shirt, love the hat, love the portraits! Dragan Tapshanov, a Macedonian photographer, said : “Photography is about capturing souls, not smiles.” Cindy Dyer has managed to capture both in each and every one of the portraits! Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
Thanks, Ellen. Most of the clothes were mine, but Cindy bought me the hat and had previously passed on to me the colorful teal/turquoise shirt. I love the quotation that you used and definitely agree with your statement about Cindy capturing my soul as well as my soul. Most people have a full array of smiles, but many of them are fake or forced. Cindy managed to draw out and capture my authentic smile and present me in a way that captures the real “me.”
A wonderful photo shoot Mike and my compliments to the photographer !
Thanks, Rudi. It was a lot of fun and my friend Cindy is a wonderfully talented photographer. As we went through the shoot, I came to appreciate the skill that is necessary to pose and photograph a subject. It was so evident as she helped me figure out things like what to do with my hands.
I particularly love the playful shot with the sneakers, your smile is so warm and open and makes me smile. Happy Pride!
Thanks so much, Karen. I was feeling kind of childlike in my sense of enthusiasm during this photoshoot with a dear friend, who, as you can see, is a really talented photographer. The pose with the sneakers was a little unusual, because we wanted to highlight the colorful soles. Fortunately I am pretty flexible, so I was able to comfortably hold the pose and laugh on the inside as I looked up and smiled.
How fun, Mike, and another excellent set by Cindy! Your personality and the celebration come shining through!
Thanks, Ellen. “Fun” is the perfect description of our photoshoot. It was really enjoyable to get dressed up in some colorful outfits and to laugh together as we did little scenes that became increasingly silly. Silliness and laughter have been in short supply this past year and it felt good to let loose a little. That sense of liberation and Cindy’s skills combined to highlight my personality and enhance the sparkle in my eyes,
These portraits of you are fabulous. I absolutely love your shoes. Cindy has really captured the warmth of your smile and the sparkle of your eyes. Happy Pride!
Thanks, Laura. In my mind Cindy is a magician in her ability to capture the personality of her subjects. She and I are close friends, which helped me to feel relaxed and comfortable, but she was able to coach and direct me into poses that were photogenic and brought out the best in me. If left to my own devices, I would certainly have come across as awkward and uncomfortable. 🙂
This is a fabulous portrait! I love the soul shoes, or shoe soles…
Thanks, Nina. The sides of the shoes are equally colorful, but we decided to focus on the soles. I love wordplays with the word “soul” that happen fairly often, because I drive a KIA Soul that is Ignition Orange in color. I have a license plate frame with the word “SOUL” and a license plate that reads “BLESS MY.” 🙂
Not Just Another Pretty Face……………
Thanks, I think. Your comment made me smile, Leo.
^^ Ditto on all the above comments!
Thanks. I really appreciate your supportive comment and those of countless others. I usually restrict myself to more neutral topics for my blog posting, but during Pride Month I feel more empowered to open up more about this side of who I am. In an ideal world, sexual orientation would not be a big deal, but we are not there yet.