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Jennifer Zhou | all galleries >> Galleries >> The Mirror of My Soul > "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself", 2004
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12-DEC-2004

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself", 2004

Fear is a personal feeling that we usually hide deep down in our hearts. We don't usually share it with others because we don't want to appear vulnerable. But we can never entirely rid ourselves of fear. We tend to fear many things -- things we may not be ready to face, or things that are unknown, which is symbolized by the darkness gathered around me in this picture. Yet, is everything really as bad as we think it is? Maybe it is time to consider what Frankin D. Roosevelt once said "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." in this picture, I can choose between staying in the darkness, or not. It comes down to this simple choice.

Canon EOS 10D
1/13s f/5.0 at 15.0mm iso400 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Carter Creek17-Mar-2013 15:16
Outstanding. Simple and very powerful.
alibenn18-Jun-2006 11:39
Amazing how long it takes to find these little gems sometimes...I think this is great and truly represents fear..The motion blur to me implies the adrenalin surge and fuzziness associated with that initial panic. The more obvious metaphor of surrounding yourself with blackness also works well to convey the meaning.

A nice side to your work Jen..
david procter20-May-2006 06:19
This is so effective; consumed by darkness and all that lies there. I've been working on an experiemnt on fear and i was thinking of taking some similarly lit portraits. can you help me?
Guest 03-Jan-2006 09:59
Great SP!
Tía21-Nov-2005 11:50
This look has feared me to remember the fear whenever I see someones "2 eyes" again.
Guest 24-Oct-2005 11:16
Wonderful shot again! wow. One of the best Self Portrait I've seen!
Guest 27-Sep-2005 00:44
wow. very powerful. i love this. great job. and i like what you wrote below the image as well. vote!
Donald Verger15-Aug-2005 04:59
hi jennifer! wonderful image and words... i had the gift of spending this weekend at a maine recovery roundup... for the last 2 years, it has been a journey from darkness to light for me... now a journey each day of waking toward the spirit of the light... at my fist meeting, i heard a women say... today she had a Choice! i did not feel that way... and was struck by her words and hope... and i came back the next day! and again today...
at the conference i heard the last speaker yesterday end by saying... today he had a choice! and choose to walk toward the spirit of the light! thank you for your wonderful imgae and sharing! don in maine :) vote
Blake Shaw11-Jul-2005 06:00
You are a photographer of limitless talent and imagination, Jennifer! (I don't give out compliments easily...) I can't believe you've only been shooting a couple of years. this is a remarkable shot.
Charlie An 29-Jun-2005 21:33
You have beautiful eyes... Forgiven me for being kinda shallow minded... :D
Guest 18-Jun-2005 02:40
Very strong and fascinating Jennifer, well done, congrats!
Guest 09-Jun-2005 07:36
yeah dude!!!!
i like this one! i remember i tried to do something like that before though i ended up with something different...
http://www.pbase.com/oscar/image/3258182
CharlieFox30-May-2005 00:53
Excellent piece of work
Josy's Pics22-May-2005 03:19
Great shot!, thanks for sharing!!!
Josy
Ana Carloto O'Shea20-May-2005 23:34
A very beautiful and extremely powerful image!! You've managed to express the feeling so well that this one could have no title or description and still we would know that it was all about fear! How perfect can that be???
A dazzling work! Congratulations.
Donutrun17-May-2005 09:02
Beautifully done. It's a remarkable image that captures the viewers eye and forces them to think. Bravo.
Guest 01-May-2005 23:17
A very good psicological image) The cloustrofobic black sorrounding, with the brillant eye and it's blur by moovement makes quite a bit of a... as Phil wold say 'Strong human value' It makes me think in some asiatic moovies that I have seen. I think that this particular focus of fear is more common in Asia filming then in western... very psicological... Also acompanied by a well thought caption. You are right, though we are concient of fear in very punctual moments, fear is in our subconcence always and it is directly tied up to our basic need of survival but from there on fear also keeps us of doing many cotidiane things too, like changing our job, living place, family matters and a large etc. All for fear of something going wrong and directly or indirectly afecting our survival concept. Not for nothing, we live in 'protective' enviorments, mainly, A house is one of those, or living in society is an other one, all of it too feel that our survival is not that much at stake, that is what all a organized society is about, try not to make us feel fear, but the cost of it is high, it demands us to act in certain ways that is faar away of are pure nature, and why? for fear, fear of beeng left out of these societies, beeng 'out casted' and die little by little. But isn't it true that modern life produces stress?, The rushes? Ore even makes us feel alone in large cities were the people walk by you without even noticing you? We have gone wrong I believe in many things trying to protect our fear and survival but is it realy worthed the price? Fear is a part of us and untill we don't accept that fear will keep on stoping us too.
Leo 21-Apr-2005 08:53
Sorry, I forgot to put down my name. The comment left below is from me.
Guest 21-Apr-2005 08:51
When I see this picture again, several days since last comment I've left below, I feel this is the best picture that describes you, not your physical shape, but your mental stage, your personality, the true "you" in your heart.
Tim May16-Apr-2005 17:24
How appropriate that it is your eye that is in the light - it is your "eye" that creates such outstanding images, it is your "eye" that sees with such depth and understanding - it is your eye that is your path out of the fear. This is a wonderful self portrait of you as I have come to know you through your images and it is a wonderful metaphor for a photographers self portrait.
Leo 15-Apr-2005 02:22
Good picture, and thoughtful description.
A Reid14-Apr-2005 05:04
That is a great, great shot. Very nice, Jennifer.
Phil Douglis13-Apr-2005 17:46
**** A simple, stark and striking self portrait. It is, in essence, a mirror of your soul at particular moment in time. The blackness does represent the fear of unknown threats. I see your eye as questioning what lies ahead. The slight blur in the face also gives a sense of movement, almost as if you flinching from a perceived threat. The centered placement surrounds you with implied fear here -- there seems to be no escape from it. It is highly abstracted by shadow, making the fragment of you that is visible more incongruous. The human value -- fear -- is powerfully expressed.
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