I swear I’m just getting amazinger and amazinger at photography—especially artistic portraiture

To wit: the exquisite composition and compelling narrative of this group selfie that I took just this morning after our run:

I call it The Beatitude of St. Rob, and it truly rivals the Renaissance masters in the way it frames Rob—representing the Cedar Rapidian god Guy With The Newest Running Shoes—between the verdant fecundity of the trees as he’s flanked by his noble warrior Me and his also-noble-but-in-the-background-so-as-not-to-pull-focus-from-me warrior Scott as we depict the noble warrior mementos mori of Oh My God I’m Dying Because It’s So Muggy and Oh My God I’m Dying Because I’m So Sweaty. The rooftop in the background is, of course, a metaphor for the ethereal certitude that there’s a house behind us and it has a roof, while the three figures in the foreground are mathematically equivalent to the three miles we just finished running. Renaissance masters dig representational stuff like that.

Please do not reproduce and sell this image, as its copyrighted and I’ll make snide comments about your wardrobe choices on Facebook if you do. And watch for the next in my series of Renaissance Masters Artistic Portraiture By Jake(R) on Wednesday, where we’re going to force Scott to be in the foreground for once.