While several new projects are in the works, I've been going back thru some old shoots from 2 years ago and finding quite a lot I seemed to have missed the first time around. Case in point, the "shoot from hell", one of my first location figure sessions with the ever amazingly creative Lara. Initially it was just going to be a few straight forward figure shots incorporating the "wizard chair", but Lara quickly decided it was time to get down and dirty, literally. The temperature outside was 105 that day and inside with a metal roof, no insulation and no air circulation it was 120+. The sweat was really pouring. I guess all that cool concrete & brick dust was just all too inviting. The dirtier she got, the more interesting the shots. We kept at it for over 3 hours till we were both totally wrung out.

Then the next task was how to clean up. We tried the old garden hose with very little effect, kind of made her greasy and shinny but didn't remove much dirt. If we both hadn't been exhausted, the setting sun on all that mess would have made for some truly interesting images. Instead we elected for air conditioning, a hot shower, lots of soap and an old fashioned scrub brush. It took about 40 minutes for her to come clean but she said afterward it was a great exfoliation and her skin felt wonderful. Maybe I should open a concrete & brick dust spa.

I guess the point of my ramblings is that the perspective of time can reveal quite a lot which is over looked when you are overwhelmed by the task of sorting thru a shoot involving hundreds of images. I look at the files as if they had been shot by someone else, and begin to see so much that was not readily apparent to me at the time. Even shots that I worked with then can be reprocessed into something with an entirely different look and feel.

To all my models I wish to express my deepest heartfelt thanks. Your creativity, dedication and hard work are what makes these images possible. While I make a pretty good effort at capturing the moment, (sometimes better than others) and do a fair job of polishing up the finished product; it still all comes down to model's ability to project an idea, an emotion, a sense of line and form which is the heart and sole of the photograph.