That’s where I’m at, mile 23. At mile 23 of a marathon, one would think that having only 3.2 more miles left means that you’re almost there. But to those that have been there before, those last 3 miles are a looooong way from the finish line. You are actually mentally, emotionally, and physically FAR from it. Not to mention that while you’re brain is trying to convince your tired, aching body to speed up so you can get there quicker, your body seems to be moving in slooooow motion. Literally, you feel as if someone is pressing the single frame advance button on your run…while in your head, you’re wondering what the hold up is! It almost feels as if your legs are as heavy as concrete and each step requires every ounce of energy you’ve got.
So goes my summer…it’s hard to believe that it is already August! For me, it feels as if summer just began. And at the same time, each day has been long and busy and FULL. In my head I’m hoping to just blow through my uncompleted task list with a ferocity like there’s no tomorrow. Yet in reality, I’m lucky to get one project completed each week. But I’ve decided I’m not going to beat myself up over it…summer days are dwindling, the kids will soon be back to school, schedules and deadlines will soon reappear. There’s only a couple weeks of summer left. I’m going to make them count.
On my list of to-do’s is to edit images from my lighting workshop last month in Utah. Nichole Van is an amazingly talented, award-winning photographer in Utah with a knack for explaining the technical in understandable terms. She and her husband were incredibly sweet, generous, and welcoming hosts to us and I cannot say enough great things about her. She is my hero. Seriously, I just love her to pieces!
I hope to share more about the workshop later but for now, just one quick image…In digital photography it is extremely difficult to get proper exposure when shooting extreme conditions. For example, shooting in mid-day sun. You must expose bright enough to get detail in your shadows and yet at the same time be cautious not to blow out your highlights. In the first shot, the model is standing in the shade with the gorgeous mountains and sunny blue sky behind her in the background. If you properly expose your subject, the background setting will be too bright, causing a blanket of white light to appear behind her. If you properly expose the background and not the subject, she will appear dark and in the shadows (see image below).
There are two options…you can 1) combine two different exposures of the same image and then combine them into one image in Photoshop. Or 2) you can add off-camera flash to the mix to properly light your subject. The following image was taken with Nichole’s lighting setup using an AB800 (a powerful off-camera flash that I typically use in my studio images) and a parabolic umbrella (if my memory serves me correctly). It was amazing to watch her work, turning an impossible lighting scenario into pure magic! I was giddy with excitement when she let each of us have a turn at shooting this scene:
Who couldn’t love gorgeous models in a killer setting like this?? That’s it, I’m packing it up and we’re moving to UT! 
[Hahaha, honey (if you're reading this), I'm just kidding! One can dream though, can't I?]
