tossin' and turnin'

You know those nights when you just can't sleep?

I'm one who usually tries to stay under the covers and will myself toward dream land, but last night I decided to creep quietly over to my shiny new iMac. This baby makes all of my pictures look so sparkly and sharp and saturated, and I am definitely in love with it.

So, by 4 AM I had revisited every digital capture I made in Uganda this past December. In my sleep deprived state, I rescued eight new pictures - ones that had hit the editing room floor only a few short months ago. The combination of the sexy new iMac and the fact that I was very sleepy led me to: "What was I thinking!!? These are brilliant!"

By 6 AM I had processed these eight newly knighted gems, and then I gave myself permission to collapse into bed. I felt so happy.

In the light of day, though, there was really only one picture that held up.

I had made another version of it before, but this one, for whatever reason, speaks to me now more than the first pick. I'm glad to save it from the dismal darkness of my external hard drive.

Back in the day when I shot film, I would look through my old negatives every now and then just to make sure there was nothing I'd missed. Time and time again, I discovered an image - just before or after the one I had originally chosen to print - that finally just made more sense to me. It goes to show that the results of one's editing process can and will change depending on state of mind, perspective and recent experience. And that it's worth taking a second, third or fourth look.