Okay, I admit it -- the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.  Like I said earlier, the concept was good, the model was terrific, but the execution fell short, and I think that's a sign of me getting tired.  There are tons of stuff going on during a sitting -- all at the same time, I'm talking with the model, keeping her engaged, I'm planning concepts, I'm giving the model direction & feedback, I'm adjusting composition, I'm calculating exposure, I'm fine tuning the lighting, and so forth.  It is an intense experience for me, and this is the first time in decades where a sitting stretched more than three hours -- by now, I'm well into my fourth hour, or perhaps we might even be in the fifth hour.  And I think my concentration is slipping & I'm beginning to loose track of details.  I like that picture above, the last one on this page, but the curly willow doesn't contribute as much as I wanted it to.

Of course, at the time, I was unaware of all this.  With the clarity of hindsight, I now realize that if I'm distracted or tired, I start losing track of details -- the lighting isn't optimal, or the exposure isn't correct, or the concept isn't sufficiently original / unique, or ... -- something goes awry, and I'm often not aware of it at the time.  The success of the photograph is determined at the moment of exposure; it is rare that I can recover from mistakes after the thought.  Now that I am aware of this, I hope that if things aren't going well during a sitting, I'll take the time to pause & fix it rather than pushing through & hoping for the best later on.  Sure, happy accidents occur, but I shouldn't rely on them.

This sitting continues on the Skirt & Movement.

(Remember -- feedback is always appreciated)