This is one of those pictures I just can’t leave alone.  I’ve been working on this one for months and am determined to get it to a point where I am satisfied.  Not quite there yet, but closer.

I took this at the North Carolina State Fair, a major event in the state. This woman was playing skeeball, I think it was, $.50 a game, with her Marlboros, a big coke, and looking about 100 years old, although she is probably closer to 60.  Her life seemed writ large in the wrinkles on her face, the resignation, the tiredness. Hoping to spend enough at skeeball to win some small prize, or maybe just play so that she could be sitting down.

The problem with the photo is that half her face is in bright sun, the other half in deep shadow.  I have tried many, many edits to try and balance things out, but finally tried PaintFX, which allows me to dodge and burn on the iPhone by dragging my finger over the areas to make brighter or darker.  There are many adjustments you can make to the size, shape, and intensity of the light you are adding or subtracting, and it takes quite a bit of practice to get it right.

The picture is getting there, but I don’t kid myself that I’m done with it.