ISO 100 | 105mm | f 4.0 | 1/100 sec

It was a good twenty-minute walk through the woods to get to her house.  She made the trek often enough, sometimes four or five times a week, yet her familiarity with the trail did not fully alleviate her uncertainties.  Fear had never held a place in her mind, but she was always extremely cautious to stay on the path and remain alert at all times.  Lantern in hand, she would make her way towards home and the warmth of the fire, stopping only at times to hold out her light and probe the surrounding gloom, hoping inwardly to find nothing but empty darkness. 

Maybe it was just paranoia, or possibly the imagination of a young girl trying to conjure up fantasies.  But deep down she knew that her concerns were not unfounded.  Once someone was engulfed in the surrounding blackness, there was no telling when they might find the light again.  For years one could wander aimlessly, unable to find his way out again, trapped for eternity by the surrounding gloom.  The possession of such a thought caused her to grip her lantern even tighter.  “Such a dreadful fate to be lost forever in this darkness,” she mused as she hurried on her way…

Week 50!  Only two more weeks to go!

I intentionally wanted to emphasize the darkness in this image.  To do this I intentionally underexposed the image to try and clump the darks together while still maintaining detail in my lighter areas.  I was very glad for the clouds today as they gave a very even lighting and didn’t bring out any highlights in the trees/foliage (it actually kind of gave the impression of faint moonlight which was very appropriate for this image).

In post I deepened the blacks and brought out the highlights a bit more (to emphasize her face and the light from the lantern).  I also added a little blurring effect to bring more emphasis to the face and lantern and give the whole image a slight dream-like feel.

So here it is, hope you enjoy it.  Only a couple more images left to do for this project.  Then I have to start worrying about what my next 52 week project will be…