I worked with my Leica teacher Andrew this morning, and I am making some real progress in figuring out the Lightroom masking system related to my idea about photo painting.

He tells me I am reading doing well, and I am starting to believe him. This is a first for me in many ways.

This photo of Maria’s decade-old Yes No dress is the symbol of our coming together. She made the dress and studded it with protruding nails; the message to much of the world and men in particular was loud and clear: stay away.

Maria and I became friends just about then, but I was still a man, and trust came hard for her.

At that time, she and her Frieda, her man-hating dog,  were united in their distrust of men. Maria thought I was easy to talk to and tolerated me.

My plan and determination were to get her from “no” to “yes” and to bring Frieda along. Trust me; it was not easy.

Nobody would get close to Maria without a fight, but my stubbornness and love eventually overcame her anger and mistrust. Frieda’s too. It took a couple of years. I wrote a book about it. It was called The Second Chance Dog: A Love Story.

That experience started me thinking about leaving books behind and focusing on my blog.

I thought the book might become another bestseller; the critics loved it, but my editor had just been fired, and my new one was not a fan. Random House was moving on to more exciting things than me. They stopped paying attention, the kiss of death.

As we all know, Maria and I got together and then got married. This was no straight line.

When we came to the second Bedlam Farm, Maria hung the Yes-No dress out in front of her studio, a testament to how far she has come and how determined I was.

It’s been sitting out there every day in all kinds of weather; it is a tough dress.

Maria’s getting to “yes” with me was a blessed turning point in my existence, and I never forget that when I look at it.

I see this dress as the flag flying over our relationship.

When I take my photo editing and masking class, I choose two or three photos for us to work on. One was the dress in the storm. Lots of symbolism there.

Today’s three were all Leica photos in black and white that I wanted to turn into photo paintings.

I was fixated on this photo, which I took in a raging snow storm; I wanted to bring that dress to life against the barren backdrop.

I worked on it for 45 minutes, and it was a breakthrough for me in terms of my using the masking tools and painting to detail while keeping the snow in the picture. It just says a lot.

We also worked on two others, the three black and white roses sitting on our dining room table and my favorite storm photo, Fate In A Storm.

This is Fate In A Storm Revisited. I highlighted her and also the snow in front of the barn.

Fate now stands out in the storm, a lonelier and braver figure. So does the snow.

It was a good day for me, learning-wise. This is heavy stuff for me, but I’m being patient and focused. I’m getting there.