Monique & Miles at Dawson Brook

The most unexpected session yet this summer was today's work with Monique. After working with me numerous times indoors and out last spring, Monique had moved to Upper Canada , so I didn't expect to have the chance to work with her again. As luck would have it however, she was visiting
Halifax on the same weekend as I was, and we managed to set up a time for working together.

Digital infrared original, 3 frame stitch

The day was a cool and overcast, so we opted to head inland to work, hoping for warm enough water at Dawson's Brook to facilitate working there (I seem to have something of a curse, when it comes to Dawson's Brook and sunlight – almost every session I have spent there was bright and sunny – the hardest lighting conditions under which to photograph).

As it turned out, Dawson 's Brook was a perfect choice, with the water bearable (calling it warm would be an overstatement, and make light of Monique and ultimately Miles' dedication and perseverance) and the light soft and even, filtering through the canopy of trees overhead. We started the session with Monique posing along side the waterfall, keeping her out of the water for the most part. I set up my camera with a six stop (64x) neutral density filter to ensure the exposures were long enough to blur the water, and with most of the images, made multiple exposure stitches to gain both more resolution to the final images, and a wider angle of view to the images (the space we were working in was somewhat cramped and hard to work in, even with a 12mm wide angle lens (this has the same angle of view as an 18mm lens on a 35mm camera).

Digital infrared original

After we finished working on the waterfall, Monique moved down into the shallow basin at the bottom of the falls, and after some cajoling, Miles dove into the water as well, spending perhaps ten minutes posing with Monique. Some of the images we made were carefully posed, while others, like the one here, were more spontaneous, playing on the simple interaction between the models, as opposed to my direction from the shoreline.

Digital infrared original, 6 frame stitch

For the remainder of the session, we worked out way downstream, photographing Monique against the backdrop of the river, and ultimately on a ten metre cliff overlooking a river-bend. For such an unexpected session, it was a great pleasure to be able to work with Monique again, especially with such a striking location, and perfect light.

Miranda in Her New Apartment

This session had an interesting challenge – how much can be accomplished with a single model, a small space, and a limited angle of view? Miranda had recently moved into a new apartment, and much of the space was piled high with boxes – about the only free area was a futon below a large
double window – a perfect space to work in. The set up was not dissimilar to the space I used to work with in my old home in Halifax, with one major change – here my ability to move around the room, or fame a composition from a different angle was severely hampered by all the moving boxes still filling the room.

Digital infrared original, 2 frame exposure blend

On one level these limitations hampered the session, but by the same degree, they helped focus the work on what could be accomplished with the possibilities at hand. With such a small, confined space, an extreme wide angle was the natural lens to use, and combined with the soft, directional lighting coming through the windows, I was able to make a number of very pleasing compositions, initially keeping everything square and level to the camera, with a very traditional feel, and eventually exploring more dramatic off-level compositions with sweeping perspectives and dramatic lines.

Digital infrared original, 2 frame exposure blend

The end of the session focused on a series of portraits, some single frame images, like the one displayed here with a slight tilt to the composition, and others made as multi-frame stitches, increasing the final photograph's resolution to enable larger prints to be made.

Digital infrared original

Start to finish, this session was well under an hour, but within that time, I felt strongly that I made the most of the resources at hand – Miranda's long involvement in my work help produce numerous strong poses, the lighting was everything I look for in an indoor session, and the limited space to work in, while initially frustrating, served to provoke me into pushing what compositions I could make into being as strong as possible.

Ingrid in a River

Ingrid and I haven't worked alone together since August 2003 (often when I work work with Ingrid, another photographer or other models are around). This is not to say that work made when others are about is less focused or successful, but it is very different to have the undivided attention and focus of a model as opposed to directing multiple models, or working beside a second photographer.

8"x10" film

For this session, Ingrid and I had the afternoon to ourselves, and set out to Pennant River, where I'd worked with Miranda the week before. Where that session had been short, and saw Miranda and I worked on the rocks and shoreline, this session was specifically focused on working in the water. Ingrid has a particular love for water and this comes through both in her endurance, working for hours on end in the cool rushing water, and her dedication, often holding poses for five minutes or more, as I work through the process of making the images.

Fortune shone upon us through this session, as the light, bright and sunny in Halifax, was diffused by low clouds (not quite fog, but close enough), given the entire river a soft even illumination that I have come to love so much.

Digital infrared original, 9 frame stitch

The session flowed in opposition to the river - we began working on a low shelf of rock perhaps fifteen minutes from the road, and over the four hours of the session, we worked our way upstream, finding settings and poses as we went. For the most part, I used my infrared converted digital SLR to make the images, but occasionally, I brought out the 8"x10" view camera to record an image that was particularly striking. It was quite a bit easier to maneuver around on the rocks and water with the smaller DSLR, and while there is definitely an image quality difference, that is often diluted through camera techniques, such as using multiple image stitching to increase the pixel count in the final digital image (a number of the stitches were made with 4 second exposures for each frame...but in a 12 frame stitch, does that mean the image exposure time was 48 seconds, not 4?).

Digital infrared original, 6 frame stitch

The end of the session found Ingrid and I at the first bend in the river, where it broadened out to a shallow basin. It was at this point that I had worked with Miranda the week before, amongst the trees and rocks on the riverside. Ingrid was equally intrigued by the trees, and we spent the last half-hour of the session exploring them, with Ingrid's tree-spirit side supplanting her water-nymph self.

Ou Lady of Sorrows

Digital infrared original

Graveyards were one of the first spaces I photographed in when I received a camera in 1987. There is something quite haunting about their serenity, even in the middle of a busy city. On this particular morning, I had a couple of hours to myself, before I picked up Ingrid for the afternoon session we had planned, so I decided to spend it exploring the nearest graveyard. One reason for choosing this particular space was that another photographer I knew had worked in the same location with infrared film, and I was quite interested to see how the tonality of the digital infrared camera would compare to that of conventional infrared film.

Digital infrared original, 5 frame stitch

Initially I was frustrated by the morning's light - low cloud was blanketing the city, providing a featureless white sky above the graveyard. I had hoped to do some images with dramatic dark skies and fluffy white clouds, but it was not to be. As I worked however, I became more and more interested in the contrast between the pale foliage and the white, featureless shy, and started working deliberately with that contrast in the images.

Digital infrared original

Overall, I am very pleased with the results from this session. Truth be told, I hadn't considered the infrared camera for anything other than my figure work when I'd arranged for its conversion, but having seen these images, I can definitely see how other infrared subjects will present themselves over time (though I am not too certain that a graveyard theme will ever fully realize itself).

A Studeio Experiment

The main reason for my visit to East Pubnico was to help a couple of local photographers with their studio photography. While both photographers have been using studio lighting for some time, neither had received any formal guidance in its use and were looking for a more formal groundwork.

Digital infrared original

As a side affect, however, this also permitted me the opportunity to work with my newly converted infrared sensitive Nikon D70. While I have been increasingly pleased with the camera's performance outdoors, I haven't had the chance to try it with studio flash. Fortunately Jane, whose studio we were were using, had arrange for a portrait model for the day and I had the opportunity to spend some time photographing her.

Digital infrared original

After I made and reviewed the first image, I knew the DSLR was going to give me exactly what I was looking for. Even without conversion to black and white, I could tell off the small camera screen that the images were looking exactly like they should. One of the most interesting elements of working with the infrared camera in the studio was that the image on the LCD screen was almost totally monochrome (after I set up a custom white balance), with the exception of the model's hair, which was a delicate light blue.

Digital infrared original

I only worked with the model for short while, putting the modified camera through its paces and making a couple of experiments. As Dianne was modeling in a wedding dress, I even took the opportunity to make my take on a "wedding" image - cropping the image to the models hands on the dress.

Jane Poses on Pubnico Harbour Island

Digital infrared original

Besides their own interest and enthusiasm, one of the most valuable elements a model can bring to a session is local knowledge; in this case, Jane took me out onto several of the numerous islands in Pubnico Harbour, first working with a number rocks on one island and then working with the grass and trees on a second.

Digital infrared original

Because of the day's heat, and our limited time (not to mention traveling by boat), I decided to work with my digital camera exclusively. I had hoped to work with the 8"x10", but I feared the day would just be too hot (in the end, the weather was beautiful on the water, so I should have taken the camera along, but hind-sight is 20/20).

Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch

Once we finished working with the rocks and shoreline on the first island, we traveled by boat to a second - more a flat sea of grass than an island proper. Here, it was a little easier to work with the harsh light, as the landscape was a little more open, and I could better choose the angle from which to photograph. A couple of times during the session, Jane had to duck down into the grass as locals went by in their motorboats, but for the most part, we worked undisturbed, free to explore the possibilities the island offered.

A Second Session with Jane

Though I produced a Nova Scotia Portfolio with Cassandra in 2001, this is the first time I'd worked this far south of Halifax (ironically, it is almost as far away from Moncton as you can go to the southeast, without driving into the Atlantic Ocean). In stark contrast to Jane's first session, this afternoon was sunny and warm without the stifling head of the previous day which had peaked at 35 degrees Celsius.

Digital infrared original

Besides their own interest and enthusiasm, one of the most valuable elements a model can bring to a session is local knowledge; in this case, Jane took me out onto several of the numerous islands in Pubnico Harbour, first working with a number rocks on one island and then working with the grass and trees on a second.

Because of the day's heat, and our limited time (not to mention traveling by boat), I decided to work with my digital camera exclusively. I had hoped to work with the 8"x10", but I feared the day would just be too hot (in the end, the weather was beautiful on the water, so I should have taken the camera along, but hind-sight is 20/20).

Digital infrared original

With the first space, the impetus for the choice of the space was a large and distinct looking rock perched on a point – I could envision Jane's body interplaying with the lines of the rock, so we quickly moved ashore and began to work. I had thought the direct sunlight would cause a problem for the infrared digital camera, but it turned out to have no problem dealing with the extreme contrast, though careful exposure is very important I always do some bracketing with the infrared digital camera, to insure I get a good exposure.

Once we finished working with the rocks and shoreline on the first island, we traveled by boat to a second - more a flat sea of grass than an island proper. Here, it was a little easier to work with the harsh light, as the landscape was a little more open, and I could better choose the angle from which to photograph. A couple of times during the session, Jane had to duck down into the grass as locals went by in their motorboats, but for the most part, we worked undisturbed, free to explore the possibilities the island offered.

Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch

It has been well over six years since I last had the advantage of using a boat to get to an island location and I had totally forgotten the sense of freedom it injects into a session. When working on the mainland, even in spaces well removed from the general populous, there is always a weather eye kept out, looking for the unexpected interloper (this is out of concern for their own comfort with the process, not because I feel that there is anything wrong with working with a figure model in the middle of the wilderness). But working on the island, with the only chance of unexpected guests being those who came by boat as well, there was a simple relaxation injected into the session that is quite subtle, but definitely welcome.

A Second Session in South-West Pubnico

After a couple of hours of working on the islands, Jane and I returned to the mainland, only to discover we still had another hour or more of good light available to us. Jane suggested a quick drive to the other side of the bay; less than fifteen minutes later, we were walking through a very different afternoon: here the sky was shrouded in fog and what had been harsh, direct light on the islands had metatmorphed into soft, diffused light. With considerable enthusiasm because of this improvement, we walked down the beach until we found a good place to start photographing.

Digital infrared original, 18 frame stitch

We were fortunate to arrive at low tide, when the water-worn rocks were fully exposed, permitting Jane to work her way into the curves and flow of the stone. In stark contrast to the rocks in east Pubnico, which were granite, the stone here was smoother and darker, giving Jane a more comfortable setting in which to work, and setting off her pale skin.

As the light was so consistent, and the setting so striking, I made almost all the images here as multi-image stitches - this both increased the resolution of the final images, as well as permitting me to choose my perspective and composition independent of the lenses I had with me and the shape of the DLSR image (2:3 proportion, like conventional 35mm cameras). This does slow the photographic process down quite a bit but I've found models are more than willing to accommodate the slower workflow in exchange for the results, which can be quite stunning, both in terms of the image quality and the occasionally exaggerated angle of view.

Digital infrared original, 5 frame stitch

Beside the dark smooth rocks, the second visual element which worked well in Southwest Pubnico was the rockweed. Normally dark brown, on the infrared digital camera the seaweed turned luminous white, providing welcome tonal contrasts in the images of Jane in the rocks. In conventional black and white, the rockweed would have simply faded into the tones of the rocks, but in infrared, its pale textured highlight provided some contrast to the smooth, pale tones of Jane's body.

Digital infrared original, 4 frame stitch

Sadly, due to time restrictions, we had to call the work in the fog to a close well before I had exhausted all the possibilities. If it hadn't been such a long drive from Halifax to Pubnico, I could have spent all day in either the island or shoreline locations in which we worked in a single afternoon. All I can do is hope for another chance to work with this varied and wonder fill landscape in the future, perhaps during a longer visit.

Infrared Skies

Digital infrared original

Usually my drives from Moncton to Halifax are functional - with fairly rigid time tables due to teaching or photographing upon my arrival. This visit, however, involved a drive at the end of the day, and meeting up with friend, so there was less pressure for a swift trip. What this really provided for was the opportunity to drive with an eye open for photographs, and to stop if necessary.

Digital infrared original

One of the greatest differences between Halifax, where I lived for more than thirty years, and Moncton, where I moved two years ago, is the skies - in Moncton, because of the flat surrounding landscape, they tend to vast and broad with layers of clouds. On this particular evening, the sky was
full of dramatic clouds, towering over head and letting the sun burst through in regular intervals as it moved towards the horizon. As I was driving east, this spectacle was ever in my rear-view mirror,
and four times over the drive to Halifax, I pulled the care off the highway and made images of the magnificent sky behind me.

Digital infrared original

Even though I only worked with the infrared converted Nikon D70, the results conveyed the full impact of the clouds and setting sun. "Godsky" is how I have come to think of the rays of light bursting through cloud cover, and Godsky it was, almost continually until the sun moved below the horizon.

The Year's First Session with Miranda

Miranda and I have not managed to work as much this year, partially due to the fact that she now has a full-time job, and partially due to the plans we have made for a New Brunswick Portfolio, to be produced in July. Fortunately, on this particular afternoon, Miranda was available, so we headed out to a new location, a river near Pennant Point.

Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch

I had seen photos of the river before, but wasn't prepared for how wonderful it would be to work on with a model - there were plenty of conveniently placed rocks in the river, and while the water flow was significant, it was nothing dangerous to walk through. All this, sadly, was offset by how bright and sunny the day was - using neutral density filters I was able to get exposures down to 1/4 of a second, which isn't nearly long enough to get the fluid water blur I am so attracted to in water Nudes.

Digital infrared original

Working from the rocks around where I'd posed Miranda, I made a number of different compositions and attempted a number of multi-frame stitches, to increase the final image resolution. I say attempted, because while the day was generally bright and sunny, there was low, fast moving clouds that occasionally offered tantalizingly beautiful light for fleeting instants. Numerous times, I started a stitch, only to have the light shift half-way through, effectively disrupting the process. About the only positive outcome of this is that it led to the creation of a number of interesting incidental compositions, originally intended to be part of the stitch, but viable images all on their own merit.

The end of the session saw Miranda and I moving to the edge of the river and working with the trees that bordered it. Several had grown at very strange angles, flowing out and over the rocks and providing a perfect space for a model to perch.

Digital infrared original

While I did make some 8"x10" negatives during the session, all the water-orientated images were made with the infrared Nikon D70, taking advantage of the smaller camera's inherent speed and ease of handling. Even in the harsh sunlight, the infrared camera did a wonderful job rendering what caught my eye and converting it into a striking photograph.