Three Models at Shenstone

The real focus of this weekend at Shenstone was the chance to work with three models - Ingrid, Miranda and Jesse on this day, and Tanya (as opposed to Jesse) on the next. The weather smiled on the weekend, and after a break for lunch, the three models and myself headed back to the small river that flows at the back of Shenstone, to begin the afternoon's session.

Digital infrared original

One of the joys of working with infrared photography is the magic of how it works with fabric - in this image, Jesse is wearing little black shoes, but in infrared, they became almost as luminous as her skin tone.

Digital infrared original, 3 frame stitch

Most of the session was spent with the three models posing together, working their lines into the flow of the river. Truth be told, there wasn't enough water for the women to really become immersed in, but the interplay between their bodies, with curve meeting line meeting shadow, was just wonderful to photograph.

Digital infrared original

After an afternoon of modeling in a stream, Jesse was air-drying, sunning her self in a towel by the river. The sunlight was falling directly upon her, but by photographing into the shade, I turned what otherwise would have been a serious problem (the contrast of the sun) into an advantage, providing rim lighting, and separating Jessie from the darker surroundings behind her.

It is hard to describe the privilege of working with such comfortable, keen and confident models, and spend an afternoon celebrating beauty in such a fabulous setting.

Morning Light with Miranda and Ingrid

After a relaxing breakfast with Ingrid, Miranda and Jesse (who had driven down from Moncton for the day), we headed out into the fields that surround the house at Shenstone. The morning light was horribly harsh, and my first inclination was to head to shade, but on a whim, I decided to check how the contrast looked with the infrared camera...and it was surprisingly low, so after asking the women to move into the field, we began making a series of portraits.

Digital original infrared

I don’t think I have a better portrait of these two fabulous women, though I have worked with Ingrid and Miranda for more than sixteen years, combined. The key of course is how well the two know each other; their pre-existing comfort and rapport is totally evident in the image

Digital original, 9 frame stitch

Just as I finished the portraits in the grass, some clouds began to roll in, providing some relief from the hard sunlight. The three models and I moved over to an old farming cart, and over fifteen minutes, we moved through a whole variety of poses, each of which could be combined with the others, through the stitching process. The above photograph combined the best poses of each model.

Digital infrared original, 3 frame stitch

As we worked with the cart, the light kept changing back and forth between sun and shade; each time the sun came out (when it looked to be out for some time) I switched to the infrared camera, and continued to photograph. My favorite of theses images is the above photo of Miranda arched out on the old cart.

This image was featured in the 2014 exhibition Evolving Beauty Miranda.

An Early Morning Tradition

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It seems that no matter how optimistic I am about working with models early in the morning at Shenstone, it is always either wet, or too early for the models. This time around it was the latter, but as the morning light was so lovely, I was up and out photographing while the two women slept in.

Digital original

I got lost in the garden for an hour or so, working between details and extreme close-ups of the flowers...then the breakfast bell rang, and I packed up the gear and headed to the house for breakfast.

Christine Models in a River

This was a near perfect day for photographs; lovely and warm, with high cloud and bright, but not harsh, light. Christine and I headed for my favorite river, to see what images could be made

Digital original, 13 frame stitch

The sweep of dark water around Christine helps focus this image upon the flow of her body - the line where it enters the water, coupled with the reflection below her breast are the only hints that the water is present around her.

Digital infrared original, 4 frame stitch

I frequently work between colour and infrared cameras, especially when working with water. There is a real beauty to how infrared records skin, and when that is combined with the deep blacks that it provides when working with water, the results can be really striking.

Digital infrared original, 18 frame stitch

Like the most perfect dream of a summer’s afternoon. This image was made after Christine had dried off, and we were making some Nudes in the woodland around the river. I caught a glimpse of the overhanging trees above a bed of moss, and instantly asked Christine if she'd try to find a pose that worked in the space; moments later, I started making this image.

I remember clearly asking in Art College why we always made square or rectangular images…my instructor said “because you never think to make circular ones”.

Another First Session!

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The summer of 2007 has been slower than anticipated, in regards to creating new images, between the weather, work and scarcity of models. This being said, three days before this session I received a phone call from a woman who’d come across my work online (and happened to have gone to school with me, though we didn't know each other then), and wished to model. Less than 72 hours later, we headed to the coast for a four hour session, and got some great results!

Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch

 I couldn't have asked for a better day for this session; we arrived at the coast late in the afternoon, and the sky was a sweeping drama of wispy clouds and deep blue - the perfect sky for infrared photography. Mia was more than willing to work in the water-pools near the ocean, and helped me make a really striking photograph.

This image was included in the 2008 exhibition Memory of Water. A short video of the post-production of this image is online here

Digital original, 4 frame exposure blend, two frame stitch

The end of the session demonstrated why I love working in this setting so much - it is one of the few beaches on this side of Nova Scotia which permits a sunset to be photographed over water. A long shutter speed was used to soften the water, while a multi-frame stitch was used to balance the massive rock Mia was posing on against the water and sky behind her.

A First Session for a New Model

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Every first session with a model is full of potential; there is no way to predict how they'll respond to the process, what they'll bring to it, and how they will reflect it back to me. For this session, the model specifically asked to work at a beach, so with a beautiful warm day, we headed out to Martinique beach, where I have has great success in the past.

Digital infrared original

Many people think beaches are great places to work in with the Nude, but they’re actually pretty hard to photograph on, being mostly flat and featureless - in this case, I walked back into the dunes, where the grass gave some complexity to the image. The hard, direct mid day sun wasn't easy to work with either.

Digital infrared original

In the end, through the combination of a constant stream of beach walkers, and a time limit on the model's part, the session came to a close; much of our time had been spent working in rolling plains of sand on the land-ward side of dunes, but for a relatively short session, we made some really pleasing photographs.

Tanya in the Studio

Tanya is one of the most enthusiastic models I have had the chance to work with; she has a fabulous comfort in front of the camera, and more than enough patience to permit me to get just what I am looking for in an image! The greatest frustration of course is that she lived in Moncton, and I am in Halifax, a 2.5 hour drive away.

Digital orignal

Fortunately, I am in Moncton frequently for teaching, so we can often meet up to work together. For this session, neither of us was free until well after sundown, so I brought my studio lighting and Tanya modelled for her first studio session.

Digital infrared original, 5 frame stitch

Like her first time modelling three months earlier, the entire session focused on portraits; Tanya's comfort and confidence before the camera really shows in these images. The space we worked in (her apartment) was a little challenging when it came to controlling the lighting (walls and ceilings reflect a surprising amount of light), but we did the best we could given the issues.

Digital original

By far the most successful lighting set-up was when I switched to working with the white sheets, and just flooded the room with light from my three strobes. The even illumination kept the focus on Tanya's connection with the camera, and created fewer issues with pose and framing. While not quite the same as when I work with natural light (when all the light is typically coming from behind the model), this has some of the same luminance that that work is so dependant upon.

A Summer Field Trip

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An interesting side effect of doing so many course related field trips is that I spend a lot of time photographing in the same places time and time again...which makes everything that is old new again! This emergency phone, by the side of the path, looked particularly night against the soft out of focus green background.

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Long exposures have always fascinated me, so any time I see something that moves, I find myself asking...would that look better stopped, or blurred. In the case of the Atlantic ocean breaking over the rocks at Point Pleasant, blurred was definitely the answer.

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Of course, the newest fascination (some years old now, but still new) is with macro, so I couldn't let the filed trip go by without making some new macro photographs. I really enjoyed the colour contrast of these small flowers.

Ingrid in the Fog

As frequent as fog is in Nova Scotia, I have seldom had the chance to work with it, and models. Too often fog is accompanied by a chill in the air which is decidedly unpleasant to be Nude in. In this case however, the fog was unusually warm, and Ingrid and I spent a good hour working along the coast, exploring the possibilities of a landscape that seems to go on forever.

Digital infrared original, 6 frame stitch

Many of the photographs we made together were of wide vistas, with the landscape disappearing into the fog. The above image, with an interesting casual feel to Ingrid's pose, is particularly pleasing.

Digital original

One unexpected element the fog leant to the session was how soft and delicate the colours of the rocks became - they almost perfectly matched Ingrid's skin tone.

Digital original

I am quite used to using skies in my compositions, but was frequently at a loss as to how to deal with the flat even white of the foggy surroundings. In the end, I just stopped trying to make the sky worked, and paid more attention to the foreground, and Ingrid's place in it.

More Flowers

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After a long meeting down town, while waiting for a lift home, I made some macro photos of a garden next to ViewPoint Gallery; I was drawn to the little and of the above plant, and used a macro lens with a pair of extension tubes (32mm in length) to get as close as I could, while still having an interesting composition.

Digital original

The other thing that caught my eye was a white flower, still wet with morning dew; I tried hard to fill the frame with white, but was only partially successful, with a little green showing on the top right.