Tanya by Natural Light (Moncton, New Brunswick)

Digital infrared original

One of the best things about visiting Moncton is the opportunity to work with Tanya. For this visit, early in the New Year, working outdoors wasn't an option, so I met with Tanya at her apartment, and we spent several hours working together with the afternoon light. The portrait above, created early in the session, was made by the window in Tanya's bedroom - lit as much by the light reflecting off the New Year's snow as the overcast sky above.

Digital infrared original, 2 frame stitch

Though we began working in the bedroom, the light wasn't great, so we quickly moved to the living room, which had a double deck doors - perfect for lighting the Nude, especially when covered with sheer curtains. The large glass doors provided the perfect diffused light, and was just fabulous to work with. The background proved to be a challenge, but working with large apertures, and keeping Tanya's pose against a distant corner without furniture minimized any distractions.

Digital original

The last set of images I made were a series of portraits, experimenting with a freestanding reflector; I normally don't use a lot of reflectors in my work, but I brought one along on this session, and decided it'd be worth trying, to see if it contributed anything. I have the above image with and without the reflector (the image above is with it), and normally I would have selected the first image, the one without the reflector. Ultimately, I prefer the stronger contrast of the single large light source, to the same image with a reflector. So why show the second image? Because while I don't like the lighting as much, Tanya's pose is SO much stronger than the first image...so the weaker light, and better pose wins the day.

New Year's Day (Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 2 frame stitch

This visit is my 4th annual pilgrimage to Peggy's Cove to photograph in the New Year. This is the most photographed lighthouse in the world…though it is usually photographed with a beautiful sunset behind it…but in the winter, sometimes you can’t even see the sky!

Digital original

The light dusting of snow (accumulating as I was photographing) made for some very subtle compositions, like this one of a sheer rock face...the shapes upon it are simply carved out by the wind shadow of snow.

More Frozen Flowers

Digital original, 23 image exposure blend, 5 frame stitch

Digital original, 9 image exposure blend

Digital original, 10 image exposure blend, 3 frame stitch

This image was a complete surprise - the calla lily was recycled from the previous day’s work - I’d never had a flower survive a freezing, but when the previous day’s flowers melted in the sink, this lily was unchanged, which permitted me to freeze it again - yielding a completely different result!

This image was included in the 2010 exhibition `Frozen Light` which was displayed at ViewPoint Gallery, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Ruth's First Session (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

Ruth came across my work online, and contacted me posing; she wished to mark a mile-stone in her life, and thought modeling would be the perfect way to celebrate. After meeting and going over my work, and her expectations, we scheduled a session!

Digital infrared original

Made at the very end of the session, this image was by far the strongest of the `body` images (as opposed to portraits). The soft afternoon light wrapped beautifully around her body, while the infrared camera elevated the skin tones just perfectly.

More Whole Flowers in Ice (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 30 image focus blend, 6 frame stitch

In the couple of years that I have spent working with frozen flowers, I have seldom had a “perfect” result, but this Christmas Cactus is probably the best I have produced. Fortunately, this particular flower block was created well into my explorations of the process, and takes full advantage of all the tools I've brought to the images (stitching for higher resolution, focus stacking for greater depth of field).

This image was included in the 2010 exhibition `Frozen Light` which was displayed at ViewPoint Gallery, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Digital original, 23 image focus blend, 3 frame stitch

A Day of Photography (Suris, Prince Edward Island)

Digital original, 6 image exposure blend

The primary reason for this trip to Prince Edward Island was to assist a photographer who was having challenging with her commercial photography; as part of the training, we visited the local church she frequently did weddings at - and as soon as we walked in, I knew what the primary challenge was - the building, while beautiful, has to be one of the darkest churches I have ever been in. Fortunately, with a tripod in hand, this is not an issue!

Digital infrared original

As soon as I saw the bridge between these two wharves, I knew I wanted to make an image from the middle of the bridge overlooking them both. The late autumn sky was relatively bright, and would have been pretty featureless when viewed with a conventional camera, but in infrared, the scene changed dramatically, shifting the sky towards a much more threatening role in the final composition.

Digital original

The last set of images of the evening were focused on working with the swiftly moving water - in the above case, a 30 second exposure blurred the river so much there is no distinction between the dry sand and the wet!

The Confederation Bridge (Bayfield, New Brunswick)

Digital infrared original

I've only been across the P.E.I. bridge a couple of times, but each one left me wishing I’d had time to stop and make some images. Fortunately, on this trip (to teach a workshop) I had an hour to spare, and spent some time working with the 17mm T/S lens, and the massive structure.

Digital infrared original

One of the challenges of working with the bridge is giving some sense of its scale; only a small portion of the bridge is prominent in the above image, but I hope the rapidly diminishing lines of the structure give some idea of the true scale of the bridge.

Cape Breton II (Cabot Trail, Cape Breton)

Digital original

The best part of the second day in Cape Breton was that it was covered with a light dusting of snow - not enough to accumulate in the valleys, but just the right amount to cover the hills, and set off the lovely colour of the winter trees.

Digital original

It was just by pure chance that I arrived at this highway look-off at the exact moment of sunset - in face, as it was, by the time the camera was set up and the image was made, the glow in the sky had faded noticeably.

Digital original, 2 image exposure blend

One of the frustrations I frequently have when working with landscape is how important the uncontrollable is (in this case, the weather). While this image is very pleasing, and works quite well, without the dramatic sky, it would be rather lack-lustre, bringing to the fore the question of what makes a good photograph - the photographer, or chance?

Driving through Cape Breton I

Digital original

Digital image, 2 frame stitch

Digital originaal

Red and Purple on Ice

Digital original, 13 frame focus blend, 2 frame stitch

Digital original, 9 frame focus blend

Digital original, 14 frame focus blend, 2 image stitch

The quest for colours continues - most of the primaries are covered now, but there a good many combinations of colours which remain to be explored, such as this pair!