Hailey & I Return to the Coast (Atlantic Shore, Nova Scotia)

My second session of the year with Hailey was something of a mirror of the first; faced with a lovely warm, sunny evening, we headed for the coast, both to avoid hordes of bugs, and to give Hailey a chance to work with water - her favourite environment to model in.

Digital infrared original

We began the session with Hailey working in a thick bed of seaweed, and me taking advantage of how infrared light renders the rock-weed (Fucus vesiculosus). After some initial compositions with longer lenses, made on tripods, I decided to risk working out on the seaweed covered rocks with a wide-lens (hand held). The result was a much wider composition, with luminous seaweed in the foreground wrapped around a pale, elegant figure, below a dark, dramatic sky.

Digital infrared original

From working on the seaweed, Hailey moved on to working in the seaweed, clambering out into the ocean proper, and finding a rock to work around; after some experimentation, she found the perfect line to pose with!

Digital infrared original, 2 frame blend

Taking a break from the ocean to allow Hailey to warm up a little (the ocean is averaging 6.7°C / 44°F at the moment), I asked if she'd be able to work below a large erratic balanced on a cliff-edge. After refining the pose a little, we made a small series of images of a couple of poses - then I made a 2 minute exposure (taking inspiration from the movement-focused image of the sea weed), permitting me to blend the two images together into the final image, above.

Digital infrared original

The last image set of the session saw Hailey returning to posing in the ocean - the sun was moving lower in the sky by this time, and providing long, dramatic shadows to work with - yielding a striking series of images, of which my favourite is the above! The only thing missing was additional models - something I hope to add to the process in upcoming session!

A Gymnast in the Studio (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

B_ is the daughter of a former student who has posed numerous times for portrait field trips - she is an excellent model, and really enjoying being photographed. At the most recent portrait field trip I hired her for, it was mentioned that she'd gone to the Gymnastic Provincials - at which point I asked how hard it was to photographer gymnastics competitions...and was surprised to hear that
photography isn't permitted.

Digital original

Upon hearing this, I had to ask - would B_ be interested in doing some studio photographs of her routine? Since I started photography, I have had a fascination with frozen movement, and have long wished to photograph dance in a studio...an gymnastics have many of the same elements found in dance - extreme motion, grace and beauty. So, about three weeks later, B_, her mother and I met at a studio, and began making a set of gymnastics images.

Digital original

Working with B_ in the studio was awesome! It took me some time to work out the camera position (right at ground level) and angles (she jumped well above the limit of the 10' tall backdrop), but once that was set up, each time I saw a motion I wished to work with, B_ could repeat it exactly time and time again.

Digital original

The other reason I asked about photographing B_ was it would give me another chance to explore the potential of motion blur. In 2015 I did some long explore images of dancers, and was quite taken with the results, but as it was part of workshop I was assisting with, there wasn't any room to direct the dancers, or really push the idea in any direction.

Digital original

With B_'s gymnastics routines, I could ask her to repeat the same motion again and again (with crazy consistency I might add). This went a long way to helping me better understand the potential of the process, and ultimately, decide it isn't a direction to head in. As much as I love the look, and feel it is really quite beautiful, it just doesn't have enough for me to want to invest in pursuing it to the logical conclusion...so thanks to B_, I long standing question has been answered!

A Macro Field Trip (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital Original

This morning I spent a couple of hours in the Public Gardens with a student, assisting them with their macro photography. The two of us worked in tandem, with them calling out subjects they were attracted to, and me walking them through the process I using my macro work.

Digital Original

While the morning we were working on was bright and sunny, we managed to take advantage of the directional light time and time again, creating compositions of flowers set against dark shadows, as was the case with the above image of a magnolia flower.

Digital Original, two image focus blend

The last composition of the field trip focused on a trio of tulips - one of which had lost its petals. I loved the contrast of the naked stalk and the full, luminous white petals of the other two tulips.

Hailey Models at the Coast (High Head, Nova Scotia)

As I mentioned in my first outdoor session of 2019, this spring has been wet and cold; as a result, I have done little outdoor work with models, so when Hailey was available, and the weather was promising, I enthusiastically headed to the coast for an evening of photography!

Digital infrared original

The rocky Atlantic shoreline of Nova Scotia is just a delight to work with, and shortly into the session, I came across a large rock pool perfect for working with - set high above the ocean, the pool was deep black in colour, and created a dramatic division of the rocks around it. Hailey and I worked in the space for almost 30 minutes, working with portraits, reflections, and reclining poses, but the above image, with a brilliant reflection of the sun balancing against the empty pool surrounding Hailey is definitely my favourite.

Digital infrared original

As the session progressed, the number of spaces in shade increased, and by 1/2 way through the session, we were able to start working with soft light, as well as evening sun. This composition was created looking straight down upon Hailey - as we refined the pose, I asked her to curl up as small as possible, placing her among the lines of the rock below, and the seaweed to the left.

Digital infrared original

The above photograph is easily the most sculptural image I made during the session - the delicate descriptions of Hailey's figure by the soft light was incredible, and the two tones of the rough granite she was posing upon creates the perfect setting to place her in.

Digital infrared original

The final images of the session were focused on worked with reflections of the evening sky in rock pools in from the coast; it took some time before we could actually make the images however, as several hikers were out enjoying the evening, and we had to wait for them to head back towards civilization before making the images. By that time, the sky had changed some, but fortunately for us, there were still enough high clouds catching the setting sun's light to create the magic we had seen before. It was a little challenging for Hailey to find spaces to pose within the dark water, but with some care and patience, she found spaces she could work with, and a beautiful set of photographs was born!

Third Thursday Talk (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

ViewPoint Gallery

1459 Brenton Street Halifax, Nova Scotia

A Fuji Camera Test (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

A fellow member of ViewPoint Gallery recently liquidated their DSLR equipment in favour of a Fuji mirrorless camera and pair of lenses. Upon finding out I had a significant interest and attraction to the Fuji mirrorless cameras (in part because of their 56mm f/1.2 APD lens), I was offered the loan of the camera for a week, to put it through its paces.

Digital original

In the end, I just used the camera for a single morning, and it was a gray and wet one at that. But it couldn't have been a better test for the tools. The camera performed amazingly well, with both the image stabilization and mid-ISOs (400-1600) working wonderfully to help me capture some bright, luminous images of flowers. The auto focus system was responsive, and manual focus easy to implement when necessary. But the best part of the camera was using manual exposures - the camera can be set to provide highlight warning BEFORE an image is made..so I just adjusted exposures until I saw a warning, then backed up a single click, and photographed away. An amazingly fast system to get perfect exposures every time. Absolutely stunning.

Digital original

In the end, the camera was fabulous to work with (and made me wish I could afford a couple) but the lenses left me flat. This is not a surprise, as I am used to high quality prime lenses, and the two Fuji lenses were consumer zooms, but it did make me realize I would have to follow a similar approach to one I used in the past, should I ever move to building a Fuji camera system. In the fall of 2008, when I was planning a shift from Nikon to Canon, I bought an 85mm f/1.2 portrait lens...and then three months later, my Canon 5D MKII arrived.

Lucie's First Outdoor Session (Atlantic Coast, Nova Scotia)

I can't recall a cooler, wetter spring; this session was literally the first day in Halifax in 2019 with a temperature above 20 degrees Celsius. In previous years, by this date, it has been hot enough to work with models in rivers, but to date, this year has just been too wet and cold to work outdoors (Miranda and I did make one image outdoors in March, but that was an exception, in several senses of the word).

Digital infrared original, 3 frame stitch

I first worked with Lucie in a candle-lit session in February, but her real interest as in working outdoors. Unfortunately, she is moving from Halifax at the end of May, so any outdoor session has to be before then. With that in mind, we've been watching the weather...and sighing - until the Saturday before her departure - the one day with a forecast temperature of 20 Celsius (and no rain). Fortunately it worked out that both Lucie and I were available that afternoon, so we headed to the coast, hoping for warm air and a light breeze.

As it turned out, the day could not have been better - the temperature, while by no means hot, was more than pleasant, and what little wind there was came off the land, carrying even more warmth. As Lucie and I had previously worked together, the session had none of the "getting started" jitters that can often be part of a first session, so within 10 minutes of reaching the coast, we had already made the first striking image, working with the angular sunlight and a small water pool.

Digital infrared original

While I had my colour camera with me, I didn't take it out for this entire session; the afternoon sunlight was pretty harsh, and the natural contrast would have been challenging to deal with. The infrared camera, however, was perfect for the day, and even the sky for the most part co-operated, providing me with some light cloud to put some drama in the wider-angle compositions.

Digital infrared original

As the session began to move towards its end, we made some more experimental images, drawn in by the massive boulders that are scattered on the glacial barrens. These in some ways relate to a series of Images I made in 2009 with Vanessa, where the figure is dwarfed by the granite rocks, but in this case, I encouraged Lucie to be experimental with her pose, which lead to a more dynamic result that the more posed look of the image with Vanessa.

Digital infrared original

The last image sets of the session were made on the line between the rocky shore and the scrub that covers much of the rest of the coastline. As we were walking out, I saw this wonderful dead tree, knocked to a sharp angle by a winter storm. With some effort, and even more care, Lucie was able to work her way into the sun-side of the tree, and arch into the evening light - providing a perfect finish for a great first (and sadly, perhaps final) session working with her.

Iris Portraits (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 7 image focus stack

After my earlier garden explorations, where focus stacking was used a little, in a manual implementation, when the iris began to bloom, I returned to the garden, but this time with a focusing rail, ready to do things correctly.

Digital original, 31 image focus stack

I was fortunate that the morning was almost breathless, as the tall plant was quite prone to waiving in the wind...but with some patience, and a lot of "oh well, let's start again", I managed to make a number of very pleasing focus stacks - mostly of details of the lovely flower.

Digital original, 34 image focus stack

The most obvious outcome of the exploration of focus stacking with living subjects is that repetition is the name of the game - but I also wonder about getting some power cords, and trying the Stackshot - I suspect it would be faster than working manually, and while working with a laptop outdoors would have challenges, it might just be worth the hassle!

A Sign of Spring (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 13 image focus stack

The first blooms of spring have come out in my garden (in this case specifically, the first of the bulbs I planted last fall) - so I had to photograph it! After making images in situ, I plucked one, and photographed it on the deck, against black velvet!

A Spring Garden (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original, 2 image focus blend

This is my first year with a truly planted garden (where plants were selected and then planted as bulbs or seeds, so it is quite exciting to see the new life sprouting from the ground, and photograph it.

Digital original, 3 image focus stack

Combined with this new found interest in foliage is a realization that focus stacking, long a staple in my indoor macro work, has to be brought into the greater outdoors, as the large aperture backgrounds are so lovely and seductive...but lead to too little depth of field for any of the flowers...thus this session was primarily focused on manual focus stacking.

Digital original, 8 image focus stack

As the photography progressed however, I recalled how much I love focus stacking, so by the last images (of plants close to the ground, like the above image of a Lady's Mantle leaf just beginning to spread) I used extensive focus stacking...but next time, I shall tackle the garden with a focusing rail!