St George's Round Church (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

This spring was the first time I've offered a course in Architectural Photography, and for the course's second field trip, we visited St George's Round Church. I'd been in the church several times before, but never with photography in mind.

Digital original, 21 frame exposure blend, three frame stitch

My favorite image of the session was of the church from the second floor looking towards the altar. Assembled as a three frame stitch from exposure blended images (24 exposures in total), it was one of my first new images assembled with the new HDR tool in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. In some ways I am humbled by the potential of this tool, as it accomplished in minutes what would have taken me hours in Adobe Photoshop. Impressive to say the least.

Digital original

As there were two field trips (one for each iteration of the course), I spent the first working with the 17mm TS/E lens, focusing on the space as a whole, and then shifted to a long lens for the second. To be honest, I thought I'd be focusing on small architectural elements, but when I discovered the wonderful layers of the curved ceiling above the columns, I made more than a dozen separate white-on-white images, all of which were really pleasing.

Digital original, 8 frame exposure blend

The last image (above) makes me think of some of Walker Evan's interiors of old southern plantations (which isn't a surprise, as the building was constructed in 1800, and the Palladian style also flowed into the American South.

Double Take is on ViewPoint's Walls (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

A new exhibition by myself and Angela Creaser is now on the walls a ViewPoint Gallery. Open from Tuesday, May 5 to Sunday May 31, the exhibition's opening reception is this coming Thursday evening, May 7th, from 6-9pm!

From the show statement: Double Take features pairs of images by Angela Creaser and Eric Boutilier-Brown, photographs created during photographic trips they undertook together. As a couple who met through photography, Eric Boutilier-Brown and Angela Creaser have long been conscious of the differences between their creative vision, and Double Take focus on exploring and celebrating the best of these differences.

Dancer's at Photo East's Spring Loaded (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

At the close of the first day of Photo East's Spring Loaded weekend, there was a group photo session with three dancers (arranged by the fabulous Steve Richard). Like last year's Mod Squad, I took the long shutter speed approach.

Digital original

Also like last year, I had the chance to work with a medium format camera; this time, thanks to Henry's Rentals, I tried out the Hasselblad H5D-50 which was great to use (even upside down on a tripod). Over the hour we had to work with the dancers, I made 690 images, taking up over 38gb of space...fun stuff)

Digital original

While there would be things I'd chage if I had a chance to do it with more control (in a room with 30 other people, control is one of the few things missing), I am overally REALLY pleased with the images...and I have to say, the Hasseblad files seem to be able to be pushed around an aweful lot in processing, without any real issues, which is going to make processing them pretty easy!

Proof vs Finished Images (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

I've been thinking a lot about proofs lately, as I've been working on the image selection for an upcoming exhibition at ViewPoint Galley. Proofs have always been part of my creative process, initially with film images, and now with digital. While working on the upcoming show, I came across a great example of the difference between proofs and finished images.

Digital infrared original, 18 frame stitch

Above is a proof of a photograph of Andre I made in 2008. To even see the image I needed to do a fair amount of processing as it is stitched together from 18 frames; that being said, there was no "interpretation" of the image - it was processed with all the other photos from the day to a base standard (a bright white with detail, a rich black with detail, and good contrast).  In the end, it was one of the photographs that made the cut; after renaming the original RAW files, and the proof image to reflect the source files, the proof image was added to my catalogue, along with proofs of every other image from the session.

Digital infrared original, 18 frame stitch

The finished image has a very different tone from the proof; instead of being processed as one photograph of many, when finishing an image, the entire focus is on strengthening the photograph; shifting the emphasis from one place to another, removing distractions and ensuring all the elements in the photograph support the same message. In this case, in addition to some minor cropping, more than a dozen local adjustments were made, the most obvious one is the treatment of Andre's hair.

When looking between the proof and the finished image, I see one of the most effective examples from my own work of the value of proofing (to permit quick evaluation of an image with a minimum of investment) and the worth of a finished image (to permit the realization of the potential of a photograph).

Surface Tension (2015) Session #10 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

The final session of my two days of access to the large indoor pool was spent working with Jaime; this was only her second time modeling Nude, and her first time working in a studio, but the results were really pleasing.

Digital original

One of the only challenges of working with Jaime was working around her tattoos; fortunately, there are a number of view planes across her torso which avoids them, and permitted me to make images that met my aesthetic. This image is one of my favourite from the two days of work because of the simple beauty of her face's reflection in the water - for me it is one of the more surreal photographs of the series.

Digital original, 2 frame focus blend

The last composition of two days of photography....the last composition from 10 sessions with 8 models, using two cameras, resulting in over 140gb of RAW files, and taking almost two weeks of editing to cull down to the final photographs. A brilliant way to spend two chilly days in the middle of a Nova Scotian winter.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.

Surface Tension (2015) Session #9 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital infrared original

In 2007 fully 1/3 of the Surface Tension sessions were of multiple models, as one session ending would morph into the next session, with the two models working together. This didn't happen as often with this iteration, but when I realized Stephanie and Jaime's sessions were back-to-back, I asked if they'd be open to the possibilities of working together at the overlap of their two sessions; both women were open to the idea, and after a brief meet and greet, Jaime joined Stephanie in the pool, and the three of us began to explore the possibility.

Digital original

Having done so much work with multiple models, I have long known the best approach is either to compare, or contrast. The vast majority of the photographs I made with Jaime and Stephanie took the first approach, emphasizing their similarity in form. The above image is probably the best example of this (I stand the risk of being accused of having a callipygian fetish as I made bottom-coming-out-of-the-water images of every model over the 10 sessions...my only defense is that it looks so beautiful!).

Digital original, two image focus blend

The last set of images were the clearest in my mind before we began; in the 2007 sessions with multiple models, I was severely constrained for space, and almost all the images relied on a great deal of physical proximity simply to fit within the reflection on the water's surface. With the bigger pool however, I had a much larger area for the models to work in, and therefore, could have more open space between them. This portrait of Jaime and Stephanie (three-frames focus stacked to ensure both models are in focus) takes full advantage of all the space the pool offered.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.

Surface Tension (2015) Session #8 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

Stephanie first contact me specifically about modeling in water in 2008, and we first met face to face during the Memory of Water exhibition opening later that year. Since then we've worked together numerous times, but this was her first chance to work with water and me in an indoor context.

Digital infrared original

With Stephanie, I continued exploring water sheeting off skin. Again, repetition proved to be the key, as while reviewing images in camera I noticed how the water formed almost a blanket around Stephanie's waist. Returning to photographing, I focused my attention on this element, and using the more responsive infra-red converted Canon 5D MKII, I was able to time the image with the peak of the motion, yielding several strong results, the best of which is displayed here.

Digital original

In many ways, the hardest thing to overcome in these sessions was my tendnacy to continually repeat combinations that have worked in the past; repeatedly I photographed models posing parallel to the camera, for the simple reason that I knew it worked. Pushing against this, I tried hard to explore the possibilies of models oriented at more extreme angles; in this case, the result was really pleasing.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.

Surface Tension (2015) Session #7 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

Though Lavender and I haven't worked together since 2007, when I posted a notice seeking models for the water pool sessions, she was one of the first models to confirm a session time. She's worked in the pool before with Steve Richard (though with a very different style and approach) which gave her an immediate comfort with the process, and within minutes to getting into the pool, the first strong image (above) was made.

Digital original

By this session, I'd not only had 6 chances to work with pool, but enough time to review the results, and evaluate how things could be improved. The issue of water motion had been solved (simply waiting more time for it to settle made all the difference), but I had also reviewed some of the experiments with notion (models pushing their bodies quickly up through the water surface) and decided that the results were worth pushing further. In most cases, the early experiments were not perfect - the Phase One medium format camera I was using for the session had a somewhat random delay to the shutter, so half the time the image was made just before or after the ideal moment. With this session (and later ones) I persisted with the ideal, and made a dozen or more images of each iteration, which ensured a number of really pleasing images focused on the concept for each pose.

Digital original

Having access to the pool over two full days of photography really helped build a coherent flow between the sessions with a wide variety of models. Keeping the lighting and setting consistent helped tie the session together, but more than anything, I was able to take successes from one session and use them as a point of departure for the next session; in this case, an earlier image of Ingrid was the direct inspiration to this photograph of Lavender, made four hours later.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.

Surface Tension (2015) Session #6 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

The first session on the second day of working with the large pool was also the first session with Ingrid in our 17th year of working together. Though she has no love of modeling in the studio, as soon as I told Ingrid that the session would be a return to the Surface Tension concept (Ingrid has modeled several times with the 2007 iteration of the idea), she was keen to participate...and that was before I told her the pool was heated.

Digital original

The above image is probably the clearest expression of the Surface Tension ideal from the two days of photography - an image as much about immersion as it is about emergence.

Digital original

It was a real pleasure to work with Ingrid again; her intuitive approach to modelling (no doubt born from having modeled Nude for more than 2/3 of her life) really showed in both the strength of the images, and the fluidity of the session.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.

Surface Tension (2015) Session #5 (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital original

The last session of the first day working with the large pool was with Miranda; she was a major part of the 2007 water pool series, and I was ecstatic when she said she'd be up for working with me in the larger pool - and that was BEFORE she learned it was heated!

Digital original

By this time, I was really aware of how long it took for the water surface to calm down, and impressed upon Miranda the importance of keeping still once we found a pose that worked; she did so perfectly, and the majority of the images we made together see her body rising out of an unbroken sea of light - exactly what I'd envisioned when preparing for this.

Digital original

The last set of images worked with Miranda's hair cascading over her torso, and surfacing in the water around her shoulder; I explored a variety of compositions, with and without Miranda's head, and finally settled on this version where the frame completes with her hair forming a miniature Sargasso Sea around her breast as it emerges from the water.

There's no way these images could have been made without the kindness, encouragement and support of Steve Richard and Shadowhouse Studios.