August 31, 1997

Fort Knox (Prospect, Maine)

Fort Knox is a massive granite structure overlooking a bend in the Penobscot River in Maine. It was constructed to defend the river (and its towns and industries) from British naval assault. Fort Knox consists of outlying batteries, multiple shooting galleries, and a central building, which overlooks the remainder of the fort.
4"x5" film
The most interesting element of photographing Fort Knox was that it essentially was the American response to Fortress Halifax. The basic architectural elements are the same, as are some of the design features, but in other areas, the two defense systems differed wildly. This first session at Fort Knox was short, as we arrived at 6:00pm, and the light was fading. It wet my appetite though, and made me hungry to return and bring into my camera more of that which presented itself to me.
4"x5" film
The pleasure of photographing at Fort Knox was twofold - the strong monolithic nature of the architecture was familiar to me, one of my favourite things about the Fortress Halifax forts, and yet the fort itself was new to me, undiscovered country so to speak.
4"x5" film
The combination of these two factors made the hour or so I spent photographing on this day seem vaguely surreal - I was familiar with the format of the fort, but the actual application was new and visually exciting. Much of what appeared on the ground-glass of my camera was strangely familiar, yet never enough to be comfortable...it was almost like I had been to the fort before.

The light ran out before my enthusiasm did, but I was bound and determined to return to the fort again, to further explore and commit to film the images that sprang out to me.

August 20, 1997

Nude in the Woods (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

6x12 cm film
Another session in the forest - this time with a bit of rain thrown in for flavour. After sitting and chatting in a car as it drizzled for ten minutes, the weather finally settled down to a gentle threat, and the model, Helen and I began to explore the setting. Shortly after the rain, a ray of sun found us, and I whipped off a few infrared images. Sadly, it was one of the few times we would see the sun that afternoon.
35mm infrared film
After the session with Aeyla two weeks before, I felt a little more settled with working in the woods, and after moving from the clearing where we sat out the rain back into the wood proper, the work which was destined to be made showed itself.
4"x5" film
One of the biggest revelations that I have made this summer is how images are revealed to me, as opposed to made by me.  I now go through a very different process when I photograph; where before I fretted about "not being able to get a good photo", I now simply walk and wait for the images to find me. It is not something easy to describe, but it works, and has propelled my images to a place they could not have attained without this realization. I am not sure if the change is evident in the images, but I know it shows in how I approach the work. This summer has been the most challenging yet, on more levels that I can comprehend - it will take a long time before I fully understand what has happened, and incorporate it fully into my work as a whole.

August 16, 1997

Aeyla by the ocean (Prospect, Nova Scotia)


4"x5" film
This was the third session with Aeyla this summer, and our second attempt at photographing at Prospect. This time the weather held and we had a glorious sunny day with fluffy white clouds. Much of what was produced in this session revolved around the wealth of rocks and rock-fields that abound at Prospect - after working in the woods on the previous session, I felt really freed by the expansive nature of the rocks flowing down to the sea. 
4"x5" film
Another influence on this session was that Joy accompanied us - it didn't influence my imaging as much as my mood -there was a new-found confidence and a freshness to the work which I am not sure comes across in the work. I took risks and made choices which I would have shied away from previously. My increasing awareness of the power of imagery and symbolism within her poetry has permitted me to draw upon this in my photography, drawing visual metaphors into my work in a way I had never contemplated previously. The fear of being seen as obvious has become overshadowed by the possibilities of extending meaning through parallels.
6x12 cm film

August 09, 1997

Aeyla in the Woods (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

What began as a sunny, hot day was deceptive - Aeyla picked me up at 10 am and we drove to the coast - to find fog. We even waited and ate lunch, but no luck - the fog stayed. Not willing to waste the day, and braving the threat of bugs, we went into the woods - inland there wasn't a hint of the shrouds which enveloped the coast. I have not spent a great deal of time working with the Nude in woods, so the opportunity to expand this area of my work was more than enough to compensate for the lost opportunity at the coast.
6x12 cm film
Aeyla had never modeled in woods before, and both of us found it a difficult and challenging setting. The close quarters presented far fewer obvious vistas for imaging in, and there were the bugs to contend with (I cannot overstate the issue of bugs - Aeyla was terribly indulgent - but even with bug stuff, we both got bit!). The only small wonder was that the woods we worked in were fairly open, with lots of paths and trails. It would have been a much different story if they had been like 99% of Nova Scotian forests - dark and full of overgrowth.
4"x5" film
The main problem with photographing in woods is that they are dark - where I would usually expect to use shutter-speeds of 1/30 of a second, I often have to resort to 1/2 or even a full second in the forest. This changes the images somewhat, and forced me to be a little more deliberate about the images - some photos simply couldn't be made the way I envisioned them because of lack of light.
4"x5" film
I really enjoy working in woods when the images work, but, more often than not, I am frustrated without the light levels, and the sheer lack of variation - trees only grow in one direction generally, and Nova Scotian forests are not renowned for their variation. I will keep working with the Nude in woods, but feel far more compelled to place the body on rocks - even in the midst of trees.