Megan Returns to the Studio (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

The last day of February was spent printing work for my first solo show (due to open in early April, in Orono, Maine) and waiting for the night's session with Megan. Back in the studio again, it wasn't fifteen minutes before Megan commented she liked working at my house far better, that the studio didn't seem as natural.

4"x5" film

It is amazing how quickly the studio wears thin - both Megan and I agreed that the next session would be with natural light, in a "real" environment. It is hard working with nothing but a figure and light - I can do it with no problem, except for the little question "Why?". Nudes in nature speak to me as naturally as a mother tongue, but in the studio more often than not I find myself at a loss for words. There is nothing I seem to want to say.

4"x5" film

What saved the session in a strictly photographic sense were the portraits of Megan. We played more with portraiture than the nude time-wise and, even when she was nude, more of the images had her face in them than cropped out. It was a relief to me to be able to turn to portraiture when I became frustrated with the nude in the studio setting, and to know that the resulting images could be part of my work, given Megan's comfort with modelling. I think the coming summer bodes well, both for my work with the Nude, and for a body of portraiture.