Two Models at Hadlock Brook (Mount Desert Island, Maine)

My second trip to Maine this year was in theory dedicated to picking up my exhibit, Evolving Beauty. I say "in theory" because my major activity once in Maine was continuing the work with the models I had photographed six weeks before. Almost all the images this April were made during my initial trip to hang the exhibit.

4"x5" film

The image above is by far one of my most successful dual-model nudes, with a strong contrast between the nude lying in the water on the rock crest and the closed nude crouched to the right below. It is often hard to work with two models in a single frame. This setting, however, called for a second model, and seemed appropriately finished with her addition.

4"x5" film

One of the biggest lessons I am learning about working with figure models is that while previous experience may be irrelevant, continued collaboration can do nothing but improve the final images. Ellen and Lisa had worked with me three times in April 1998. These two models are friends, and had asked to model together, so we headed off for Mount Desert Island to find a suitable setting.

4"x5" film

In the end, the session was fairly short - curtailed by bugs and cool temperatures, but it yielded a surprising number of rich images. This is, I think, due to a change in approach - rather than using two models for each image and struggling with the posing, I waited until a scene called for two models, and it came together almost immediately.