Ingrid in a River (Ingramport, Nova Scotia)

In 1996 I began my exploration of water nudes with Kris in the Canaan River. Two years later, in July 1998, I returned and made some very successful images with Lilly. A month later, however, in August, the formerly beneficent river god claimed my 4"x5" Wista in a tragic accident (to me, at least...the camera toppled over in midstream). Needless to say, I have a love-hate relationship with Canaan River.

4"x5" film

All that being said, on the way home from Gold River, Ingrid and I stopped to work for an hour, hoping that the change of location would provoke more images in the short time before we had to head back to the city. The Canaan River was suffering from the same lack of rain that had lowered the Gold River; I've never seen it so low and to say that the water was moving risks an accusation of hyperbole.

4"x5" film

Just as I discovered with Victoria and Megan that two models in the same space begin reflecting one another, it has become apparent that two similar spaces with the same model become almost interchangeable. Had the weather, or the water level, been different, the two rivers would have been night and day but, as it was, apart from my memory, there is nothing to separate the two session in the work itself.