September 27, 1999

Laura's Pregnancy Session (Susie Lake, Nova Scotia)

From the beginning of her pregnancy, Laura and I had intended to do a series of nudes exploring the changes in her body. As things turned out, it was only in her eighth month that we finally managed to get together and go make some photographs.
35mm infrared film
One problem in waiting so long was the weather; usually it become hard to work outdoors after the end of August. We lucked out and were fortunate to have a sunny mild fall day with only a moderate breeze threatening to chill Laura.
35mm infrared film
Given Laura's pregnancy and the weather, we only worked in a handful of spaces, trying to make the most of our time. Almost all the images I made were with my wide angle lenses, using the distortion inherent to them to accentuate Laura's belly.  I normally work hard with my wide angle to minimize distortion, but as these images were all about gravidity , the exaggeration was desirable.
35mm infrared film
By the end of the afternoon, I was very pleased with the session. As I seldom work outdoors so late in the year, the low angle of the sun came as a pleasant surprise. The great raking light providing wonderful modelling to Laura's body, further enhancing shape and form in the images. The unexpectedly high contrast of the lighting was easy enough to compensate for through over exposure and under-development, and when tamed, was unusually pleasant.