A First Session (Chebucto Head, Nova Scotia)

Apart from providing a venue for exhibiting and promoting my work, the Internet has also proved to be a very important resource in regards to finding people to work with me. While most of the people who contact me are too far away to make working feasible, local models have led to some stunning photographs (as evidenced by the images of Ingrid and Victoria). As I constantly remind the models themselves, my work is nothing without the people I work with - they are absolutely the most important element of my creative vision.

6x9 cm film

Pat had contacted me about modeling after seeing my website. An aspiring commercial model, she was also interested in trying out nude modeling, choosing to reserve judgment until she had actually had some experience with what it actually involved.. A further joy of the web is the speed of communication it provides. From my receiving her introductory email to when she was actually modeling was less than 24 hours (including a phone conversation and a casual meeting to talk about my work, and her expectations). The one caveat that Pat had in regards to her modeling nude was she wanted to be anonymous, being unsure how her other modeling work would be influenced by people knowing she'd modeled nude.

4"x5" film

Similar to the day I'd worked with Victoria a week before, the evening on which I made these images was cool and windy. Being on the coast as a low bank of fog was forming didn't make it any more pleasant, but Pat proved remarkably resilient, bearing the cool for long enough for me to make ten 4"x5" negatives and expose two rolls of 120 film on the 6x9 rangefinder.

Given the number of short sessions I have done lately, it shouldn't surprise me to see good work come out of such a brief shoot but it still does. While the early work of the session shows some of the nervousness and trepidation of the new model, once Pat became a little more comfortable with taking direction on posing, and with the process as a whole, the images came together in a more successful manner.

4"x5" film

I have become a little spoilt as of late, working so much with experienced models like Victoria that I had forgot how difficult it can be for new models to learn how to find a pose or follow my directions from behind the camera.