May 26, 2001

A Second Outdoor Session with R_ (Tupper Lake, Nova Scotia)

The final location for the day was a lake about two hours from Halifax. By the early afternoon, the day had warmed up enough to be more than comfortable for the model, and the quick pace of the morning was replaced by a more sensible work-speed that more suited the 8"x10" camera.
8"x10" film

R_ knew the area and felt that it would lend itself to my imagery. The first image was actually made with a piece of driftwood we found a little into the woods and drew on the complexity of the wood and the smooth elegance of R_'s side and hip for its success. I was a little doubtful about the location as we walked through the woods, but when we came to a clearing by the water, and I could see the granite rocks at the shoreline, I knew this would be the perfect place to complete the day.

The late afternoon light was coming across the lake, providing strong side-lighting, which is always enjoyable to work with - too often direct sunlight comes from above, which is quite frustrating to photograph with. I took advantage of the light and set R_ against a large granite rock that sloped back away from where I'd placed the camera. With her leaning back against the rock, the sun on her skin offset the dark rock, and created the look I wanted. With the 159mm lens on the 8"x10" (equal to about a 24mm lens), I managed to keep all her figure in the image (I couldn't move the camera back any, without going for a swim) but avoided any extreme distortion through careful use of camera movements.
6x9 cm film
Without a doubt, the last three hours of the day were the best, both from the perspective of R_'s pleasure with the warmer air temperature, and the images we made. While my favourite image of the day was created in the woods we worked in in the morning, the afternoon work felt less rushed, and more considered - there was more time to reflect before making an exposure.
8"x10" film
As my first day's work with a model and the 8"x10" Toyo, I was extremely pleased. I was a little hesitant to work with a first-time model with the camera, given how large it is and how much it slows down the process but, all in all, R_had no problem. And the results, though sprinkled with technical shortcomings and niggling process problems, move me further

R_'s First Outdoor Session (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

My first outdoor session of the year was also with R_ - after the previous day's rain, the day seemed positively perfect, but the air was pretty chilly, and R_ put up with some pretty cold breezes during our first series of images.

The space I chose to work in was one that had caught my eye for years, a stand of white birches by the side of the highway on the drive out of Halifax. I'd never actually been able to stop and work in the spot before, so I was a little uncertain of how it would work with a model. Upon our arrival, however, I knew that my intuition was right, and that I'd lucked into another strong location that would take several sessions to fully explore.
35mm infrared film
Because the trees hadn't budded yet, the woods had a stark look to them, and most of the infrared images I made played on this aspect, setting R_'s pale body against the birch trees and deep blue sky - a sky I knew the film would render as black. The first image, above, is the strongest of these explorations, with the feeling further accentuated by the extreme angle of view of the 17mm lens.

Even with my Fuji 6x9 rangefinder, I took advantage of the deep sky colour; by using an orange filter, I was able to keep R_'s figure a lighter tone then the sky, separating it from the surroundings and providing her with an almost statuesque quality. The results remind me of the Greek Nikes of two thousand years ago, which so influenced the Renaissance sculptors who, in turn, laid the seeds of my passion for imaging the human figure.
6x9 cm film
At the same time as this was my first outdoor session for the year, it was also my first session using my newly acquired Toyo 8"x10" camera with a model. I'd sold my previous 8"x10" camera in 1998, but for a variety of reasons, decided to return to the format this year. While I'd brought the 4"x5" Wisner along, after the first two images I made with it, it was retired in favour of the larger camera. Initially I was hesitant to ask a first-time model to work with such a cumbersome camera, but this was outweighed by the fact I wanted to start using the Toyo. I was chomping at the bit to use the larger camera, and R_, though a little chilly, assured me she was warm enough to deal with the longer set-up time of the larger camera.

It took me a couple of images to start getting a sense of how the 8"x10" camera was seeing (viewing the image on such a large ground-glass takes some getting used to), but by the time we'd moved to a different area of the woods, I'd begun to gain a sense of how
8"x10" film
For the last image we made (produced on the same rock R_ is standing on above) it took only a few minutes to get exactly what I wanted onto the ground glass, and then make the exposure. And the resulting negative is everything I wanted it to be - the only "small" disappointment is that R_'s far foot is out of focus...I guess f/32 just wasn't a small enough lens opening to get the whole image in focus.

A Second Morning Session with R_ (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

35mm transparency film
The second morning session with R_ picked up where the first session ended, but was augmented by the addition of a sunny bright day on the other side of the sheets. This provided exactly the tones I love on Astia (which was in my 35mm camera) so I proceeded to work with the camera hand-held, either exploring the poses R_ found on her own, or those that grew out of my suggestions. It is surprising how many images can be found in such a small space, but with the great quality of the light, it was almost hard to stop at times, drawn in as much by the colours and tones as by the lines
of the body on which they appeared
35mm transparency film
Compared to the first session the day before, this one was everything I look for in an indoor colour session. The light was perfect, with a wonderful even highlight to the whites, and wonderful detail in the shadows. In some ways, it is hard not to repeat myself in this setting, given that I worked so much with colour indoors in 1999, but at the same time, as I said above, every model brings something unique to a session, and as long as I can draw this out of them, everything else falls into place. That said, I tried hard to work with the poses that R_ came up with, in ways that I hadn't approached before such as working directly above; framing her back and waist against the light yielded particularly strong results.
35mm transparency film

May 25, 2001

A Studio session with R_ (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Because of the day's inclement weather, working outdoors with R_ wasn't an option, but I'd
arranged access to a friend's studio for the afternoon, as insurance against this possibility. R_  didn't really have a preference for the kind of images we were to make and, while I certainly prefer outdoor session to studio work, given we didn't have a choice, I tried to make the best of the resources at hand.
6x6 cm infrared film

The nicest surprise from the session was the image to the right; we'd initially set up the pose against
my preferred black background but something was lacking so I decided to try it with the painted background, just to see what happened. Surprisingly, while it doesn't really "look" like my work, I am really pleased with the results. The combination of the draped cloth and the confident pose adds up to a very different image for me...not sure what that means really, but I know I like the image, and that is enough for me.
6x6 cm infrared film
The last time I'd worked in the studio, it was in a temporary location that somewhat limited the
possibilities due to the small size of the room. Since then, the new location has been completed, with a high ceiling and lots of working space. As I hadn't worked in it before, the session with R_ was both my first time in a studio in six months, and my first time in this particular studio. It always takes some time to adjust to a new space, and combining that with a first studio session with a new model made for an interesting afternoon.
6x6 cm infrared film
Unlike outdoor work, studio images generally revolve around a small number of variations. I always begin with portrait work, because it is the most familiar process for the model. After that, I tend to just let things happen as they do, drawing from the movement and response of the model to my suggestions. With R_, the process worked out quite well, with us doing everything from portraits to mirror nudes. Most of the images that appealed to me were made on medium format Konica, film that I had leftover from last year. While I find this film very difficult to work with outdoors, it seems very much to suit my studio process.

R_ in Natural Light (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

35mm transparency film
While we had been hoping for a couple of warm, pleasant days, the first day arrived full of drizzle and rain. I had already planned to work with R_ in colour on the white sheets, and as I'd had success before working in a snow storm, I decided to see what would be possible. Because the light was so low, I had to work on tripod, which was a very different way to work.
6x9 cm film
Because I was already hampered in working the way I'd have preferred, I decided to push the envelope further, and in addition to working with a 35mm camera and close-framed images, I used the Fuji 6x9, and included more of the figure. On the whole, I was displeased with the 35mm work - the colour of the light just didn't work with what I was trying to do.
6x9 cm film
The 120 images, however, were surprising. The big limitation here was the simple fact that the Fuji has a wide angle lens (a 65mm, equal to a 28mm on a 35mm camera) which only focuses to 1m. This in some ways made the session easier, as I could only work so close, and frame so tightly. Some of the film I used was balanced for Tungsten light - the light was pretty cool already due to the overcast weather, and the blue balance of the film was even more emphasized. With the other images, I invariably preferred the over-exposed images, with their wonderfully warm skin tones, and brilliant white highlights.

May 24, 2001

R_'s First Session (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

R_first contacted me about modeling at the end of February, but it was May before we managed to work out our schedules. A fortunate side effect of this delay was that the weather was warming enough to permit the possibility of doing outdoor work.
35mm film

As she lived some distance away from Halifax, it was necessary to pick R_ up on the first night to facilitate two full days of work before she had to return. I hadn't intended to start photographing R_ until the next morning, but when I mentioned the option of doing some candle nudes, she was enthusiastic, so at 11pm, we began working, set up on the floor with a single candle in a raised holder.
4"x5" film
Because of the "shuffling" of equipment I had been doing since last fall, the only lens I had for my 4"x5" was a 135mm, which is equal to about a 45mm lens on a 35mm camera. This is a little wider then I prefer for figure work, but as it was what I had on hand, I made do.
4"x5" film
I am always surprised by how much a model influences the images that come from a session. In many ways, candle sessions are the most simplistic that I do; a single light, a model, and a black space. Yet each time I work with these minimal elements, the results can be widely difference. Part of the look of this session comes from the lens I was using, but the way R_ moved and her immediate comfort with the process played a large part in the outcome as well. As first sessions with a new model go, it was a great beginning, with the hour providing a number of successful images for my continued exploration of candle nudes, and giving R_ a relaxed, low-key introduction to figure modeling.

May 23, 2001

A Pair of Models in a River (Gold River, Nova Scotia)

4"x5" film
One of the most valuable assets in photographing outdoors, with the nude in the landscape or without, is local knowledge. It is so easy to miss promising locations simply because you do not know they are there. In the case of this particular session, the local knowledge came from a friend of the model, Trisha, who guided us to part of Gold River not five minutes off the road. Without knowing the terrain, one would never guess such a visually rich space existed, especially so close to the road.

When we arrived at the Killdevils, the most stunning element was the broad swath of brilliant white river foam which swirled around on the surface of a small pool to the side of the main river. To the left of this pool, the water poured through a narrow cut, and the froth from the rapids was swept by the current into the inlet in a slow circle, and then back upstream towards the rapids. As soon as I saw the foam, I knew it would be the focus of the water images.
4"x5" film
The first couple of images were made with the foam and model separate - I didn't want Trisha to disturb the foam before I had used it in several images with her on the rocks surrounding the water, as I was unsure of how her being in the water would affect the foam. My concerns were misplaced. Once a pose was found, all we had to do was be patient, and the foam would swirl in around Trisha, and flow around her. There was a severe restriction on the number of poses which Trisha could find, give the depth of the water, but fortunately there was a well placed rock upon which she could lay. Where many of my other water nudes use long shutter-speeds to blur moving water, with these images I used the fastest speeds possible, to freeze any motion of the froth

The second image in the water, to the right, was made in the same space, but with a different camera position and the introduction of a male model, Miles. The strong angular light across the figures, combined lack of any context to the swirling foam makes the image almost surreal.
4"x5" film
All told, this session was one of the most thrilling to date this year. The setting was beyond compare, and a wonderful space in which to work. The session was short, lasting no more than two hours, but the successes are unlike any other images I have produced to date. Also, it marked something of a technical accomplishment for me; it was a session completed without the aid of a light-meter. When we arrived in the space, I discovered the battery in my Seconic meter was dead. I realized there was nothing for it but to begin working, and use experience to guide the exposures. As one can see from the images, the sunny-16 rule (1/ISO as the shutter speed at f/16 for images in full sunlight), combined with experience, worked more then well enough.

May 05, 2001

A Dance Session with Victoria (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

6x7 cm film
While Victoria and I have made many beautiful images together, until now, we'd never made any images of her dancing. While she and a friend were practicing, I was invited to join them and try my hand at dance photography.
6x7 cm film
The first realization was that there was no realistic chance to freeze Victoria in motion; though the room was bright, lit by white frosted windows, I couldn't manage a shutter speed faster than 1/30th of a second, so Victoria and I focused on static poses.
6x7 cm film