Miles and Partner Pose Together (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

A month after our previous photo session, Miles and J_ again had time to model, though this session was much later in the day. I was a little hesitant about the timing because the light was so low but decided that rather than cancelling, I'd use high speed film and fast lenses.

35mm film

In addition to the Ilford 3200 speed film, I also worked with a roll of infra-red. This was as a result of the shower session I'd done in September with Trav and Miranda where I'd had great success with infra-red in lower light. Both films are extremely grainy which lent a particular look to the session.

Rather then pull out the hid-a-bed and cover the window with a white cloth to diffuse the light as I usually do, I opted to simply cover the couch with my white cloth, and have Miles and J_ work there. This changed both the possible poses and the angle of the light we were working with. Most of my indoor nudes are back-lit, set against the cloth I use for a background, giving them a particularly luminous quality but with these images, the light was more dramatic.

35mm film

The limited combination of the poses possible on the couch, and the swiftly dying light made the session more about exploring different possibilities of a given pose, then the creation of multiple compositions. I actually really enjoyed the quality of the light, reveling in how it seemed to wrap around the models and gave a rich description of form, Unfortunately, the rate at which the light was fading kept me from dwelling too long on a single perspective. While there were several images I would have loved to have had time to record with the 8"x10" camera, many potential images were precluded by the swiftly diminishing light.

35mm film

On the whole, I am pleased with the session's results. The Delta 3200 film, which I'd only used occasionally in the past, gave a wonderful softness to the images which complimented the luminous brilliance of the infrared.