June 24, 2002

A Second Cool Session with Miranda by the Sea (Polly's Cove, Nova Scotia)

The second session with Miranda suffered from one of the same issues as the first - chill air. I had hoped the day would be as warm as the previous one, and it was inland, but by the ocean (where both Miranda and I wanted to work) the fog put a chill in the air that was decidedly unpleasant.
6x7 cm film
As opposed to working in the parts of Prospect which I know best (those would be the parts closest to where the car gets parked), we decided to head cross country, until we hit new ground. I've used this approach in the past with Claire, to great results, so I had no trepidation in doing it again. When we finally moved out to the coast, as I'd hoped, the space had more then enough possibilities.
35mm infrared film
Because of the day's weather (cool and windy) I had opted to bring the smaller Mamiya RB and 35mm cameras as opposed to my 8"x10" Toyo - the large bellows of the view camera would have presented a significant problem in the high wind; it would have been very difficult to ensure that an image wasn't blurred by the wind shaking the camera. As I've worked so much with the 6x7 camera in the last couple of sessions, I had been looking forwards to having the chance to work with the 8"x10" camera, but that would have to wait.
35mm infrared film
The weather and camera helped shape the session; where I prefer to work slowly, letting the model find the pose and carefully refining the camera position, I had to opt for letting Miranda work out the pose clothed, and then quickly making the image once she disrobed, with only a little time spent refining the pose. This worked well enough, but definitely had a different flow from the normal - the images were still successful, but I do feel they would be subtly different if more time had been available to permit contemplation and revision.
35mm infrared film
Where the previous evening's session had been planned as a short session, I'd hoped to have spent most of the day working at the coast with Miranda. The weather however, conspired against us, and while Miranda was enthusiastic about working, the reality was that as the session progressed, she got colder and colder, and eventually, we brought the session to a close, finishing off the film in the cameras and heading home.

June 23, 2002

Miranda Returns! (Prospect, Nova Scotia)

The second session of the day was the result of one of the nicest surprises I have had for some time; Miranda had left Halifax in April for work elsewhere, and had no plans to return until the end of the summer. I was therefore greatly surprised to find her in my living room the night before this session, in town for a week, and needing a place to stay!
6x7 cm film
Though she'd just arrived, Miranda was more then keen to commit to working with me a couple of times during her stay, so the plans were laid. I'd known that Carol wanted to be home by late afternoon, so we made plans to meet late the next afternoon, and work until sunset at the coast.

As I always say, the best laid plans oft' go awry, and this session was no exception. We arrived at Prospect about ninety minutes before sunset, hoping for a session with warm, angular light; what we found was a coast line increasingly covered with fog, and a sun descending behind low cloud. The light was rich at first, with a soft sun adding delicate modeling to Miranda's body but as more time passed, the duller the light got until it was simply the even grey of a cloud shrouded evening.
6x7 cm film
Miranda and I worked as long as we could, given the increasing chill of the evening. A couple of the most striking images I made were close-cropped body abstracts, unusual for me in my outdoor work, where I usually place the body entirely within landscape. I think the reason for making these was the delicate quality of the setting sun's light, which provided a great description of her torso, while providing delicate softness to the rest of her figure.
6x7 cm film
Over all, the session was very enjoyable, as much for the fact I was working with Miranda so unexpectedly as it was for the images we made. It cannot be emphasized enough how much a model influences a session.