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.