Miranda at Peggy's Cove

Digital original

We wrapped up working at Spion Copp after just over an hour, taking Miranda back to the car, and driving down the coast to Peggy's Cove for lunch. All through lunch I kept gazing out the window, watching the drizzle and fog roll past, and wondering if it was my eyes, or if it was getting brighter. As it turned out, by the time we finished lunch, the rain had abated, and only thick fog shrouded the coast - but to make it even better, the morning wind had died down, making the foggy afternoon more then feasible for a figure session at the coast.

Similar to the first time I photographed a model at Peggy's Cove in 1990, the decision to work was informed by the fact that we were a party of three, increasing the number of people would could keep an eye out for unexpected visitors. It was also mitigated by the poor weather, which meant the popular tourist destination was sparsely populated. We set off to work, walking for a while down the rocky coast, until all trace of civilization was lost in the fog behind us.

Digital original

Because of the wet day, almost all the poses we worked with were of Miranda standing, either leaning onto rocks, or set along against the backdrop of the surging ocean, which was still quite active from the morning's winds. It just wasn't practical to work with poses that involved lying on the rocks because of how quickly they leeched the warmth out of Miranda.

Digital original

The session, and indeed the day, was great, for all the rain that fell upon us. The morning space, at Spion Copp hints at possibilities with Miranda (I hadn't realize she'd never worked in that space) and the afternoon session at Peggy's Cove was the icing on the cake, with the striking compositions being made with the foggy atmosphere and wonderfully textured granite rock as a counterpoint to the figure.