Ingrid and Victoria at Herring Cove

8"x10" film

Much of the early part of the session was spent focusing on a particularly striking crevasse in the bedrock. Initially working with both models, and then each individually, I made a series of images, the strongest of which was of Ingrid cascading down the rock face; the flattened perspective of the lens combined with the soft sunlight belies the fact she was fighting to keep from rolling off the crevasse and down the hill.

Digital original

Five years ago in July marked the first time I worked with Ingrid and Victoria together. The influence both these models have had on my work cannot be overstated, each of them contributing their own flair and poise to the images we've made together. With Ingrid's return from the west coast this summer, I was eager to continue to work with her, and particularly hoped to have a session with her and Victoria, as a re-visitation of where the work with the two of them began (though to be honest, the work with Ingrid began a week earlier with a solo session).

8"x10" film

After this initial exploration was completed, we shifted to making some portraits, working with the 8"x10" camera and shallow depth of field to separate the two models. Over the session, the sunlight was eventually replaced by thin high cloud, which gave the perfect light for portraits. The end result had to be cropped a little from the original negative to make the composition work but is exactly what I sought to create, with Victoria's face in sharp focus and Ingrid's face and torso softer behind. It is a hard thing, sometimes to make a portrait of two such vibrant models, but in this case, there is a serenity to the image which is most welcome, if unlooked for at the time.

Ingrid at Pennant Point

Digital original, 4 frame stitch

My very first session with Ingrid took place at Pennant Point, back in 1998. This day was almost a mirror of that session, with the weather gray and foggy.

We began the session working on the large rocks at the end of a small headland that juts out after the second beach. I'd worked here in 2000 with two models but given that that was a bright and sunny day, we only spent a little time on the rock because it is so close to the walking path and had a much higher chance of having hikers or dog walkers coming across us while we worked. On this day, because of the fog and mist, we could work with far more security so we spent a good hour working with the rock.

8"x10" film

Unlike many sessions by the ocean, the sea was subdued, with slow, rolling waves washing over the bedrock. After working for a time on the large erratic bolder that marks the end of the beach, I asked Ingrid what she thought of trying some images working with the gentle surf of the ocean. She tested the water temperature, and declared she was up for a few water images. Just behind the large erratic, there was a natural vein in the granite bedrock, a shallow depression which cumulated in a sharp break in the stone. The waves curled around the end of the rock, and swept up the depression - it was the perfect place for Ingrid to pose - no chance of her being picked up by the water and carried off but with enough turbulence to give the white highlights and frothy chaos that I am so enamored with. We worked with the space using both the 8"x10" view camera and the digital, but, in the end, the best composition was with the view camera - Ingrid's body literally melds with the sea, blending into the chaos that surrounds her.

8"x10" film

After the water nudes, we moved back onto land (truth be told, the afternoon was so foggy that Ingrid never really dried off after the water images). The rest of the session was quite successful, with us moving from my traditional "nude-in-landscape" images, to my nude portraits and near abstract images.

I seldom mix so many different approaches into a single session, but I think the fact I did on this day is as much a comment on my comfort working with Ingrid, as it was my growing comfort with different approaches used during the same session.

Victoria at Chebucto Head

8"x10" camera

Victoria and I now live less then a block from each other, yet we seem to see each other less then when we lived across the city. This is a shame, as she is an exceptional model; we both enjoy working together but life gets busy and there never seems to be enough time. That being said, from time to time the two of us do manage to fit in a session, albeit a short one.

On this particular day, there was some hesitation to head out at all; the morning was foggy and Victoria wasn't sure if the light would be good enough to work with. I replied that fog was perfect as it would give us beautiful even light and, at worst, it would burn off by noon and leave us with a bright, sunny afternoon (not the best weather condition to photograph by, but certainly pleasant to model in).

Digital original

We started working on the rocks several hundred feet from the shore, attracted to a narrow crevasse (the same one where I'd made an image on Ingrid and Miranda earlier in the summer). We made a number of portraits, and then began to explore more stylized images of Victoria on the rocks; the best of models share one characteristic - the natural ability to find a pose or suggest alternatives spontaneously.Victoria and I spent fifteen to twenty minutes exploring several different settings with her finding the pose and me refining it before making an exposure. Then Victoria would present an alternate pose, based on the first but with some subtle (or obvious) variation that shifted the emphasis or focus of the image. This worked well with the digital camera, leading to us making a dozen or more images in a short period of time.

Digital original, 17 image stitch

As the end of the session came, we headed down to the shore as I wanted to work with the fog and the shoreline. Because we were tight on time, I opted to just take the digital and work a little faster. As luck would have it, the final pose of the day was very striking and called out for the larger 8"x10" negative. Time being what it was, however, I opted to make a stitched image, using 17 frames on the EOS 10D to create a higher resolution file of Victoria reclining on the rock. The final result met all my expectations and while, in some ways, I wished I could have made it with both cameras, it was far better to have been able to make it as a high resolution stitched image than not have made it at all.

A Graveyard Field Trip

Digital original

 This tiny spider was just wonderful to photograph, moving across the surface of a worn tombstone.

Digital original

Whenever I lead a field trip for a class or workshop, and I have no subject that engages me, I fall back on working with simple composition, to guide the image imaging process.

Digital original

There is nothing as beautiful as a worn sculpture.

Fern at North River

8"x10" film

The first images we made were inspired by water rushing through a narrow gap between two rocks; I was able to position the 8"x10" camera above the gap, looking directly down upon Fern lying with her back against a smaller rock. This helped keep her torso and head still, as the water moved over and around her. The final image used a second-long exposure, to insure enough of the water blurred to give the effect I was seeking. With a shorter exposure, there wouldn't have been enough blur and a longer exposure would have removed some of the detail from the water and turned it into a white mist as opposed to obviously blurry water.

Digital original, 6 image stitch

After making the first set of images on her own, Fern was joined by her partner and for most of the rest of the session, the images focused upon the two of them. The intertwining of the two models, combined with the motion of the water lead to some very beautiful images. The first images we made worked with the same space as the first set, but I changed the camera position to be off to the side, and concentrated on making a stitched image using the digital camera. The lower vantage point created a mysterious blend between the models, with the blurred water hiding where one body ended and another began. I used a neutral density filter to slow the exposure down enough to get the long shutter speed, and worked with the longest lens I have (105mm) in making the stitches, so I kept the distortion of the image as low as possible (using a wider lens when stitching effectively makes an extremely wide-angle image, causing plenty of distortion).

8"x10" film

This was a very different session from my first work with Fern at North River; the addition of the second model made the entire session more dynamic, with more then half the images being generated by the pair, as opposed to the landscape around them. As the session progressed, I shifted from working with the moving water to using the reflections and distortions inherent in still water, posing the two models in the still pools, backed by the muted tones of the shaded banks behind them.

Overall, the most engaging element of this session ended up being the two models, not the river. Based on my earlier work there, I'd expected the river to be the focus, but the serendipity of the two models working together lead to an entirely different session from what I'd envisioned.

Constance Models in a River

8"x10" film

Every time I work with a model in water, the difference from every other session astounds me. When I return to land-based settings with different models, I often find myself working with the same spaces and angles, relying upon the difference in the model's response to the space to generate new and fresh images. With water-nudes, however, it is a totally different experience.

8"x10" film

For the entire session, I worked between the digital and the 8"x10" camera; in many cases, I sketched with the EOS 10D first and then brought the 8"x10" camera into play when I found an image that was particularly successful but, surprisingly, several times it worked in reverse.

Digital original

Because the image on the 8"x10" camera is upside down and backwards, it is a little more abstract, and removed from reality then viewing through a single-lens reflex camera, which shows the image the right way around. I have always found this to be a strength of the view camera, separating the final image one step from reality, before it is rendered onto film. This certainly was the case for this session, with a couple of the later images coming directly from compositions and viewpoints developed with the larger camera and then revised on the digital. The best case in point is the last image displayed here of Constance emerging from the water with her hips twisted. The lines are beautiful, and all the stronger for the flowing water but it was only when I considered the image as a 4"x10" cropped composition that I discovered the final image - a cropped digital image. It only took a few minutes to switch to the EOS 10D, and then the image was made. A perfect mesh of the old inspiring the new.

A Workshop Field Trip

Digital original

The water under a covered bridge was magical; it almost looked like beaten metal, as opposed to living water.

Digital original

By far the biggest impact digital photography is havbing on my work is the addition of colour; I am uncomfortable with it, having worked with black and white for so long, but when it does work, I cam surprised by how effective it is.

Digital original

All along the shore before the gypsum tower there were chunks of gypsum, weathere by the constant flow of the tides over the years.

Elisabeth and L_ Modeling in a Tree

Elisabeth, L_ and I spent about an hour working with the field and old barn before packing up and continuing on the drive back home. The hope was that we'd find other places to work along the way, but, the more we drove, the less optimistic I became. As good as the coasts of Nova Scotia are for spaces to photograph, for the most part, the interior of the province is empty, filled with scrubby trees and tight brush that precludes easy walking.

8"x10" film

In this case, however, we licked out; within 5 minutes of heading into the woods, we came across a fabulous tree. This tree was massive for Atlantic Canadian standards, and surrounded by a reasonable amount of open space, given the spread of its boughs. I pointed out the tree to the two models, and both agreed it'd be a great setting for a final set of images.

8"x10" film

The first trick was getting the models up into the tree, but once that was done (with them standing on my shoulders and then stepping up the last couple of feet), we proceeded to make a series of images, working with them individually, and then making a few of both Elisabeth and L_ together. The results were more than pleasing; even in the images which crop the tree to only a trunk and branches, there is a sense of the massiveness and grandeur of the tree, and the mixture of the models and the bark gave a beautiful mix of textures, smooth and coarse.

8"x10" film

In the end, the success of the tree nudes totally overshadowed the other images we made along the river. For years I have worked with nudes in the woods of Nova Scotia, but never before have I had the chance to work with such a massive tree that was so easily accessible, both for the models, and for myself, in regards to the camera and the compositions.

Elisabeth & L_ Together

After the first session at Burntcoat Head, I was eager to return with more time, and capture more of the possibilities I saw there. Unfortunately, though I was able to arrange the day, and find two willing models, I messed up even worse on my reading of the tide tables - we arrived after a ninety minute drive to find the tide in - there wasn't a single foot of walkable shore line! Crest fallen at the loss of such a great space, the models agreed to taking the slow road home, in the hopes that a decent alternate location would present itself.

Digital original

Less then thirty minutes later, we stopped by an overgrown field with an old barn in it; the field rose above the road, and then sloped away, so there was no chance of being seen from the road. The waist high grasses looked perfect for standing nudes; I'd done some images of Victoria in long grasses in Alberta, and was quite enthusiastic to continue building on the idea I'd begun in 1999.

8"x10" film

Both Elizabeth and L_ have very warm complexions which look beautiful against the verdant green of the field. Given this, I began the session with the EOS 10D, making some digital colour portraits with the models set against the almost monochrome green behind them. I also wanted to work in black and white, however, to contrast the smooth skin of the models against the chaotic patterns of the grasses and trees. With this in mind, I turned to working with the 8"x10" camera; this also meant a change to the image look - with the longer 360mm lens, it was impossible to have the image sharp throughout. As a result, I chose to use a fairly narrow aperture to throw both the foreground and the background out of focus. The pose, the two models leaning against each other, came from an earlier session where I'd placed the models back to back. That image failed for a technical reason, but I liked the pose, and the results in this location were everything I'd seen then and more. There is a grace and delicacy to the pose that is beautifully framed by the pale grasses and dark trees behind.

8"x10" film

The end of the session was spent working against the foundation of the old barn. The weathered concrete had a beautiful texture to it, and while it lacked some of the grad qualities present in the sea of grass surrounding it, the barn was a perfect spot to use as a backdrop for the models. I initially had thought to make a couple of portraits against the barn, but as I was setting up, Elisabeth looked down, and the wind caught her hair. I immediately changed my composition, and made a more classic Nude, focusing on the lines of Elisabeth's body set against the subtle chaos of the wall behind her. The final image has the slightest hint of wind-blur to Elisabeth's hair, which combined with the gentle swing to her hips in the same direction gives the whole image a definite directional bent.

Ingrid & Miranda at Chebucto Head

8"x10" film

Ingrid and Miranda both share a complete comfort in working with other models, which makes them the perfect models to work together; for this session, with another photographer along, it helped even more, as the two models switched off with each photographer, but when an image which called for a second model presented itself, there was always the other model somewhere nearby.

As is common with photo sessions along the coast, through the entire afternoon, we didn't move more then a couple of hundred metres down the shoreline; the landscape was so rich and varied that we only had to move over a ridge or down into a rock valley to find a new set of images waiting to be made.

8"x10" film

For most of the session, I worked with one model or the other, taking my inspiration from the lines of the rocks, and working with the models to best fit them in to the spaces. Both models have more then enough experience with this approach, and the session progressed very smoothly, though occasionally images had to be abandoned as I couldn't realize my intent. It is a hard thing to know when to let go of an image, but it often is a waste of time to work too hard on a particular image - the pose can end up looking to artificial. It is better to move on to a clearer perception then to try to force one to work that doesn't come quickly together before the lens.

8"x10" film

The greatest success among the duo-model images was also the last images made; I'd decided to finish the session up with some photos by the shoreline, but rather then take the 8"x10" camera down and work with that, I decided to maximize the time remaining, and use the EOS 10D digital camera. Though my intent had been to work with the rocks and water, a narrow rock ravine practically called out to me to work with it, so I turned my back to the sea, and set the models in the narrow rock crevasse. Almost immediately I knew what I wanted, and within two minutes, the models were in position, with Miranda lying back along a rock at the end of the crevasse, while Ingrid stood below her, as if she was bearing or supporting Miranda upon her shoulders and arms. The image looks quite contrived, but I am very pleased with it - I am almost certain it will end up in a digital piece someday, with the figures transplanted from the rocky ravine to some more fantastical environ.

Ingrid in a River

Without question my favorite setting for outdoor nudes is water - rivers, lakes and the ocean have all proved to be incredibly rich settings for my work. Ingrid's love for water, and her enthusiasm for modeling has lead to numerous successful water nudes in the past, but I am always seeking to push my work further, believing that the next session just might yield that "perfect image".

8"x10" film

For this session, I returned to the river where all my water nudes began in 1996, to continue exploring this most magical of settings. In addition to the 8"x10" view camera, I was also bringing along the EOS 10D and some neutral density filters, with which I hoped to experiment with colour water nudes.

The session had a natural progression - beginning upstream, and slowly working down, but when we arrived at the broadest part of the river, everything fell into place. A narrow shoal of rocks cut across the river, providing a perfect space for Ingrid to position herself (it was this identical shoal which was used for a different image of Victoria five years before). With almost no input from myself, Ingrid found a lovely pose, extending herself into the flow of the river. I quickly made two 8"x10" negatives, one at 1/2 a second, and the other at 4 seconds, to vary the water flow patterns.

Digital original, 12 image stitch

Confident that I had recorded the image with the view camera, I switched to the digital camera, and using the neutral density filters to get a slow shutter speed, I proceeded to record twelve images which I would later stitch together to create a high-resolution final image. As much as the digital image was a second perception, meaning I conceived of the image first in black and white, I will be the first to admit the colour image is the more striking of the two. Certainly a distinct advantage of working with the digital camera is the ability to capture a colour image for every composition, regardless of whether I plan to convert it to a monochrome image later.

8"x10" film

The final success of the session were was made with a varied viewpoint; I moved into the river upstream from Ingrid, so the reflection of the sky was picked up in the water surrounding her (most of my river nudes are made from the side, with the nude lit by the sky, but the water reflected little of the dark banks of the river. I wanted Ingrid's face to be sharp and detailed, so I had to keep the shutterspeed as short as possible; I made the image at 1/8th of a second, which I was pretty certain she could stay still for. The final result is haunting in its beauty, and tack sharp, right down to the water drops on her cheeks!

Miranda & Natasha Model at Burntcoat Head

Part of the magic of a successful nude photograph in a natural setting comes from the model, and part comes from the setting - when both the model and the setting are stellar, the images are even the more successful.

Digital original

In the case of Burntcoat Head, however, the entire day was planned as a photo session, though I didn't realize when I planned the day exactly how rich a space Burntcoat Head would be (truth be told, if I had know how magical a space it was, I would have left several hours earlier in the morning!). When we arrived and walked down to the shoreline, all of us were struck almost speechless for the sheer beauty of the shoreline that stretched out around us- vibrant red rocks were carved and shaped by the world-record tides that rolled in from the Bay of Fundy twice a day.

8"x10" film

After perhaps ten minutes spent walking around the various spaces and being quite overwhelmed by all the possibilities, I quite suddenly noticed which way the tide was flowing, and realized that as beautiful as the setting was, it was vanishing before my eyes at an alarmingly rapid pace! We'd arrived on the wrong end of the tide! I called out to both Miranda and Natasha, suggesting that we start working before the tide took all the shore away from us.

From then, until the tide finally rose faster then we could work, we made images non-stop. Not since I worked with Victoria in Writing-on-Stone, in 1999 had I felt so inspired and in awe of a location. We literally worked until we could work no more - at the end of the session, after packing up my cameras, I had to walk out of the site through knee-deep water - another fifteen minutes and I wouldn't have been able to keep the cameras dry!

8"x10" film

As Natasha's introduction to modeling outdoor, the space was fabulous, being so full of inspiration.

The only real problem with the session was the tide; several times models or I had to scramble to keep clothes or gear from being washed away, and countless images had to be put off for other sessions simply because of lack of time. Any future sessions at Burntcoat Head will certainly be better planned in regards to the tide table (I had tried to plan around the tides for this session, but obviously didn't make the right adjustments for location).

A Second Pregnancy Session

Digital original

Of all the subjects I work with, I feel without a doubt that pregnancy and couples nudes are the most appropriate for studio work. Both bodies of work focus upon the body to the exclusion of all else; in the case of pregnancy images, it is the ever changing development of the pregnancy that is the focus of the imagery. What usually frustrated me with the studio - the lack of context or environment, is perfect for focusing on the Nude alone, as I do with both couples and expectant models.

8"x10" film

With Christina, the session also marked the chance to make images that can't be created in my smaller apartment - in my house there simply isn't any space large enough to back up enough to make full body compositions like we created in the studio. I had intended to work with some more dramatic lighting, similar to what I produced with Aurora last fall, but I had problems getting the flash system to work with the digital camera, and eventually resorted to using available light.

Digital original

As much as this frustrated me, it also simplified things, as my primary frustration with studio photography is the total open field it presents, in regards to how to light the subject. With the natural light, I was limited to the double-doors set into the side of the studio, which produced a beautifully delicate, yet still directional light to work with. I worked between the digital camera and the 8"x10" camera, which is the workflow I intend to follow if I make the switch to digital. By the end of the session, I was feeling very positive about the mix of formats; using the lighter, more flexible digital SLR for exploring and preliminary sketching, and then refining the most notable compositions with the more time consuming view camera suited my work style perfectly.

Canada Day Fireworks

Digital original

Probably the greatest change that buying a digital camera has had upon my work is returning experimentation and play to photography. Since about 1994, I had increasingly viewed photography as something that is art-related, as a creative tool, not a fun pastime. While this has had a definite impact on the respect I regarded my own work with, it also changed the way I used a camera, and fairly quickly lead to a cessation of "snap-shots" and other less serious uses of a camera.

Ingrid Models in a Waterfall

Digital original

Ingrid had left for the West Coast before I'd begun working with Dawson Brook, which has since come to be one of my favorite water spaces to photograph. Given Ingrid's love for water, one of my first thoughts after her return was to see if I could arrange for a session at Dawson Brook, to see what Ingrid would bring to the space

8"x10" film

Once we'd determined that it was possible to work directly in the waterfall, I worked my way around to the far side of the river with the 8"x10" camera - a feat all on its own. Once I was in place, we proceeded to make four compositions; it was slow working, as I had to yell over the sounds of the water to refine the poses, and then had to gingerly relocate the camera for each different composition - no easy task on slippery, algae--covered rocks! With a bit of effort, we managed to create a quite striking image, with a very different composition from many of my other water nudes, which tend to be of reclining or receding figures.

Digital original

The final images of the session were intended to be a series of portraits of Ingrid emerging from the water but, as luck would have it, a more successful photograph emerged; as we were working, Ingrid glanced down, and her hair was set against the waterfall behind. I asked her to hold the pose, and made several variation on the image, with the most successful being show here; the rich greens reflected in the water contrast well with Ingrid's pale skin, while the cascading water behind seems to mirror the flow of her dark hair.

Krista & Greg

Digital original

With Greg and Krista, I'd worked with them once before on New Year's Day, but that session was less then ideal as the light was fading as we worked and I had to resort to 3200 ISO film before we were finished. This session was better planned, with the models arriving in the middle of the day, and the light being excellent (a good indication of how enthusiastic I am about working with couple nudes is the fact I chose to work indoors with Krista and Greg on a day when an outdoor session was an option).

Digital original

Once we finished with the shower nudes (basically, once we'd run out of poses and ideas), the models dried off and moved onto the couch, located near a large deck window. Normally, when I work with the Nude indoors, I place the models back to the window, with the white sheets diffusing the light but, for this session, I decided to vary my approach some and instead worked with side lighting. The results were very pleasing, with a more directional quality to the light and a little more contrast then I am used to.

Digital original

On the whole, the session was very successful; Greg and Krista worked well together and that, combined with their comfort in front of the camera, lead to some very delicate images, photos of two lovers entwined and embracing. I've had great successes with my images of multiple models together in both the studio and natural light, but this work reinforces how much stronger the images are when the subjects are lovers.