Natasha at Herring Cove

Digital original

Natasha and I had planned to work at the coast this afternoon, but when the day turned out to be wet and foggy, there was some doubt whether we should venture out; while I have previously worked with a view camera in the rain, it is not an easy venture, as more attention must be given to keeping the equipment dry than to the actual making of the images. When the time came to set out, I decided to leave the 8"x10" camera at home, and just work with the EOS 10D; the smaller camera would be easier to keep dry, and faster to work with, making the most of our time if the rain did actually come.

Digital original

Over the session, we gradually worked from the rocks below the path, to those right by the ocean. The images of Natasha on the rocks were quick and successful, with many of them playing with the merging of the body with the rocks, but it was when we moved to working right by the ocean that the images really started to sing. The combination of Natasha's fair skin, the richly textured rocks, and the roll of the waves and surf all came together to create a series of very striking images. Because the ocean was quite sedate, we were able to work right next to it with little concern for the waves; this permitted me to work with wider angle lenses, and get a stronger sense of perspective between the model, in the foreground, and the ocean behind her.

Digital original

Probably the most interesting element of the session was the colour; because of the fog, the light was beautifully soft, but the rocks, often sun-drenched and shockingly white, had a beautiful warmth to them. That, combined with the cool blue-gray of the ocean, proved to be a beautiful setting for the Nude, and more then half of the images I viewed as successful I left as colour - very unusual for me, being such a black and white traditionalist.