It
was positive happenstance that my move to New Brunswick came at the
close of the summer; by the time my new darkroom was finished, and the
house settled down, the leaves had mostly left the trees, and any chance
of working outdoors with models had passed. That being said, the chance
to go for an exploratory drive to seek out spaces to work in next year
also presented the possibility of photographing whatever presented
itself.
8"x10" film
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I
seldom plan what and where I am going to photograph, but given how much
of my work focused on the Nude, it is usually a given that, regardless
of the session, the primary subject of my images will be the body. Today
however, that wasn't an option, so I left myself open to whatever came
my way, and so it was that during our drive along a rural highway, I
spotted a graveyard by the side of the road, and proposed it be our
first stop of the trip. I have always been enamoured with graveyards,
and what I glimpsed from the road turned out to be more the appropriate,
with several beautifully carved tombstones to work with. The direct
sunlight, which normally I abhore, was quite nice to work with, due to
its low winter angle - it provided the perfect light to pull out the
detail and texture of the stones.
8"x10" film
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After
leaving the graveyard, we continued to drive towards our intended
destination - the Fundy coast an hour or so from Moncton. By far my
favorite places to photograph are the coastal spaces within 30 minutes
of Halifax, so with the relocation to Moncton, my first hope is to find
similar spaces on the coast near my new home (though with the coast
about 45 minutes away, it is not quite as convenient.
8"x10" film
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While
my eyes were focused on finding coastal spaces to work, when we came
over a hill crest and were faces with a dramatic view of a long
abandoned, weathered house, I knew we had to stop. Just like graveyards,
I have had a long affinity for abandoned buildings, so the space called
out to me. In some ways, the building was disappointing to work with;
the floors inside had collaped, meaning that working inside the building
was not an option but it still presented more than enough possibilities
from the outside to occupy my ground-glass for the better part of forty
minutes.
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