Kylie Returns to Moncton

Digital original

After my first sessions with Kylie in January were over, and all the images were processed and edited, I was very much looking forward to working with her again; her comfort with modeling clearly showed in the images and her enthusiasm for the entire process was a close mirror of my own - always a good thing! Time passed, and life got busy, but finally after eight weeks, it happened that our schedules coincided and she returned to continue working where we'd left off.

Digital original

We began with a session using the available light in the kitchen, the futon and sheets; as the year warms up, the light is slowly shifting back to shining directly through the deck doors, which is only going to increase the functionality of the space. This being said, by the time we actually got the room set up and ready to work, the last of the sun had moved to the side, and we were left with indirect light - bright enough to work with, but lacking the white brilliance of direct sunlight. This actually doesn't show up much in the images but it did have an influence in the kinds of images I could make - the lower light levels forced longer exposures, so while I continually returned to working with portraits, most of the images focused on reclining images, working with Kylie lying on her back or front, and using the back-lighting of the white sheets to light her figure.

Digital original

The entire tone of the session was different from those in January - then the main focus of the session were to introduce Kylie to working with me and create images that would gain her confidence. With this session, I was able to concentrate more on what I was seeking and made a number of images that pushed; one of the advantages of working with a model multiple times is that it is easier to make experiments and take risks without risking the relationship with a model - a couple of failed experiments here and there can often pale in the face of the successes (or so I hope).