Two Models at Cape Enrage

Shortly after moving to New Brunswick, I began searching for space in which I could work with the Nude; one of the most frequently suggested by locals was Cape Enrage, less than an hour south of Moncton. A quick reconnaissance trip confirmed the space was one idea for my approach, and I began to look for the right day to begin working with the space.

The greatest problem with any space on the Bay of Fundy is the tides; with a 9 metre tidal range, even if the weather and models are cooperative, if the tide is high, or close to high, then there is no space to photograph on. Fortunately, both the weather, and the tide was perfect for the space and we had a full afternoon available to work along the shore.As we arrived, the tide was falling. 

8"x10" film

My first images of the session were of the shoreline in its entirety; with the towering cliffs overshadowing the small nude in the foreground. These images relied upon the flexibility of the view camera, which permitted me to capture the 20m high cliffs without pointing the camera upwards and distorting the lines of the cliff (with a smaller format camera, the only way to have captured the cliffs would have been the point the camera up, which instantly would make the cliff lean back and recede). It is a hard thing to show the sheer massiveness of the cliff, but combined with the delicate nude in the foreground, and grand sweeping sky above the beach, the image gives exactly the feeling I was seeking to convey.

Digital original, 6 frame stitch

From the first images onward, the entire session was focused with working with the models in the rocks, either on the shore line itself, or on the cliff-face itself, where the rock was more fractured and broken then the water smoothed stones on the beach. The joy of working with rocks was in that they provided such a rich spawning ground for images - the lines and fissures in the stone were easy to work with and both Miranda and Bobbi found plenty of spaces to pose in.

Digital original, 8 frame stitch

As the session moved along, the light, which had started out diffused by high clouds, got even better as first high, then low fog moved in, softening the light even more. The only side effect of this was that the temperature began to drop. As a result, I began to more consciously switch off between the two models, giving each a chance to warm up between the poses. As the afternoon began to wind down and grow darker, I exposed my last sheet of 8"x10" film (I am limited to 20 sheets of film per session unless I spend the time to reload in the field), and shifted to working exclusively with the digital camera. By this point, the air had turned chilly with the fog and there was little energy left for the remaining images. Bobbi toughed out a couple of dozen exposures with the digital camera but was quite pleased to agree the session had come to a close.