A Couple at Spion Copp

When planning my visits to Halifax, a flurry of e-mails is usually involved, trying to arrange photo session and make the most of the time available for me. For this particular visit, when I let people know I would be in Halifax for the weekend, L_ immediately replied, asking if I'd be interested in
working with her and a new model, her boyfriend Andrew. We arranged to meet on the Saturday after I was finished teaching, and as the shadows grew long we drove out to Spion Copp to work

8"x10" film

Working with two models in an abandoned fort taps into two of my favorite ways of working. Spion Copp has always proven a good space to work in - convenient to get to from Halifax, but isolated enough to seldom have any interruptions. That, paired with the natural interaction between couples was more than enough to insure the session was a success. Because we started in the early evening, I knew we only had a couple of hours to work, but between my familiarity with the space, and having worked with L_ for almost four years, I wasn't worried about the time frame.

8"x10" film

I had considered working only with the digital camera for this session, but ended up bringing both cameras with me -the time was limited, but I knew that if I had left the camera behind, and came across a strong enough image, I would regret it. As it turned out, though I sketched with the digital camera, it ended up being the images I made with the 8"x10" camera that really caught my eye, and thus the images displayed here are all from the film camera. It is not that the digital images were failures, just that the film images were more refined compositions.

Digital original, 5 frame stitch

Overall, the session was a lot of fun; the two models were very comfortable, something that cannot be taken for granted with new models, and the light, though it faded fast, was beautifully soft. In some ways, the session was mis-located - I would have been happier working with the couple in an indoor setting, where I could have focused more upon the relationship and interplay between the models - but as L_ had specifically asked about working outdoors, I was more than happy just to have the opportunity to photograph for the evening!