Bobbi & Kylie Model in a River

Bobbi and Kylie have both been keen about modeling in water and, while both have had the chance to do some water nudes, each session to date have been less then ideal - either too short to fully realize the potential, or in water that was simply too cool for comfort. It was only with this visit in July that we finally managed to get to a river I knew well, on a day with the right light, to be able to fully realize a full session of water nudes.

8"x10" film

Canaan River has been one of the most consistent spaces for my water work; it was in this river in 1996 that I first worked with the nude in water, and since then, seldom a year has gone past without me at least working once with a model in the river. One of the best features of working with rivers is how much they can change from one week to the next - this permits working in the same space without obviously repeating the setting.

Digital original, 4 frame stitch

Just as I had thought that I'd focus on colour work, I also thought I'd take more advantage of having two models present to work with. I have done some work in the past with multiple models in water but, more often than not, my water work is with a single model. Though we did try some images with the two women together, almost all the successful images were of single models. This is rooted in the fact that while it is relatively easy to find a pose for a single body, often the composition is weakened by the addition of a second model - the second pose must both compliment the first, and strengthen it...otherwise a good image is being diminished.

Digital original, 3 frame stitch

By the end of the session, Bobbi and Kylie had dubbed Canaan River the "River of Death", a jovial reference to my losing a 4x5 view camera to the river six years earlier, but also acknowledgement to how difficult it was to move around in - the water level was lower than usual and much of the algae-covered rock was half-exposed, making for treacherous footing.