Bobbi & Miranda at la Dune de Bouchtouche

Because this was Bobbi and Miranda's last day in New Brunswick before leaving for Quebec, I thought it would be a good one to spend on a single location. With the possibility that we might not be able to find an isolated enough location in mind, we set out for the dunes in the mid-morning. After the flowerpot rocks at Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick's best know features are its beaches; much of the eastern shore of New Brunswick is an unbroken sandy coast-line, but the best known beach in the province is la Dune de Bouctouche, which is the longest sand-dune north of the Carolinas (14 km long). I'd already visited the dunes while scouting out places to work in the province, but was unsure if it was possible to find sections of the beach isolated enough to work with models.

Digital original, 4 frame stitch & focus blend

It turned out to be surprisingly easy to get past the people and onto uninterrupted, unpopulated dune. The public boardwalk only goes 1/4 of the way down the dunes, and a half-hour walk beyond that left us alone in the world. In fact, for the entire afternoon that we worked on the dune (more then four hours), we only had one couple come along the shore, and when Bobbi went over to ask if they'd mind if we continued with our work, the women smiled and replied that no, they wouldn't mind, and in fact, it would be most pleasant- a most surprising and pleasant response.

Digital original

As with the session at Neville Lake, one of the freeing elements of working on la Dune de Bouctouche was the isolation; with two models, the usual modus operandi is one models hangs out (clothed) while the other is working, and visa versa; with the dunes however, as I was working with one model, the other would wander down the beach, into the ocean, or just hang out, nude the whole time. Probably the only issue with this way of working was the trail of clothing and equipment we left behind us as we moved slowly down the beach.

Digital original, two frame exposure blend, five frame stitch

On the whole, the session was one of the best of the year; less for the images that were made (which were definitely successful) but more for the tone and emotion - the day was warm and overcast, providing great light to work by, but not hot enough to become uncomfortable. With two models to work with, I could switch between them as appropriate, working with Bobbi in the tidal pools, and then Miranda upon the beach itself. Eventually, it was the weather that put a damper on the day - late in the afternoon, the wind came up suddenly and the sky darkened. Realizing that a downpour was likely imminent, we swiftly packed up, and walked the hour or so back to the parking lot and our drive home. True to prediction, the rain began as we were walking and by the time we met Joy with the car, there was pretty solid rain.