Brianda's first session

Brianna had first contacted me about modeling in 2002, when she lived in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. I told her it was unlikely I would be up her way anytime soon (NWT is farther away from Atlantic Canada than Europe is, even though it is still in Canada). I did however encourage her to let me know if she was ever coming this way, as I would be more than happy to work with her.

8"x10" film

As it happened, this summer found Brianna with a job in Maine a relatively short distance away in Maine and, after some e-mail discussions, we settled on the last weekend of August as the best time for her to come up and work with me.

Though the afternoon when she arrived was sunny and warm, the next morning dawned more then a little wet. The day's weather was calling for thundershowers, and the threat of rain all day, so we decided rather then chance the whim of the weather, we'd leave New Brunswick for the promise of cloudy with sunny periods in Nova Scotia. Not wanting to drive all the way to Halifax though, I
decided to head for Neville Lake, where'd I'd previously worked with Bobbi and Ingrid. This time, however, the light was perfect - soft and even, and we spent more than two hours working at the lake, both in the water, and in the trees surrounding it.

8"x10" film

For someone who had never modeled before, Brianna had a striking sense of confidence (she claims it was rooted in two years of wanting to model, but I think it was still surprising, regardless). The first couple of images in the water had some hesitance and reserve to them, but before we moved out of the water an hour later, she was totally comfortable before the camera, and some of the most striking images of the session were standing portraits - one of the hardest poses to ask of a model.

Digital original, 4 frame stitch

On the whole, the session went really well - it was less chaotic then the previous session with Bobbi and Ingrid (two models often increases the possibilities, but inevitably leads to a measurable distraction factor), but at the same time, having worked in the space before made the session stronger- I had an idea of where I wanted to be, and what sort of poses and compositions were possible.