A Day of Exploration

Usually by mid-May, the weather is more than warm enough to be working outdoors with models, but this year's spring has been unusually cool. As a result, the first weekend that I'd intended to spend working with models in New Brunswick was spent driving around on the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border looking for potential spaces to work in with models, photographing, and generally having fun.

Digital original

The first space to really engage me was a massive stone bridge Joy found in the middle of the small community of Tidnish; in the midst of an innocuous looking park, the path went over a broad, wide bridge. In a country well under 150 years old, stone bridges of this sort are incredibly uncommon, and it wasn't until I was back home hours later that I could discover its origins - it was originally built to support a ship railway, for carrying ships from upper Canada across the Tantramar mashes, and into the Bay of Fundy, saving over 500 miles of sailing. The project ultimately failed, but the remains, like this massive stone bridge, are a mute testament to the grand effort that was undertaken.

Digital original, 2 frame stitch

After leaving Tidnish, I spent the rest of the afternoon driving along back roads, and keeping an eye out for potential spaces to photograph. About the only thing to bring me to a halt was a single lone tree on the horizon of a distant field. The afternoon sky was high and multi-layered, providing a simple but visually engaging setting against which to place the tree.

Digital original

The last hour or so of the day's trip was spent photographing the architecture in downtown Amherst, the last town in Nova Scotia before the New Brunswick border. This was the first time in the day that regretted not having my 8"x10" view camera with me. Architecture naturally lends itself to the flexibility and control of the large format camera, but as the day was simply an exploratory mission, I had left it at home. In an effort to make the most of the situation, I decided to focus on architectural details and images where colour was a major element.