Miranda VIII

When planning the New Brunswick Portfolio, it was important to me to try to cover a reasonably broad range of the province - in Alberta in 1999, Victoria and I only worked in the southern half of the province, leaving about 75% of it unexplored, photographically. This has to be balanced however, with my lack of local knowledge - it would be a waste of time and money to wander all over looking for a space to photograph. With this in mind, during the months before Miranda arrived to work with me, I tried to make arrangements for local guides, who'd be able to show me spaces I'd otherwise miss (it was a co-worker who recommended the amazing space at Bas-Cap-Pele, for example).

8"x10" film

The place where this worked best was in Woodstock, in the middle of western New Brunswick. On what turned out to be the best day yet of the portfolio weather wise, Miranda and I left Moncton early in the morning, and arrived well before noon at Woodstock, met up with our host, and by 11am, we'd started working. Not fifteen minutes from town we spotted a likely looking bard, and swiftly were safely within it's walls working with the piles of hay and architecture.

8"x10" film

It is somewhat ironic that after two days of photographing in rain or drizzle, our first session under cover was on a relatively dry morning. The first poses, standing by the centre posts, was relatively easy on Miranda, but even laying on the hay bales wasn't too itchy - I put my dark cloth under her before she lay back and found the pose (though all through the pose, she was slowly slipping down on the plasticized fabric.

Digital original, 8 frame stitch

The best image of the space however was made on the outside of the barn, with Miranda working her figure into the lines of the lintel over the broad doorway - an image which would ultimately end up being selected for the portfolio.