Hannah and Krista had both expressed an interest in modeling one more time before they left for central camera at the beginning of September. As I wasn't able to make it down to Halifax again before then, they offered to drive up to New Brunswick, and spend a day working me.
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Digital infrared original, 44 frame stitch |
In stark contrast to our previous session together, the weather was
gray, overcast, and threatening rain. Ever optimistic, the five of us
(Miles and Natasha were also along, planning to work together in the
same spaces as Krista and Hannah and I were going to use), headed off
for the coast, planning to work with the rock formations Miranda and I
had used just over a month earlier.
The model's response to
the space was much the same as Miranda's, and very quickly they were
discussing the possibilities of actually climbing up on the hoodoo to
pose. I told them it was too high, and not practical, but moments later,
when I turned back from my camera gear, both models were perched on the
rock, smiling and asking for pose suggestions. The first step I took to
making the final image was actually not working on the pose, but the
surrounding image. Knowing the setting was so dramatic, I decided to
make the image as a multi-image stich, and with the models such a small
portion of the final composition, I made the overall image stitch
without the models in position - this permitted them the comfort of
sitting, and reduced the time they'd actually be nude to the small
time-frame in which they'd be the focus of the camera.
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Digital infrared original |
With
the stitch complete, I then checked around for unexpected visitors, and
then moved to working with the models on the pose. Very quickly they
discovered that there were only a limited number of positions they could
comfortably (and safely) hold on the top of the rock, and with some
suggestions from the camera's position, I helped them refine these into a
very striking pose, with their bodies flowing in both directions off
the side of the rocks. In about five minutes, I was finished with the
pose, having made the final images to add into the stitch. Just as I was
helping the models down off the rock, the weather started to break, and
a light drizzle began to fall. Rather than give up the rest of the
afternoon, after a quick debate, Krista and Hannah agreed that we'd try
to work for a while in the sea caves, which would both keep the session
going, and permit me to build on the images I'd made in that location
last month with Miranda.
Moving into the cover the rocks
provided turned out to be a wise decision, as the light drizzle soon
turned to genuine rain. The rock caves provided plenty of shelter for me
and the camera gear, but relatively swiftly, both models were totally
soaked, so we proceeded to make some images with them working in the
ocean. The most successful of these images was a portrait of Hannah
rearing out of the water. This was made by blending two images - one
with a short exposure to ensure Hannah's face was sharp and detailed,
and one with a much longer exposure, to catch the water flowing over her
body as it flowed off of the rocks around her. In the past I have used
blended exposures to control image contrast, but never to combined part
of an image with movement, and another part as totally still. The final
results were very pleasing, and open up another digital technique to use
when working with water.
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Digital infrared original, 43 frame stitch |
The final image of the sessions was one on Krista emerging from one of the rock caves. Hannah, Krist aand I had just finished a series of images focusing on the two of the in the caves, when I asked Krista if she could fit inside one of the small holes, and lie back, as if she was emmerging from the opening. The results looked stunning, so I very quickly shifted to using a longer lens and stitching the image together, to increase the final print's resolution and quality.
The combination of two keen, enthusiastic models and such a stunning space lead to a wonderful final session for these two, before they departed for central Canada.
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