August 07, 2005

Trisha at the Coast

I hadn't worked with Trisha since 1999 when she left for British Columbia in 2000; when I heard she was back in Nova Scotia for the summer and interested in modeling, I kept all of Sunday free. Truth be told, the day dawned bright and sunny, and my heart sank, as that yields some of the most difficult lighting possible.Given the innate changeability of Maritime weather, I decided to go ahead with the session as planned. We met up at West Dover and headed out onto the rocky shoreline to work for the afternoon.
Digital infrared original, 3 frame stitch
Because of the harsh light, the first place we worked was actually in a shadowed cave under a rocky outcrop. The light was beautifully even and the rocks had strong lines and shape to work with. Initially I had been concerned that Trisha's tan lines would cause a problem (her job has her outdoors for many hours a day), but they barely registered on the infrared modified camera, making the whole process easier. Once we finished working in the shade, we moved out into the sunlight, with Trisha modeling on several seaweed covered rocks right by the sea; in infrared, the dark brown rockweed practically glows, giving a surreal quality to the images. I ended up making several multi-frame stitches, though these proved challenging to assemble, as the ocean swept in and around the rock several times over the making of the image. That being said, through the patience of both Trisha and I, the final images worked out beautifully.
Digital infrared original
All through the seaweed images, I wanted Trisha to be immersed in the water but the open Atlantic, even in August, was just too cold for that to be practical. Around the corner in a cove, however, we found the perfect space, cut off from the receding tide by a line of rocks was a shallow basin, sun warmed and perfect for the final location for the session.
Digital infrared original, 8 frame stitch
One recent addition to my DSLR equipment was a right-angle viewer for my Nikon D70. This permits photography at a very low angle without having to look straight through the viewfinder itself. I'd used this the previous evening at Martinique Beach for the first time, but it was during this session that it came into use heavily – with myself standing in the water, it would have been impossible to have the camera at water level and stay dry enough to use it. With the right-angle finder, I could simply bend over and use a hand under the camera to keep from accidentally immersing it in the ocean. This permitted me to make a whole series of images with the camera at near-water level, while still keeping myself, and all the other camera equipment around my waist, completely dry.

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