Lis in the Pool

The second session of Lis' visit to Moncton was a continuation of my exploration of studio water nudes. By this session, pretty much all of the technical issues had been worked out (filling and emptying the wading pool I was using, how to light the scene, what to line the wading pool with to ensure the best quality images), so I could concentrate on making the actual photographs.

Digital infrared original

As with the previous wading pool sessions, I focused almost exclusively on the interplay between the light reflecting on the water, and the shadow of the model. The most important part of this process is waiting for the water to become still and then finding the perfect angle to photograph from; too high an angle removes the reflection from the water and too low an angle often had the edges of the water pool in the image. This, combined with the fact that many of the images I was making were multi-frame stitches, made for a very slow, methodical session, with many long pauses as I waited for the water to settle down, and made the series of exposures for each image.

Digital infrared original

As I've noted before, to some degree the studio water sessions feel like I am working with the same compositions and poses over and over again. In a literal sense, this is quite true, as there are only so many positions that look good with the particular combination of lighting and setting I am using, but by the same token, the process is not really focused on making new and different images, but rather on honing the realization of a process, and perfecting the results as much as possible.

Digital infrared original

Truth be told, if Lis and I had more time, I would have been much happier heading outdoors, and working in a real river or lake, but with only so much time before she flew back home, we had to make the most of the possibilities.