Ingrid along the Petitcodiac River

There are session which from the beginning feel perfect;  this session, at the end of an already awesome day working with three models, was absolutely that. Ingrid and I headed to the riverside of the Peticodiac River to work together for an hour or so. The evening was perfect, with lovely angular light and not a breath of wind.

Digital original, 8 frame stitch

The sea of grasses that surround the river, as it flows towards Moncton, are beautiful swept by wind and tide (the river is tidal until Moncton itself). This contrast between Ingrid‘s warm skin tones and the green and yellow around her helped make a beautiful place even more lovely. I created the images with an eight-frame stitch to ensure I had as much detail as possible in the grasses.

Ingrid and I had come to the banks of the Petitcodiac River, and found the mud, usually soft and squishy, baked hard by the afternoon sun. With great hesitation, Ingrid tried walking on the mud, and found it only lightly marker her feet. Minutes later we were working on the cracked riverbank, and making slow progress out into the mud, photographing as we went.

Digital original, 2 frame stitch

Initially, Ingrid and I worked with standing and crouching on the dried mud, as I was concerned the mud would mark her skin, and mar future images. As things turned out, the mud was more that dry enough to lie upon, so the session moved on to some of the best images.

Digital infrared original

Perhaps once a year I am lucky enough to make an image as striking as this. Once Ingrid and I had made a set of images with her on the edge of the mud, she and I both moved onto the cracked surface, which permitted me to move the camera lower, and create the strong composition lines of the above photograph.