My First 2010 Outdoor Session with Stephanie (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Digital infrared original

As soon as the spring weather begins to arrive in Nova Scotia, I am eager to be able to head out and work with models again, after months of waiting. For this session, Stephanie was available, so we headed to a burnt forest site near Halifax - though the first area we had any real successes with was an old oil tank, which was covered in rust and pock-marked with age. The tank provided the only shade from the harsh direct sun, and though the space was relatively limited, in regards to pose, the above image was the first strong photograph of the session.

Digital infrared original

After we ran out of ideas in the shade of the oil tank, we moved back onto the path through the forest, where we unexpectedly came across a pile of cut granite stone (likely left there in the 19th century, when a near by fortification was constructed). With the underbrush still bare from winter, and the burnt trees devoid of needles or leaves, the stone piles were one of the few areas in which provided an environment that would work with the body; with a little experimentation, the above pose, with Stephanie leaning forward, and extending her right leg along the line of the blacks, was discovered.

Digital infrared original

For the rest of the session, Stephanie and I worked on the rocks, constantly trying to work around the harsh sunlight through a combination of camera angle and pose. Overall, the session was a great beginning to the outdoor work for the year, but a little more time, and either a later session start, or softer light would have gone a long way to making Stephanie's job easier!