Claire in a River

Digital infrared original, 9 frame stitch

This session was set in one of my favorite locations to work in - an easily accessible river with relatively shallow water levels, and some interesting rocks to work with. We began the session with Claire posing on a trio of large stones that interrupt the river flow; this gave her an environment with a solid foundation to keep still on, as the water broke over her body, and swirled around her.

Digital original

As Claire was taking a break between water poses, I caught a glimpse of her sitting in the water pool, backed by the sky reflecting off the water behind her. I quickly set up my tripod and made a series of portraits; the above image, with the largest aperture (f/1.2) just happened to have the best expression!

Digital infrared original, 15 frame stitch

Almost fourteen years before this image was made, I worked for the first time in this River, and as it is said, you can’t visit the same river twice. I have worked in this spot perhaps a dozen times, and never made an image with such a perfect balance between the water, rocks and model. The combination of the pose, the water level and flow-rate, and the soft light all come together in one of my best water Nudes in years.