An Early Outdoor Woodland Session (South Shore, Nova Scotia)

Digital infrared original

This was one of the first photographs from this session, which was also S_'s first time posing Nude, and only the second time we'd met. I've always felt there is an advantage to working with first-time models; they have no preconceptions about how a session should proceed, and so are open to just letting it unfold naturally.

Digital infrared, 2 frame stitch

Prior to this day, the easiest I’ve ever worked outdoors with a model (comfortably) was late April, but today was a record breaking 30 degrees Celsius! I’d met a week before with S_, who was interested on trying figure modeling, so rather than stick to our original plan, and work indoors for a first session, in late March, we headed for the great outdoors!

This documentary photo gives some idea how spartan Nova Scotia can look in March...though there was no snow, and the day was plenty warm, there still was a feeling of winter in the air.

Digital infrared, 8 frame stitch

My favorite image of the this session, above, takes full advantage of the early date of the session; normally, in infrared, the forest around S_ would be bright and luminous, with the leaves of the brush and trees reflecting all sorts of infrared radiation; with the session being so early in the year, the trees were bare, and the only luminous element is S_'s figure.