2015's First Outdoor Session (Martinique Beach, Nova Scotia)

Warm weather has been slow to come to Nova Scotia this year. Previously, I have worked with models outdoors as early as late March, but this year, it took until mid-June that a day when I was available, a model was available, and the weather was warm enough occurred. Fortunately, there was a bright side to the delay – the Canon EOS 5Ds/5DsR was released on the same day, so in addition to being my first outdoor session with a model in 2015, this was also my first working with a new camera (replacing the Canon EOS 5D MKII, which I bought in 2008).

Digital infrared original

Jenn and I headed to the coast, planning to work along a beach under the evening sky. When we arrived at the beach, it was practically deserted, with several kilometers of open beach to work upon. By this time however, the temperature had dropped a little, so rather than work on the beach itself Jenn and I walked to the back side of the beach, and began the session working with a piece of driftwood.

Digital infrared original

This session marks nine years since Jenn and I first worked together in 2006; the advantages of that extended collaboration shone from the start, with Jenn and I talking through the first location’s possibilities, and Jenn finding the pose almost immediately.

Digital original

Though this session was relatively short due to the chilly weather, Jenn and I explored a handful of different locations, slowly working towards the high dunes, where we finished the session. It was the final compositions, with the setting sunlight flowing across Jenn’s torso and most of her body in the shade of the dune, where the new camera (the Canon EOS 5DsR) really shone; in the final processed image, there is beautiful rich detail throughout the image, from the sun-lit skin and breaking waves to the deep shadows on the near side of the dune.