Bianca Returns! (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

This session was unplanned, and a real surprise; Bianca, who’d left for warmer places last December, texted me out of the blue to let me know she was back in town, and asking about making some new photos. After a little back and forth, we ended planning a session for the next day.

It was a real pleasure reconnecting creatively with Bianca; initially she found it a little challenging to find poses that worked, but it didn’t take her long to get back into the “zone” and begin to really enjoy the process.

Digital original

The first location we worked in was a 19th century caponier, taking advantage of the diffused lighting it offered in the middle of a brutally sunny day. I first worked in this space 23 years ago, and still find it inspiring, especially in light of how different models respond to the location in such different ways.

After we’d worked through the possibilities of the old fortification, we still had about 90 minutes left to work together, so we headed to the coast, in hopes that with the rocky shore, I’d be able to find some spaces where the harsh sunlight would work with Bianca’s poses.

Digital original

Ironically, while my expectation was to work with the rocks on the coast, the first setting that really worked was focused on an old tree stump and a glacial erratic high up on the shore (as opposed to the bedrock we’d work with at the end of the session). I was immediately drawn to the shadow of the tree upon the rock, and asked Bianca to see what poses she could find that would work with it. The final result was really pleasing, and perfectly suited for infrared (which set the stark tree against a dark sky).

Infrared digital original, two image stitch

The session ended with Bianca and I working with a small water pool near the tide-line; the light was still harsh, but it was starting to move lower in the sky, and could give some pleasing modeling to Bianca’s figure, wen arching back against the bedrock by the pool.

Digital original

All in all the session, while short, was a real pleasure. The chance to build on the images Bianca and I created last fall was more than welcome, but the best part was it was my second chance to work with the new Canon EOS 5DsR for my colour work, and the camera is proving to be a real pleasure to use. I won’t see the real benefits until I get a chance to print the work, but even on a computer screen, I can see the incredible image quality this camera produces.