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| 4"x5" film |
Annie's
house was spacious and bright, with large windows in all the right
places (for photography at least), and Victoria and I started with her
simply sitting in a covered white chair. Moving from working outdoors,
where I am directing the model into poses I see with my mind's eye,
into a situation where I am simply reacting to what is before me, was a
nice change; I by far prefer the former, but exploring a static pose it
is a very different process, being almost a technical exercise. That
said, I was very pleased with the result, above, which very strongly
reflects my intent at the moment of creation. The strong flow of
Victoria's hip creates a very rich motion in the image, which keeps the
eye dancing within its borders.
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| 4"x5" film |
After
we finished with images in the chair, Victoria and I revisited the
skulls hanging on Annie's walls. Working on top of the dining room
table, which is almost totally surrounded by windows, we made
half-a-dozen photos with each skull, working again in a studio-like
environment, in order to best focus the images on the interplay between
the body and skulls. For the most part, I just had Victoria hold the
skulls in manners which used them as mirrors or counterfoils to the
body; as with the outdoor skull photos, these images focus just on the
body and bone, with no reference to the landscape or setting of Alberta.
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| 4"x5" film |
The
results of the afternoon were very pleasing (though I didn't know how
pleasing at the time, as none of the film from Alberta was processed
until my return to Halifax), and present a few possibilities I have
never considered before. I seldom use any props when I work with the
Nude in the studio (some vague ideas of nudes and roses in an early
session or two were quickly abandoned), but the power and effectiveness
of the skull nudes has me reconsidering this approach, and pondering the
possibilities.
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