At a River with Ingrid (Dorey Lake, Nova Scotia)

For this session, Ingrid and I hoped to work with a river; as my favorite place to photograph models in water is no longer an option, we had to search out a new place to work. Fortunately, I had a location in mind, and after some driving and a little walking, we found ourselves beside of a smooth flowing river, contemplating where to begin.

After a few compositions made in the verdant moss beside the river, we shifted to working with the river. The first image of Ingrid perched on a rock is a little unusual for me, as I usually work with models immersed in water, but I was drawn to how the light wrapped around her, and the break in the trees just behind her head.

Digital original

For this point onward, Ingrid posed in the river, and she and I moved through a familiar dance, with me suggesting a space, her finding a pose, and me refining it, and then finding the compositions. Often I photographed from multiple perspective, and made several successful images of the same pose (which makes it hard to select a favorite, sometimes).

Digital infrared original

After working in the river for an hour, we packed up and headed back to the car. Before we left however, we made a final set of photographs of Ingrid in the shallows of the lake that fed the river we started in. Where the earlier images focused on water motion, these portraits played more with shallow depth of field, and the soft light in the afternoon shade.

Digital original

Without a doubt, the best part of working with the same person for seventeen years is how strong a rapport this creates between the model and the photographer. With Ingrid, this comes through in how well she knows what I seek in my images, and how she can craft poses that help propel my work forward.