Ingrid and Driftwood (Long Beach, Nova Scotia)

Digital infrared original

I normally have a real reluctance to photograph with bright sunlight, but in this case a) it was the only day Ingrid and I were both available at the same time and b) it was the last day in May, and the direct sunshine was a delight after months of Nova Scotian winter and spring.

Digital infrared original

Numerous times during this session I opted to work with my longer lenses (85mm & 135nm) to create tighter compositions, or permit me to move farther away from Ingrid and yet still focus the compositions on her. With both lenses, I took advantage of their large apertures (f/1.2 & f/2 respectively) to throw the background out of focus.

Digital infrared original

The sunlight shaped so much of this session, shifting my focus from shape and form to light. In the above image, I had to work carefully with Ingrid to get the angle of her torso just right to the angle of the sun, so her mastectomy scar was not highlighted. I realize it would be simple to retouch it out, but after witnessing Ingrid's victory over breast cancer, I strongly prefer to leave it in my images (all be it as a subtle element, as opposed to the focus of the image).