20 Years of Working with Ingrid Part 2 (Taylor Head Beach, Nova Scotia)

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The second part of the 20 year celebration session with Ingrid was spent working on the beach at Taylor Head. We'd waited until well after dinner to move to the beach, and found it deserted (the combination of working on a weekday, and being in the evening worked in our favour). Not wanting to push our luck too much, we walked far from the parking lot before starting to work, setting up to make our first images on a rocky outcrop. By this time, the evening sky was beginning to take shape, with sweeping clouds flowing along the coastline of Nova Scotia. The above image takes full advantage of this, with Ingrid's pose mirroring the line of the sky above her.

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The evening session on the beach was quite a contrast to the earlier session on the rocky coast (though ironically, both sessions focused on working with Ingrid posing on rock). Where the afternoon was spent working in a wide number of spaces quickly, the evening session saw us working slower, and more deliberately with a smaller number of settings, exploring each in detail before moving onto the next location.

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The greatest surprise of the session, and a gift of sorts, was the realization, after the sun set, that the night was one with a full moon. This has only happened to me once before, and it was in fact during a 2007 session with Ingrid, so it seemed oddly appropriate. We finished the session up with a moon-rise portrait (a tribute of sorts to Ingrid's 2016 victory over cancer) bringing the session to the close!

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20 Years of Working with Ingrid Part 1 (Taylor Head, Nova Scotia)

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Ingrid and I planned this session weeks ago, to mark 20 years of working together. Since our first time working together, I've transitioned from film to digital, helped found Halifax's only photographic-focused co-operative gallery, and made over 150,000 photographs. Since our first session, Ingrid and I have worked together for over 150 session, in Canada, Scotland and Ireland; I have over 6,400 images of Ingrid, which is almost 50% more than I have of the next most frequent mode, Miranda. Without a doubt, Ingrid has done more to shape my work with the Nude than any other singe person.

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With all that in mind, we'd planned an afternoon/evening of photography, spending the time focused on what we do best together - making images of the Nude. For the session, I decided to head to a location that Ingrid hasn't worked in before - Taylor Head. I first worked here with Cassandra in 2001, and have returned only a couple of times since (With Andre in 2008 and Bianca in 014), so while I was familiar with it, I was sure it would would provide her with plenty of inspiration.

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A Photo 101 Field Trip (Fort George (The Citadel), Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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Course field trips are often a time when I focus on simple compositions, than really effective photography; the primary focus is working with participants, with my own photography coming a distant second. That being said, I often get the chance to make pleasing images.

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The above image was born of a discussion on depth of field, and how it can be used creatively; in addition, I slipped in some elements of careful composition, and why it isn't necessary to show everything in a photograph (the steering wheel, in this case).

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The final image (above) was more about my life-long love of 19th century military architecture than anything else. It was an example of why tripods were invaluable for certain subjects, but in the end, the photograph was for me, not the student.

Carol's First Session, working with Ingrid (Polly's Cove, Nova Scotia)

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Carol contacted me about working together in the fall of 2017, and after a couple of meetings, we finally managed to set up a first session in late June of 2018. I suggested Ingrid join us on the first session, both a company, professional support (Carol is an experienced life model, but has never modeled for photographs before), and potentially as a second model. I decided to head to one of my favorite locations for the session, and within minutes of arriving at the coast, the session was underway.

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Though very comfortable with the nudity portion of the process, Carol found working in a natural setting quite different from her usual modeling work (within a classroom or artist studio), and much of the early portion of the session was spent working with her on posing and positioning. The results reflected our efforts however, and after 45 minutes, Carol and I had made a number of really pleasing images.

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The real potential of the session, however, was revealed when Ingrid joined Carol in modeling. Carol had seen my work with Ingrid already, and was keen to work with a more experienced model. From my perspective, where the earlier images of Carol were a continuation of work I've done over several decades of photographing at Polly's Cove, the chance to work with the two models in a familiar setting took the session into new territory.

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By the time we wrapped up, I had made a number of really striking compositions of the two models, exploring both the interplay between their figures, and the contrast between the bodies and the landscape around them. Ingrid's comfort with working with other models really shone, and the end of session, Carol's introduction to my work was complete - and she was keen to build upon it.

The Pearl (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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After watching The Pearl being built over more than a year, I was quite excited to be able to photograph it, once it was finished. I had a free evening, and decided at sunset to head out and see what the possibilities were. In the end, it was a little frustrating; the best angle for the building turned out to be only possible in the middle of the road, and given it is on one of the busier streets feeding into downtown Halifax, that isn't realistically going to happen. All told, I did the best I could, though I might return on a night with a more dramatic sunset, to get the sky reflecting more than just blue.

The New Trade Centre (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

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I do not have a lot of love for modern architecture (preferring 800 year old castles and cathedrals), but as the new Halifax Convention Centre nears completion, I have found myself pondering its photographic potential, and pointing my lens towards it from time to time.

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Much of my reaction to the building as a whole is negative, but I did enjoy the potential of elements - closer cropped compositions of elements of the structure set against an evening sky.

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Ultimately, I don;t think I can set aside my gut response to the building (too big, too generic, and out of step with the city around it), but I do now have several compositions which are honest responses tot the building, and fit well within my limited work with modern buildings.