Three Models on the Ocean Floor (Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia)

I first worked with models in the Bay of Fundy in 2003, and have worked there a handful of times since, but it has been over a decade since the last time I worked there with the Nude. As we planned this session, I realized the tide table (which is quite important in the Bay of Fundy, as there isn't much to photograph at high tide) would align with our plans, so we shifted from working on the Atlantic Coast to the Bay of Fundy.

Digital infrared original

The first compositions of the session focused on the models working in a massive piece of driftwood; the stark white wood was perfect for the three models to work on, and while I made images of both one and two models in the tree, it really was only when all three were set upon the worn wood that the while composition came together.

Digital infrared original

From this point onward, it was the images of single models which really shone. I am not sure if this was because of the challenges of working in the space (mud is not the best surface to put camera gear down on, and challenging for models to move around on), but while I worked with all three models together in the above space, it was Hailey's simpler mirroring of the curved rock with her body that stuck me as the strongest image.

Digital infrared original

Shortly after finishing the image of Hailey and the curved rock face, Ingrid asked if we could work with a series of ripples in the sand, and after a couple of other compositions, I made this one, with the lines of the rocks and Ingrid's figure flowing in the same direction as the sand. In many ways, this feels like a complimentary image to one Ingrid and I made 12 years earlier, on the banks of the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick.

Digital original, 2 frame exposure blend, 2 frame stitch

The last images of the session were unplanned, but incredible. After we had packed up and were walking back to the car (disappointed that our hoped-for sunset had turned out to be a wall of fog), we came across a wonderful flat field of rock, with water sitting in the low spots - the lines of the rock, highlighted by the reflected sky, were just magical and full of motion. Though the air had chilled by this point, both Ingrid and Hailey were enthusiastic to make the most of the moment, and I made a set of images of both women, with the final composition, of Hailey above, being the strongest of the set.