Hailey & Ingrid in the Waves

The strongest thread to flow through my work in the past couple of years had been working with models and the ocean - specifically Hailey & Ingrid. Their comfort with working in the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia has lead to making some really strong images, and the more I work withe the combination the more I come to understand what it is that draws me to it, and the better I can create images which relate that to the viewer.

Digital infrared original

As much as we had planned to work with the ocean during this session, we couldn't pass by a lovely rock pool. I'd worked in this space before with Carol & Ingrid, but this time, with direct sunlight, the space was very different, and created an image which in no way competes with the older composition - both work in their own distinct ways.

Digital original

 As we moved to working with the ocean proper, the real wealth of the evening began to reveal itself. The waves were breaking against the shore with great energy, which I was able to capture in the above image of Ingrid - it is important to note most of the chaos and spray around her is from waves breaking before or behind her...while she did get truly soaked, all the wave action that came in contact with her was quite tame, with the energy of the ocean already spent when it broke on the wave she was leaning back upon.

Digital original

A couple of dozen meters from the above image, Hailey and Ingrid posed on the edge of a rock which rose out of the ocean vertically; waves that stuck this rock broke almost straight up,which most of their power gone by the time the water rose high enough to touch the models...it was this upward throw of the wave which I sought to capture.

Digital infrared original

As the evening began to draw to a close, we walked further down the shore, seeking areas to work in. I saw this Hailey-sized rock and immediately thought it would be great to make an image of her with the ocean swirling around below. It took a couple of minutes for the waves to co-operate, but the final mix of the still pose and fluid water below is exactly what I sought.