A Second Session with L_

After our first session in the fall of 2022, it was more than 8 months later that the stars aligned, and Y_ and I could put together another session - time time outdoors. To make things as fair as possible, we agreed to meet 1/2 way between our respective homes, and work on the Fundy coast in the early evening, giving us both a 2 hour drive home, but also making it possible to do another photo session.

Digital infrared original

I'd previously worked in this location in 2004, but have not had a chance to visit it again since, so was quite enthusiastic to revisit it; this time however, I pushed well past where Monique and I had explored, and worked right on the outer edge of the shoreline, with nothing between Y_ and the Bay of Fundy.

Once I found an interesting space to begin - a long thing outcropping of rock surrounded by sand and seaweed, Y_ disrobed and began to explore the pose possibilities. The rock was selected for both its orientation and setting - the light was direct, uninterrupted evening sun, which made this an idea setting to pose upon, and in infrared, I knew the rock weed that cascaded off the stone would become light an luminous, giving great contrast to the smoothness of Y_'s skin.

photo by Ingrid

After making a full set of images with a variety of lenses, compositions and poses on the flat portion of the shoreline, Y_ and I walked further along, with an eye to working with a massive rock outcropping that interrupted the shore line. I made several sets of images as we approached the rock, but the most pleasing is the below composition, with Y_ arching back, framed by the massive stone...it is misleading because of the use of an ultra-wide lens, but the rock behind towered over Y_, and yet with the lens and composition, the power and confidence of her pose dominates the image! I really like the confidence and power this image coveys, and it comes directly from Y_'s sense of self, and her presence in the space.

Digital infrared original

From start to finish, this session was fabulous - the location was rich in potential for spaces to work in, L_ was fabulous to photograph; she enjoyed exploring pose options, and was always open to suggestions or revisions (it is amazing how much a shift of a hand here, or redirection of a foot there can make or break a pose). The two hours we worked together was more than worth the more than 10 hours invested in travel time between the two of us, and it makes me hope we can build on this work in the future.

Digital infrared original

There is a simple irony to the reality that the biggest frustration of the session, the harsh, direct sunlight, is also one of the strongest contributors to the strength of the successes we realized. Rather than fight against the light, I embraced it, and time and again made images where the directional quality of the light worked well. The above images, one of the last compositions of the session, is all about the light, both on Y_'s figure, and the distant clouds over Nova Scotia in the background.