Maine
November 27th, 2006
I’ve become known for my photos of nude models outdoors. This is one of the photos that originally started creating that reputation. I’ve been a photographer, and I’ve photographed nudes, for far longer than I like to think about…much longer than many of my current models have been alive. But it was this shoot in Maine when everything from all those years finally came together and at long last my personal style was defined.
I’d wanted to photograph on the coast of Maine for as long as I can remember. It just never seemed to happen. I’d made trips there, but without a model or plans to find one. On this trip it was different. I contacted Hope Hoffman and she agreed to work with me and bring along another model, Rachel. And Hope knew of a private spot were we would be able to work.
I had in mind working with sunlight on the rocks. That was not to be. The day was completely socked in with fog. What seems to be a great distance in this photo is actually only about 20-30 feet. That’s as far as we could see in the fog. Of course, the light was perfect for what I wanted to do…not what I had originally intended, but what, in fact, I was after in the photos. It was rough work for the models. The temperature was 62 degrees and, of course, it was very damp in that fog. Added to that, the black flies were biting. Hope really suffered from the cold and she took frequent breaks to warm up wrapped in a sleeping bag that I brought along for that purpose. Rachel is a Maine native and seemed to feel like it was a warm summer day to her. The backbend was Rachel’s idea. Hope then decided to give it a try too. I love the look of this photo. I almost expect a unicorn to come trotting into the frame.
For me, the real joy of this shoot was the experience of working with nature. You can never predict what weather, sun, plants, insects…nature…will present when you go out for a shoot. The fun is to take what nature gives you and work with it to make the photos that are there to be made. That’s what I love about working outdoors. It’s a Zen thing to me. I think of it like surfing. You can’t succeed if you fight the waves. But if you understand the waves and connect with the power of them, you can have a blast and go somewhere.
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