The shoot: Soon Fades The Last Memory of Snow
Soon Fades The Last Memory of Snow
We had decided that the shoot of this concept needed to be in the spring, before nature awakens. We had a vision of a throne made of twigs and branches but no clue how to make one. Excluding the throne this setup didn´t really need that much props. We had found the spot where the light would be just right at the time of the shoot, and so about a week before the shoot, we had a building day. So, make a throne out of scratch. Must admit we were a bit lost. We started collecting twigs and branches and tried to make something out of it. After we had worked for a while, I just could not see the result, it didn´t feel right at all. Luckily Mirjam had the same feeling. We had a coffee break and during that break I remembered seeing a live branch that was so close to the ground you could sit on it. I suggested we would build something around that and so we did. The moment we started working around that branch it felt right. I´m so glad we have learned to listen to our inner voice and not to force something that doesn´t feel right. Mirjam collected dead branches and I assembled the throne. I just went with the flow, not thinking too much. The result was more than we had hoped for. It looked organic, it looked like a nest, like it had just grown by itself.
The day of the shoot was luckily a sunny one, no rain at sight. I wanted to use natural light so we needed to wait until 9pm to start shooting. Makeup started around 2pm, we had all the time in the world. During makeup, Mirjam finished the setup, cleaning the area and adding moss to the branches and I filmed some bts-footage. I love the energy and atmosphere that hovers in the air on a shooting day, excitement and nervousness at the same time. My mind goes through the shoot a hundred of times before it starts. I don´t want to miss a thing. I worry that I forget something crucial during shooting. Once Kirsi´s makeup was ready we dressed her. It´s amazing to see the character come alive right in front of you. You just have a vision in your mind but seeing it for real is wonderful. And once the character is on set, it´s like you step into a fantasy world. That´s why our thing is to actually build as much as we can and not do that much composite in photoshop. To see it is to feel it, it´s also much easier for the model to get the right mood when she actually is in that world. Once Kirsi sat on the throne we sprinkled some potato flour and starch over the set to get a frosty feeling. The actual shoot didn´t take that much time. It usually doesn´t. Still I like to take a lot of shots just in case, when I'm chasing the right mood and expression.
Here is a bts-video I made of the day:
After the shoot we left the throne to be moulded into nature, we might even use it later when it´s ready for us.
This is how the throne looked like after a month of the shoot.
The Concept
There's a weird nook in my childhood home. Built a century ago, it's a quirky wooden house shaped and placed in a way that leaves one outside corner without any direct sunlight. When I was a child I rarely went there. The yard was my kingdom but that one nook was forbidden, a strange territory belonging to shadows and daddy long legs. It was also winter's last stand as the snow fallen from our rooftop stayed there long after it was gone from everywhere else, waiting to be replaced by spring's first flowers.
Photography/concept/edit/setup: Mikaela Holmberg
Dress/headpiece/styling/concept/setup: Mirjam Lehtonen
Makeup: Tiina Lamberg
Model: Kirsi Leino
- Mikaela