Winter Siren

I think all of us find winter a bit tough here in Dunedin sometimes. It's all good for the first month or first few weeks, but as the cold sets in and the blustery rainy days roll through... I think we all mourn for the days of warm sunshine at the beach or laying in the grass at the park reading a book... People do that right? Pretty sure. Often I find myself joking with clients and tell them to pretend it's warm out or do a few jumping jacks to get rid of the goosebumps and relax... When we are cold, you can tell and it doesn't look great in a photograph let me tell you. Recently a friend of mine, Caroline a.k.a. Lady Bathory, put her hand up to get in front of the lense with me. I don't often get a model or muse that is keen to take her kit off, much less in the dead of winter here in Dunedin. We had the idea to do the photos on location at Mapoutahi where there is a mix of forest, beach, caves, and sweeping views of the sea. Pretty much one of my all time favourite settings and like Long Beach, this is place is near and dear to my heart... Even more so. There is quite a tumultuous historical background with this area and I believe that the energy in this location really reflects that. It is a very special place. The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous, it truly felt like a mild summers day in the middle of winter, lucky for Lady Bathory. :) The water was just as icy as usual this time of year, but Caroline was a really trooper and made it look like she was bathing in the summer sunshine. We had a blast and actually only spent about 30 minutes in the area snapping these photos. We only came across one set of tourists or locals on the beach who might have been scratching their heads as to why there was a crazy naked lady with a scarf getting in the ocean. Thankfully, Caroline is French, so it all makes sense now aye. European style at it's finest. ;) I hope you enjoy this photo set as much as we did creating it!

Makeup by Ana Moser-Caley

Wardrobe (Scarf) by Caroline Bathory