'During elder days in the Northwest of our world, the word for the period extending from the vernal equinox to the autumnal one was quite simply Summer — nothing more, and nothing else. The time between autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox was simply called winter.'
As human's, we always want more, including our seasons. Although today we have designated four, according to fiction, at least that written by J. R. R. Tolkien, we began with just two. Summer began with the vernal equinox, on about March 20th or 21st. Summer continued as the Sun crossed the celestial equator going north through to about September 22nd or 23rd when the Autumnal equinox occurred.
With the impact of climate change, and the length of Autumn and Spring decreasing, it might be time to consider going back to just two. When there were two seasons, people's age was determined by how many winters they survived on earth. By counting years as winter's survived, a two year old was called a twinter and a three year old a thrinter, A twenty year old was described as a man of twenty winters.
Given this is photographer and model Luke Gardiner's second winter on FH, (See his first HERE:) twinter seemed a perfect theme, and a perfect title for the piece. I have great appreciation for any artist heading into the woods with their camera, whether shooting a model, or talking self shots.
There are elements when shooting outside, sunlight, wind, moisture and temperature that not only impact the skin and body, but also beautifully embed themselves within the final images. Moving out of the studio also provides an almost timeless quality to images, especially with nature as the background, and the sun and sky as your only source of light. Except for the few pieces of fashion, these image of Luke, taken by Luke, could have been taken in Elder Days during Luke's twenty fourth year of winters.
'Shooting in the cold and snow can be very difficult. With last winter and so far this winter under my belt, with how frequently I go out to do so, the biggest things are: Be prepared, know your limits, and my biggest... knowing when it's worth it or not. Knowing when it's worth it or not isn't me saying if people are near (although of course at times that factors in) but more so it's just for my own health and safety to get buck naked deep in the woods far from warmth when it's 10-20 degrees out. Also the fact that I shoot almost everything myself is a factor. Nonetheless, it's safe to say it's my passion all that I do, or else I wouldn't put so much time and effort into it.'
