'Alexi seemed funny and a little bit crazy at the same time so we already had a lot of things in common!'
For many of us, this winter has been one of the worst we have experienced. Massive amounts of snow, record breaking cold temperatures, high winds, flash freezes and treacherous roads. Although snow still remains several feet high on my property, this week, for the first time this season, I can feel signs of spring. My love of winter has been tested to the limits this year, but before it completely disappears, I thought the beauty of winter needed one last hurrah. I have been following the work of 23 year old Swedish model Alexi Carpentieri for awhile now, but when I saw his new work with Dahlensjö Photography inspired me to reach out to the artist.
Alexi naked in the snow is a sight to behold, and with my love of winter, and Alexi's poses and sexy grin, photographer Dan Dahlensjö's images, have quickly become some of my favorites. Dan has only recently begun to shoot live models thanks to a friend of his who about a year ago, asked him to take some shots of her. After some thought, he decided to just jump in and do and see how it turned out. Dan has mostly been photographing kids, family and his friends and was amazed how much he enjoyed his first official photo session, especially shooting someone who actually wanted to be photographed! A few months later, after a move to Stockholm, Dan decided to take his new passion to the next level. Coming from a small town his options were limited, but with the move, Dan figured he would try to connect with models in the area who might want to shoot.
This led to a meeting up with Alexi. 'Curious and a bit anxious I didn't really know what to expect. He seemed funny and a little bit crazy at the same time so we already had a lot of things in common!' They decided to meet in the forest, just a little bit outside of Stockholm City. Dan had the idea to try something new and challenging with a shoot in the snow. It was Alexi Dan reports, who took it to the next level by suggesting they try a male version of some of the traditionally female pin-up poses, of course with the added challenge of being naked in the freezing cold snow. The snow was just part of Alexi's on-going to challenge himself through his work. Alexi describes himself as up for pretty much anything. He loves to have fun while working especially if the idea's are funny, sexy and interesting. 'I am extremely chill with anything and my limits are non-existent.'
'We didn't really plan much before the meeting, it was more the blending of creative minds. I was really impressed Alexi was so relaxed and had such a positive energy given it was -4 degrees and overcast. He was super-easy to work with and I felt that I could be completely honest and forward during the process. Today, a couple of months later, I'm still very happy with the shoot, although as a photographer you'll always find small details that you'd might change. It was hard to read the light since it was so overcast but some of the pictures which were shot in backlight were missing some spots of lights on the body and the face. But I can't say that it's bugging me too much given the outcome was so much better than I could have ever imagined!'
