Winter Enchantress|Rattlesnake Lake, WA

And we finish off winter with a bang! Nothing can close out the snow season like an amazingly beautiful fine art snow session. I had this vision for a very long time and so happy that I was finally able to finalize it.

Canon 5d mark iii, Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 f/2.8 1/800 iso100

Huge thanks to an amazingly talented designer, Madison Leiren, owner and creator of Leiren Designs (follow her on Facebook and Instagram). Not only did she provide the most beautiful, gorgeous dress I've ever seen. But,she also did the make-up, hair and provided all accessories for the session. She pretty much stylized the entire shoot.

Canon 5d mark iii, Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 f/2.8 1/800 iso100

Of course this would not have been possible without our beautiful model Maria Rojkova (follow her on Facebook and Instagram). I could never do what she does. She had to endure freezing cold weather and stay in character with countless stares from passerby's.

Canon 5d mark iii, Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 f/2.8 1/800 iso100

This was one of the luckiest shoots I've ever done. The snow has been so unpredictable as of late. I was beginning to worry that this shoot would never take place. I kept checking the weather everyday to make sure there was enough snow in the mountains. Let me tell you, it snowed! It snowed a little too much to where now I was worried whether or not the roads would be open.

Canon 5d mark iii, Canon EF 70-200mm 2.8 f/2.8 1/800 iso200

Just imagine how excited I was to find out that it snowed in a much better location than I had planned with much easier access. I couldn't believe our luck! Rattlesnake Lake is by far one of my favorite locations to shoot at. It has everything I ever wanted. a lake, mountains, and a forest. Imagine all of it covered in snow. It was one of the most gorgeous things I'd ever seen.

Getting the shots was tricky. It was a very cold day and the dress offered next to no protection from the elements. We had Maria wear a warm coat between shots while I was trying to figure out the right light and composition. Once the coat came off, I had to act fast to take good shots so Maria wouldn't freeze.

Eventually we did have to take a long break because even with all our precautions, her feet got wet and began to freeze. We rushed back to the car, turned the heat on and waited for her to get warmed up. Maddie was smart enough to bring some hot tomato soup, which tasted especially good after some time out in the freezing weather.

Once everyone got warmed up, we went back to take a few final shots. I wanted to get a full view of a rocky mountain. What do you know? The snow almost completely melted leaving a lot of mud on the the ground. I couldn't believe it, we were in the car no more that thirty minutes. How could all this snow have melted is beyond me.

We finally found some snow still left in the shade and I was able to take my final pictures. We were officially done with this session.

This has been the most successful session social media wise as of today. The first picture above, has received so much attention on Instagram and 500px that I got exhausted getting back to everyone's comments. It's amazing to see people respond so well to something you've worked so hard on.

I was very lucky to work with these very talented people. I doubt this session would have had the same affect had it not been for Maddie's hand-made gown, crown and accessories. Outfits can really make or break the entire feel of the session.

The dress is so much more gorgeous in person than it came out in the images. I tried to do it as much justice as it deserved. But, it still doesn't come even close as to how beautiful it was in real life. I really feel so blessed to have been able to use it.

Maria was so easy to work with. She was a true soldier. Whoever said modeling is easy has obviously never done it. Models are constantly subjected to work under extreme conditions, such as cold, wind, heat, mud, dirt, rain and snow. You name it, they probably had to endure. Throughout the whole time they have to stay in character to help the photographer to capture her/his vision. I have so much respect for this profession.

Personally I'm not looking forward to working snow sessions any more. I really don't care for the cold and unpredictable weather. It is so stressful to deal with. At least where I live. One day we will have snow, the next it all turns to mush. It snows so much they end up closing the roads. I'm sure I'll change my mind come next winter. As of now, I'm so ready for Spring, Summer and Fall sessions!

I have not posted all of the images as we are planning to get some of them published. So stay tuned as I'll start adding more to this post. For now, I know so many of you enjoy behind the scenes shots. Sometimes even more than the originals. so enjoy.

Photo credit Madison Leiren.