Home, Romania. January. Winter is in full swing and together with Ramona and Georgiana we spend quality time, sheltering in warm rooms, trying various board games and drinking mulled wine. When suddenly, the girls: “How about doing a photo shoot for North, together?” From that moment on, our thoughts were only focused on which theme to choose. And try to imagine the pleasure of having such discussions in a cozy atmosphere, when outside you can barely see the dark silhouettes of the households, in full storm.

In the end we thought of combining traditional clothing with elements of combat and symbolism. In the following days, the girls started looking for forgotten tools and accessories within attics or at their grandparent's places. Initially, wool coats were found, followed by an ax. And because the New Year had just passed and in our area there is still a tradition of disguising and marching through the village, beating drums, I realized that a drum would be a very good idea, not using such an accessory until then. As a fine detail, Georgiana found a deer skull with horns, which we hung on top of a pole. However, it was a bit troublesome. The skull fell many times during the session and we struggled to tie it back every time, with our fingers almost frozen.

The photos were taken in Sabasa, in an orchard quite difficult to reach. The sloping terrain that had to be crossed and the rumor that there might be some shepherd dogs in the area made us consider quiting the plan. We also carried a bag loaded with wood, which we used to start a small fire that would be included in the photos. It was not easy for the girls, however, the smoke reaching their eyes and thus clogging the fluency of the photo shoot. In the end we were delighted with the result and all the effort was worth it. The girls embodied the role of guards of a small mountain community, using the ax as a weapon, the drum for alarming and instigating to fight and the skull stuck in the rod having the role of scaring the enemy.

The day continued with us celebrating the success at Ramona's place, where her lovely mother spoiled us with various dishes and a lot of good mood. After the endured cold and smoke, there could not have been a better ending.