The Winter Fae

 

My second shoot of the year was a culmination of a years-long project. The Winter Fae has been the one concept in my Fae in Us all series that has eluded me for years. I purchased the custom wings for the shoot over a decade ago, along with boots, a tiara, and many other items I planned to use. Unfortunately, weather and locations, as well as road conditions, didn't cooperate. 

This year, I made plans to shoot it yet again. Kira told me of a location she had recently used for a snow shoot. It was at a high enough elevation that we'd have a good chance of snow, but it was also right off the highway so we wouldn't have trouble getting to the spot. Unfortunately, despite our plans, the mid-winter weather didn't cooperate, and a warm front moved through a couple of days before the shoot, erasing the snow with a cold rain. 

Determined to finally get the shoot, I suggested to Kira that we move the shoot to her studio and use one of the backdrops I had previously used for my Winter Pinup series. She agreed, and here are a couple of the results. 

Kira was also my Summer Fae, so having her as the Winter Fae created a nice bookend to the project.

American Beauty Erotic

 

My first shoot of 2025 featured the lovely Jade Monett. I had hoped to shoot the concept before Valentine's Day to have the images ready to share on my Deviant Art account, but the timing simply didn't work and we had to shoot the week after the holiday. 

The concept played upon the poster for the movie American Beauty but with an erotic twist. Jade came to mind as the perfect model for my version of the concept, and he certainly made the concept work. 

To prepare for the shoot, I separated four thousand silk rose petals from compressed stacks of 100 petals each. As I peeled each petal from its stack, I dropped them into a large plastic trash bag so I could transport them for the shoot. At about three thousand petals, our new kitten decided to take a running leap onto the bag, then whoosh!, I had a rose petal volcano and petals flew everywhere. Despite the eruption, I managed to save all the petals and finish preps for the shoot.

In the studio, I set up a black velvet backdrop and positioned a dark red bedsheet on the floor for the petals. I used three lighting sources–a large octobox on the left, a large softbox on the right, and a small stripbox overhead on a boom. The window light was blocked with tarps, so the sole illumination came from the studio flashes.

I asked Jade to wear red lipstick and to bring heels with her for the shoot. I provided the rest of the costumes for the shoot. Those consisted of various body harnesses that I thought would work well for the concept. Jade exceeded my expectations. I think you can agree that she rocked the concept.

The Final Shoots of 2024 -Joey Darke (the very last)

Once Brennan left, I started setting up the studio for my shoot with Joey. I replaced the Christmas backdrop with the new winter scene I had purchased, added the snow blankets to the floor, sprinkled a few more random snowflakes on the blankets, and got the next set of outfits ready for Joey.

Unfortunately, when I plugged my handheld steamer in to steam the wrinkles out of the new backdrop, I tripped the breaker to the studio again. That took a few minutes to sort out, but with Floofie's help, I was soon back in business.

Due to a miscommunication about the location of the shoot, Joey was running a bit late (entirely my fault), so I had plenty of time to move the unused gear and costumes to my car and grab some water to hydrate. So, I was ready to go when Joey arrived.

Joey is another model with whom I've worked many, many times. If you've read about her from my previous post, then you know she's a happy-go-lucky and free-spirited person who is always a joy to shoot. She brings a happy energy to our sessions and never disappoints. She's a nature spirit who is as comfortable naked in the woods as she is in the studio. In fact, I think she prefers to be naked in nature.

Our shoot was delightful, as always, and Joey had a great deal of fun with all the outfits. I think, however, she had far more fun with the fake snowflakes I brought for the shoot. I think we went through three or four handfuls during our session. She enjoyed so much that I gave her a pack to take with her after our shoot ended.

And so, I'm done for 2024. At the moment, I have only one shoot scheduled for 2025. Floofie and I have plans to go play in the snow in January. I have a couple of other concepts in the planning stages, one of which I'd like to shoot before Valentine's Day, and another which will require body stockings and sheer fabric. We will see what the New Year will bring, but I hope it brings you all, dear readers, a prosperous and happy year to come.