Below Freezing with Marcelina (Patreon)

This set is with Marcelina, who I first photographed back in 2022. We’ve crossed paths a few times since then, and after she moved out to LA we ended up shooting together whenever our schedules lined up and I was in town. This time around, she flew home for a week and still made the decision to come up and shoot—renting a car and driving four hours just to make it happen.

That kind of effort honestly means a lot to me as a photographer. When someone goes that far out of their way to create together, it changes the energy of the shoot completely. There’s a level of trust and commitment that you can feel right away, and it shows in the final images.

This shoot was cold. Like, legitimately brutal—around 18 degrees. The reason I chose this location specifically was because when you’re shooting in winter, wind is the real enemy. If the wind is ripping, you’re basically done. This spot is tucked in and protected, so even though the temperature was stupid low, it felt way more manageable than it should’ve. Still cold as hell—but survivable.

Between the frozen waterfall, the snow, and the contrast of skin against all that ice and stone, everything came together in a way that feels raw and intentional. Nothing about this shoot was easy, but that’s part of why I love it. It’s one of those sets that only exists because everyone involved was willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of making something different.

Huge respect to Marcelina for freezing her ass off and trusting the process on this one.