Hades & Persephone

"Thus the lovely maiden Persephone became the rightful wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. During the six months that Persephone spent in the Underworld, her mother was sad and not in the mood to deal with harvest. Thus she would leave the Earth to decline. According to the ancient Greeks, these were the months of Autumn and Winter, when the land is not fertile and does not give crops. Whenever Persephone went to Olympus to live with her mother, Demeter would shine from happiness and the land would become fertile again and fruitful. These were the months of Spring and Summer. Therefore, this myth was created to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal cycle of the Nature's death and rebirth." Source: www.greeka.com

A few weeks ago I had the delight of photographing two of my best friends for a concept project. My dearest friend, Amanda Cline of Panda Inc. & my other half in Dirty Socks Puppet Show, dreamed up a photography concept for an entry she was gifting to the PERSAD Art for Change Auction. Amanda is spiritually very close to Persephone and relates deeply to the story of her love with Hades. Joining her in these photos is her darling boyfriend Cardane, aka. Mr. Black. 

I really enjoyed this shoot. It got me, literally, out of my comfort zone in the very best way possible. I used to hate the winter, I found no joy in the cold, and you couldn't find me frolicking in the snow to save your soul. Ain't gonna happen, ya'll. But lately, mostly due to Amanda dragging me out of my comfy warm house, I've gained a true appreciation for the latter half of the year. Spring and summer will always be my favorite.  I don't know what switched. Maybe I started looking at all the different tones of gray and brown and finally appreciating it. Maybe it was the stark contrast between the dark wood of the barren trees against the almost angelic snow.  I couldn't tell you, but something changed and I began to see things differently. And, I'm grateful. 

Honestly, I would really love to do more projects like this. I love photography. If you would like to collaborate on a photography project, let me know. You can find my email under the 'links' page. 

xo. ❤ h.