I’ve always been fascinated with the beauty of swans. When I was younger we even had a few grace our delicately manicured pond on our 5 acre property in the country. When I travelled throughout Europe for the first time as an adult with my father we toured Neuschwanstein Castle in Hohenschwangau near the charming little town Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. Probably one of the most notable and recognizable castles as some say this is the castle that Walt Disney fashioned Sleeping Beauty’s castle after; my all time favourite Disney movie just for the record. This was the palace of King Ludwig II and was built not only as a retreat but also as a homage to Richard Wagner, an influential opera composer, amongst many other gifted titles. One of his most epic productions is Lohengrin which displays the direct influence of Wagner’s and the King’s relationship to his work and consequently dubbed Ludwig as the Swan Knight. Within the same year as this trip I was also fortunate enough to see this opera live while in New York at the Metropolitan. The opera itself is extremely dark and so is the not so happily ever after ending to Ludwig’s real life fairytale. You can find swan’s all over this magnificent castle! Coincidentally enough when I was in Portugal last September I found myself in the Sala dos Cisnes at the Palácio Nacional de Sintra!

Swans have spanned the test of time as true symbols of not only grace, purity and love but also of transformation. You can date back their influence ages before that of Roman or Medieval times in which the above Palaces were created. One of the most famous and maybe controversial swan motifs would be Leda and the Swan from Greek mythology! I’m fascinated by this story and how it has transcended upon so many other literary works over time. As well as left it’s mark in art history as renditions have been created by greats such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Paul Cezanne. And I even stumbled upon a beautiful marble carving of Leda and the Swan while in the Museo del Prado in Madrid! Another note about swans in Greek mythology would be the recurring legend of Cygnus which also just so happens to be one of the most recognizable constellations in the night’s sky!

Swans are greatly revered in several different cultures throughout the world. In Hinduism they are considered to be saint-like as the main attribute of their feathers being able to repel water is much like the characteristic of being a part of the world with out becoming attached to it. In modern culture you may be familiar with swan’s being part of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake and much more recently the thrilling movie Black Swan.

Here are the photos from our most recent shoot!!!

Here are the first shots of my new venture into off-figure, prop styling! I love the challenge and can’t wait to share more with you!