A Mystical Circe-Inspired Portrait Session at Reid State Park

Noel and I met on a summer evening at Reid State Park to create Circe-inspired photographs from our dreams! Noel is a lover of double-exposures, film, poetry, and nature - and the perfect person to collaborate with on this session. I read the novel Circe by Madeline Miller, and was fascinated by the way Miller transported us to a magical time, breathing life into Greek mythology. Circe is a figure from Greek mythology, known primarily from Homer’s Odyssey. She is a powerful enchantress and sorceress who resides on the island of Aiaia. Circe is famous for her ability to transform humans into animals using magic potions. In the Odyssey, she initially turns Odysseus’s men into swine but later becomes his ally and lover after he resists her magic. In Miller’s novel, Circe takes center stage and I remember her character as one of formidable power, magic, but also vulnerability.

Reid State Park was the perfect location for this idea! The rocks, crashing waves, and inland marsh created a stunning backdrop for Noel and I to create magic on the coast. We started out on the rocks to take advantage of the setting the sun. We scrambled close to the water, trying not to slip on the rocks, and embracing the oncoming waves. We then moved to a small inland pond where we ended the session. As the sun set, we walked out into the water before the evening storm rolled in.

Portrait sessions are always so special when there is a story behind them. When we can, together, tell a story through the photographs. I’m always coming up with new ideas for portrait sessions and relying on friends and models to make these dreams happen! But I also do work collaboratively with clients who have a story or idea they want to tell that is all their own.