Anna Swenson // Omaha, NE

Snow is not my thing. I live in Texas, and I can count on two hands the amount of times I’ve seen snow in my life in person. Of course, it’s absolutely beautiful… but I see no good reason to frolic and hang out in the snow. Except, perhaps, to be cruel and take pictures of ballerinas in a leotard during a light snow shower. 

I think it’s safe to say that I will never photograph a ballerina in colder temperatures. It was -2°F (-18.8°C), and my iPhone said it felt like -18°F, but my nose insisted it was even colder than that: my mustache hairs froze off because of the runny nose I had that would freeze as soon as it came out. 

Anna is from the Pacific Northwest, but had been living in Omaha for seven years already, so she had quickly acclimated to the harsh weather conditions. When I planned the shoot with her, I was worried that there might not be any snow: the night before the shoot, it snowed almost two feet of fresh, white, cold, miserably powder - how convenient. 

I purchased hand warmers and feet warmers - but in the end decide to give those to Anna while she waited in the car in between frames. I think that was the least I could do. 

Fun fact: Anna is a vegetarian and likes peanut M&Ms. We agree on one of two life principles. :) 

February 12, 2021