Broken ice

9th June 2017

 

Despite the last trip to Romania feeling like a failure in terms of photographic results the adventure was still very much alive. These images are from one of my favorite moments. After a few days of T-shirt sporting 24 degrees sunshine the sudden turn in weather caught me off guard. It was a pleasant surprise as the white fluff painted the hills effortlessly. Excited, Andrei insisted we hit a mountain he remembered as a child; I needed no persuasion. There were a few points when the tyres spun at 110% and almost didn’t pull through the snow; each time followed by a sigh of relief and a grateful pat on the dashboard as we climbed further.

We reached the summit and continued for a short while by foot. Totally unprepared and wearing every article of clothing in my suitcase I instantly froze. Within 15 minutes my hands were raw red and my nose uncontrollably running. I do still love the refreshing snap of a winter chill.

As we peaked we looked at heroic and tenacious snowdrops that had somehow made it through. The wind was battling as fought against the tide to reach the look out point. I was so cold it hurt.

It was breathtaking. I sucked the view in and felt high. Andrei kindly helped me as I shouted with impatience through the wind desperate to load my film but infuriated with my useless frozen hands. Work fingers, move! The camera backs kept locking; it was too cold for the little one.

I shot all the film I had (2 rolls) and Andrei and I commented on how incredible it was. We smiled whilst trying to keep our balance. Sometimes seeing something so silent, so beautiful is immeasurable. Due to the cold the films didn’t quite make it and like any great scene my images don’t do it justice. However the disconnected puzzle of images reminded me how much I wanted to capture that moment and how unattainable it was.

OAO x