The Story behind the Four Seasons

Model: Alanna (from Port Orchard)

Photographer: Jiamin Zhu (from Sammamish)







This project is a journey of a model and a photographer searching for adventure together, hoping to create art from landscapes and portraiture. This photography project took place throughout 2015 in order to photograph the beauty of greater Seattle across the four seasons.


It all began with watching the video of STARS OF THE BICENTENNIAL, which incorporated movements of models in the beautiful landscapes of Mexico among majestic creatures. Alanna and I were very much inspired by the vibrant journeys the models took into the depth of Mexico's unforgettable nature and began to plan our own version - a version with the gorgeous outdoors surrounding Seattle.


We scoped the project to four photoshoot sessions to portray the seasons. The plan was to style Alanna with solid color dresses to contrast the landscape in each photoshoot. We would use fabrics to showcase movements and use specific robes to give the photos an Asian flavor.


The format of the photoshoot was loose. There was no restriction to mirror the images from season to season aside from cohesive wardrobe styling and using Alanna as the same model. We planned out the location ahead of time, and executed the photoshoot according to conditions on the actual day.





Spring

Location: Discovery Park

Dress color: Pink

We picked Discovery Park on a cloudy day hoping to capture the stormy northwest clouds, along with meadows, and a beach with a lighthouse in the backdrop.


Seattle spring, to me, is bleak and moody, with the promise of flowers blooming in the next cycle. This set has the most composite effect out of all the four seasons in terms of arranging every element in the picture to represent life and vibrancy. Such enhancements include flowing the flower petals from a bare tree onto Alanna, painting the vibrant pink sunset matching Alanna's dress, and the rendering of the dark storm above the balloons.


In short, the photos from the spring set has the most 'experimental' elements. But hey, everything needs a beginning, right?





Summer

Location: Mt. Rainier

Dress color: Yellow

I remember my first hiking trip at Mt. Rainier. It was a hot summer day that was just breathtaking; wearing a T-shirt while walking on snow. Hence I suggested Mt. Rainier as the location for the summer theme.


We picked a similar hot summer day in August to hike and photoshoot. I picked the Golden Gate trail hoping that it would take us up to the mountain in the shortest distance. Well, the shortest distance turned out to be a lot of work as we both had to carry all of the camera gear in addition to the hiking necessities. Uphill.


The hike wasn't easy, but the gorgeous scenery lifted our spirits. Once we reached the top, Alanna changed into the dress while hiding behind a bush. We took photos as we hiked back down.


The meadows were fragile and protected, so we avoided standing in those areas. Instead we positioned Alanna on rocks and dirt patches on the side of the trail. We leveraged the zig zag shape of the elevated trail to illustrate a seamless meadow scene while I photographed her from below with the bushes burying her feet.





Autumn

Location: U.S. Hwy 2 to Leavenworth

Dress color: Orange

For autumn, we took a roadtrip to Leavenworth via U.S. Hwy 2 in mid-October. We stopped and shot whenever we encountered a lookout point with beautiful scenery. It was probably the easiest out of all the shoots because we did not have to hike much. As a result we were able to stop by many locations along the road.


The wind was amazing that day. We captured a lot of movements from the fabrics without Alanna moving too much, and luckily they came out to be so natural and perfect. I had a hard time picking the photos to edit from this set.


Perhaps we did not come during late fall, as we couldn't find any red magnificent trees to convey the redness of autumn. While Alanna and I were disappointed, we found a group of red bushes standing out by the entrance of Leavenworth Riverfront Park. A quick idea came to mind. I had Alanna lay down on the ground, while I photographed her from above the red bushes, creating the final image as if she was sleeping in a sea of red bushes. That photo totally made our day.





Winter

Location: Gold Creek Pond

Dress color: Red

I knew I wanted a lot of snow in the final photoshoot and we were so lucky to have tons of snowfall by the end of 2015. My husband suggested snowshoeing at Gold Creek Pond as he had done that couple years ago and recalled the snowfields being spetacular. By November, I was so exicted that I was calling the Snoqualmie rangers every two weeks to gather information on the area. We waited paitiently for a month to get a good, clear weekend for the hike. By now, I've learned that time is our friend; good weather is worth the wait in order to render good photos.


My husband came along on this trip. He became an amazing assistant to make flowy fabric movements for Alanna when there was little wind at the location.


Funny story - we arrived at 9:30 AM that morning hoping we could beat the crowd, it turned out that we took the wrong trail and we were snow shoeing towards the mountain top. By the time we came back down to find the right trail head, we learned it was a mile away and the parking lot was completely full. Alanna said 'I am willing to walk the extra mile for you Jiamin!' and we walked the extra two miles round trip from our car to just reach the trail head. What an amazing spirit! Plus the scenery along the way was just breathtaking. It was all worth it.


By the time we reached Gold Creek Pond I knew I had to use it as the backdrop. It was covered in a blanket of snow and ice and it was so pristine. We show shoed along the side to reach the other side of the pond, and the view was even more majestic with the mountain of snow covered trees so close by, plus a part of the pond showing crystal clear calm water to reflect the landscape.


The challenge of this shoot was the cold weather; around 19 degrees Fahrenheit. I knew I only had a small window to conduct the photoshoot as Alanna would be freezing in a thin red dress. We walked through the poses and did test shots first. Once everything was ready to go, Alanna took off her jackets, hat, and scarves and modeled for just a couple minutes. I ensured that the camera focus was on her, composed the images with landscape, and pressed the shutter quickly to get a set of action shots. I was so grateful for Alanna's professionalism and my husband's assistance. It is in moments like those where you feel you are running the last mile of the marathon and you are giving it all you have to cross the finish line.

What's Next?

Franky, I don't know. Those were the thoughts running through my head as we packed up from the show shoe trip and Alanna asked me 'What's next?' I was still overwhelmed from digesting the entire series of adventures.


I know that this project will probably be lingering on my mind for a long time. It is so special to me in every way. It documented my journey of friendship with Alanna, as well as the changes in my photography styles throughout the year. It was an exploration, an experiment, and enlightenment.


The project also made me more appreciative of all the natural beauty surrouding Seattle, and we have only scratched the surface. Perhaps I can dive deeper into this topic, I thought to myself. This project has forever changed my passion for combining nature landscape and portraiture. I don't want to stop here. The journey never ends. The quest for adventure is only the beginning.


Thank you for reading! Please contact Jiamin Zhu at JaJasGarden for questions about this series.