There is a reason the national flag of Finland is blue and white – and never is that more evident than along the Baltic coastline.

Here, model Heidi Moijanen is wearing a 60 year old Japanese wedding kimono (shiromoku) at a stretch of beach outside of Helsinki.  Hair and makeup was done by Cemille Nismetdin and I was fortunate to have a great assistant in the form of Richard Hernigle.  And he had his hands full not only keeping the lighting rig from blowing away a la Mary Poppins but also keeping the wind-damaged umbrella open enough to spread light onto Heidi.

And Heidi was amazing – modeling to perfection despite gale force winds and a frigid -10c along the sea.  She’s also standing nearly knee deep in heavy snow yet still manages to look elegant.

Oftimes shooting in Winter can be a bit more difficult; but the beautiful soft feel of blues and whites truly make for extraordinary imagery.