The last days of winter, or: Folklore and the joy of feeling liberated

In folklore, “if Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another fight. If Candlemas Day be shower and rain, winter is gone and will not come again”.

Candlemas Day this year was fair and bright and winter did put up a respectable fight. Even in the south of England we had frost every night until yesterday. In the area of Austria, where I was last week, the temperatures skidded as low as -12ºC and there was enough fresh snow to cut off some villages.

When winter and spring came in one day, stripping off in the snow and in public was mysteriously inevitable and intensely liberating.

When the best of all wives and I spent a day at Almsee (or Lake Alm, if you prefer, named after the river Alm, which feeds the lake), we had winter and spring rolled into one day – first a snow storm and shortly after the skies cleared and the sun blessed us with a visit. As we were walking around the lake through sometimes knee-deep snow – the path had not been cleared and from the tracks it was obvious that only one lone walker had braved the route before us that day – the sun felt irresistible and I was overcome by the sudden urge to strip off to welcome the sun into my heart. Alternatively, it was an expression of midlife angst; I really could not say.

Many of my clients, who come to me for intimate portraits, mention how liberating taking off their clothes is. I thought that it was only fair to be as brave as my clients. Stripping off in the snow and in (albeit deserted) public was mysteriously inevitable and intensely liberating. Little did I know when I wrote a blog post entitled The naked photographer – in which there was no naked photographer – less than a year ago how prophetic the title was.

When I say “deserted”, this was not exactly the case. The couple, who walked in our footsteps only moments after I had slipped into my clothes again, gave me a warmly amused yet worried look – the lady was warmly amused and the man looked worried. The lady’s camera smirked triumphantly as it was swinging from her neck. Who knows, I may be in someone else’s picture. I suspect that the way, in which the lady looked from her husband at me and back at him was meant to challenge him to do something spontaneous and mildly reckless once in a while. Makes you feel good to be a role model.

In any case, the photograph was taken in Austria, where the attitudes towards nudity are a little more relaxed. Have you met Elga?

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