Behind the scenes — photographing Icelandic Snowwhite in the snow
Today there was snow in the Netherlands. A beautiful layer covered the bulb fields around us. Even the water was wrapped in a true blanket of snow, which I could gently push aside with the paddle. Normally, we use this boat to cross over with the dogs.
I loved the idea
But today, my daughter (the photographer) and I loved the idea of photographing Icelandic Snowwhite in the snow. It felt perfectly fitting, don’t you think?
The landscape was completely transformed. Familiar fields looked different, quieter, softer. The snow reflected the light in a way that cannot be recreated indoors. Everything slowed down automatically. We moved carefully, taking short moments to place the work, look, photograph, and adjust.
Working outside
Photographing artwork is always a form of translation. Light, surface, scale, and atmosphere all play a role. Working outside adds another layer. Cold hands, changing light, snowflakes settling where they want to settle. There is less control, but more presence. We worked in intervals, constantly responding to what was happening around us.
A brief moment
Icelandic Snowwhite didn’t feel staged in this setting. The snow was not a backdrop or a decoration, but a temporary context. The painting could simply exist there, surrounded by white, silence, and cold air. No narrative was forced. The image and the environment met for a brief moment.
My daughter moved quietly around the work, observing angles and light, while I stayed close, watching how the painting reacted to its surroundings. We have laughed a lot! And spoke a little. Most decisions were made by looking rather than discussing. That felt natural.
Afterwards, we carefully packed everything up and returned home. The snow remained behind, already beginning to change again. Back in the studio, the images carried that moment with them, whit hot choco, the light, the cold.
Icelandic Snowwhite
is an oil painting on canvas.
Size: 27.6 W × 31.5 H × 0.8 D inch.
These photographs will be used for documentation and presentation of the work. The painting itself returned to the studio, but the traces of that snowy morning remain present in how it is now seen.
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