Mythology Project - Circe

So for our project this week we had to take a myth and find a way to portray it through photography. I chose the Greek myth of Circe. She was, legend says, a sorceress who lived on the island of Aegea and was very connected with nature. She was extremely well known for her potions and incantations. Circe was also known to be cruel to men, often turning them into animals, such as pigs.

Although the most commonly heard myths are about her evil side, a less well known story about her would be her more vulnerable side. She is said to have had horrific nightmares and hallucinations, often so bad that she couldn't sleep. Through this project I wanted to portray the tormented, as opposed to the tormenter, aspect of Circe.

I had my sister lay on the grass outside (about 3 hours before it started to snow thank god) and turned on one of our outdoor lights. Then, with my camera on a tripod, I set a long (maybe 10-second) exposure. I had my sister sit up, then after about 3 seconds, had her drop down to the pose that is most in focus. I thought that the motion really added a sense of unrest...