ELIZABETH EBSWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY
Her oath unbroken, sacrifice unspoken,
She hails the coming of winter.
The rule was golden, the summer beholden,
Until the green began to redden and crisp.
Barren the earth will become,
And so she returns, like the sun to the horizon,
To a hearth set in the earth,
Her sword raised one last time.
With a steed so black, her hair bright as a coal—
Will her story resound as she sheathes her sword
And abandons this world for the next?
Or shall the untold tale be lost in seasons to come?
Our photo shoot draws on the themes of autumn and the contrasts it brings. Autumn in literature is often a symbol of transition and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. We wanted to tell the story of a queen who has done her best to rule skillfully and fairly … but now it’s her time to make way for a new ruler. Nothing is eternal except the cycle of the seasons—including the seasons we experience in this life and the next and the passing of the crown to another.
To tell this story, we chose the colors gold and red, strongly associated with the changing of the seasons. With autumn comes the radiance of golden and fiery colors, but at the same time these colors foretell the arrival of winter and the hibernation that follows.
Here, now, is one last chance at splendor.
With the harrowing knowledge that winter will soon envelop the land, our queen looks to her past achievements and the burdens she has carried. She’s done her best. She has planted the seeds of her principles—fairness, equality, justice. Now she entrusts her future to the spring.
She takes her leave, riding her black horse to the afterlife.
Yinsey Wang is an occasional self-portrait artist, model, writer, and costumer. Although she is a full-time lawyer, she loves getting creative when she can. Find her on Instagram @tornandpolished.
Find photographer Elizabeth Ebsworth at elizabethebsworthphotography.com.
