Docile Romania (Patreon)

Romania is a docile country. I had the pleasure of shooting

around the Fagaras mountains this Sept 2015, and it was an experience that was

such an exploration into the farming culture, it shifted my paradigm a bit.

Living in the US is fueled by excess- someone has a need and the capitalist

economy fills it with only profit on their minds, not a blink about the

wellbeing of the individual it is enabling or the culture that produces.

I woke up at 4am to get my coffee ready, as well as hair and

light makeup. The photographer Bogdan, his friend Ofideo, and Ofideo’s father

drove me up to where their family’s sheep herd is kept- at the very top of one

of the highest peaks of the Fagaras mountains in Romania. There were cows, a

few horses and donkeys, about 200 sheep, 5 or 6 sheep dogs and around 6

shepherds. The shack they had was crudely nailed together with skinny split

branches, a fire in the middle to heat their hanging pot, and the main portion

was used to strain and ferment the sheep cheese. The men wore funny old bowler

hats, muslin or wool vests and sweaters, and all looked like they were straight

out of Fiddler on the Roof. They each had a cloak made of sheep skins with

beautiful ragged texture- to keep them warm throughout the year. Romania gets

rainy

and even snowy sometimes, and the

Shepherds sleep outside with the sheep. Their life is so minimalist, and their

natures were so docile. The dogs were alert yet calm and friendly (which is

saying something because I am not a dog person!) and even the horses had an air

of serenity about them.

When it came time for me to strip

nude, the shepherds respectfully stood their distance and I was not cat called,

whistled at, hit on, stared at, harassed, or otherwise made uncomfortable in

any way.

Most places I go, if there are

spectators (especially if we are on their property) they can be very nosey or

distracting, or just obviously horny, but the shepherds were possibly the most

humble, respectable human beings I have encountered! I got to pose with a staff

and sheepskin cloak around the sheep and other animals. There was a lot of poop

but fortunately the photographer brought baby wipes.

Bogdan and I had plans of shooting

in more locations, but the shepherds invited us to take part in their

traditional sheep cheese and polenta ball meal. They make a ball of cheese and

surround it with polenta, about the size of a snowball, and cook it on an open

flame. It was pretty delicious, and I usually don’t eat that much cheese or

grains!

As an American and a recovering

alcoholic, I am aware that I have certain addictions to patterns of thought

including managing my daily and hourly schedule, what to eat and not eat, how

to passively go through life avoiding conversations with strangers, and things

of that nature. Being accepted into this rare, rural occasion made me want to

break those habits today, and maybe to learn not to attach negative emotions

like impatience, guilt, or insecurity to my future decisions in life.

We did continue to shoot throughout

the day, got some amazing shots on jagged rocks, in a bear hunter’s lair and

throughout the mountains. My next shoot will be in Istanbul, Turkey!

There are 36 Photos from this set, and you can have access to all of them by supporting me at the $5/ month level :)