She was alone in the woods, swallowed by darkness.
She could feel them closing in—sometimes she heard them, sometimes she swore she saw movement just beyond the trees.
She didn’t know what was chasing her. Only that she had to keep moving.
All she had was her light.
It wasn’t bright, but it was steady.
It cast a small circle around her—just enough to see a few steps ahead, a few steps behind.
She couldn’t see where she was going. She didn’t dare look back.
So she held on.
To the light.
To her instincts.
And she moved forward.
One careful, defiant step at a time.
She didn’t know where the path would lead.
Only that standing still wasn’t an option.
Behind the Scenes
This image was originally planned as an on-location shoot deep in the woods—but Mother Nature had other plans. A surprise snowstorm rolled in the day we were scheduled to shoot, making travel (and shooting) impossible. Instead of canceling, we pivoted. The portrait was captured in my studio, where we recreated the atmosphere with careful lighting and mood. Later, once the weather cleared, I ventured out to the original location and photographed the forest. The final image is a composite—part studio, part wilderness—all intention. Sometimes the best stories come from the unexpected detours.
