A friend since he was a kid, Jacob would sit in my kitchen and add knowledgeable commentary often above our “adult” conversations. He always knew a lot about vegetarian cooking, spices and herbs, or whatever new exotic roots I had found at the Farmer’s Market to try and scare him and his sister Lauren 🙂 We would sit and chop and I could always tell that he had a unique appreciation of the natural world and a curiosity uncommon for his age. As I watched him grow taller and taller, eventually topping out at 6′ 7″ so far, his intensely calm energy and knightly handsomeness led me to see him as this character. He is a natural model, willing to don his costume in good humor, for me as well as my workshop students, and he takes direction so well, even for very subtle adjustments, with an understanding of what I am seeing via the camera.

SYMBOLISM of the SWORD:  In the spirit of the tarot card suit, the meaning here is of sharp mental consciousness, and action of the mind and intellect, that slices through illusion, emotion based beliefs and preconceptions. The KNIGHT of SWORDS himself is the vigilant champion of this truth, even if the realization is painful.

 

From my November Workshop – Late afternoon sunlight filters through Spanish Moss on St. Simons Island. No longer harsh, the lowering angle of the soft rays create long dramatic shadows and define the detail of the fine brocade of Jacob’s costume. Not only did we put him in character, into the mood of introspection before action, which plays so well across his face, we also placed him exactly where we wanted him, using the outdoors as our studio to direct and light our handsome actor model.

 

 

All text and images ©2014 Robin Davis