A few photos of me and my sword, in a lake

Taking some wacky, slightly fantastical photos with the sword Leif gave me as a present for my thirtieth birthday came to me at exactly the right moment!

A few photos of me and my sword, in a lake

And now for something entirely different...

I needed a short creative project to clear my head the other day — the idea of taking some wacky, slightly fantastical photos with the sword Leif gave me as a present for my thirtieth birthday came to me at exactly the right moment!

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It's been years (possibly more than a decade!) since I dressed up to take some magical photos with friends, and I really was able to go all out with this little project. Taking advantage of the soft morning sun and its golden reflection in the water of the lake, I got some really fun photos!

Image description: a young white person (named Gersande, so me) standing in a lake, the water coming up to their knee. The person has long red hair, wears a white linen shirt and black leggings, two coyote skins on their shoulders, and is holding an 11th century Viking style long sword.

Plus, it gave me the perfect excuse to celebrate this gift that Leif gave me. I love this sword forged by the team at Dark Sword Armoury here in Montreal, this reproduction of a historical Viking sword from the 11th century, found in the grave of a Shield Maiden in Suontaka, Finland.

I have been dreaming of getting a real sword for years, and this one is a work of art, a living piece of history.

Another photo, this time of me holding my sword with both hands over my head, as if waiting for an attacker (forgive me for the glasses obviously attached to my belt: I had no contact lenses and with the sword as an accessory, which is still a weapon to be respected, I didn't want to take a chance of being without my glasses!)

These photos are also a little love letter to the forest and the lakes and mountains that have been home to me while I've been immersed in my writing, a project where I'm going back in time and trying to understand some of my more distant ancestors.

Also, I want to share with you all the funniest pictures, where I was channelling some big time Asterix and Obelix energy! Anyone with a sword should not neglect their berserker face — surprisingly my face works great in berserker mode, the almost disfigured effect is very comical:

This project has really made me want to create a costume to make a more historically correct clothing to go with my sword! A nice project for the coming year maybe? 🗡 Already my white linen shirt that I sewed myself (copying an 18th century man's shirt pattern) gives the whole thing a rather fairytale look!

A big thank you to Leif for having the patience to wade into the water (up to his chest sometimes!) with my camera and who carefully captured all these beautiful images.

And, if you want, you can also share some of these images on Instagram by clicking here.

Namarië
Gersande


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