I love using available light, and much prefer working outdoors than in a studio environment. When Agnes called me I knew instantly that she had be photographed surrounded by nature.

In my studio I produce painterly portraits but when I thought about this job further, three words came to my mind: cold, white and trees.

I wanted Agnes to wear white lingerie and red lipstick, which maybe sounds rather sexual, but the objective was to create an ephemeral, fairy-like image using what we had, and what we could find.

One winter’s day we went to Hackney Marshes before sunrise. We were searching for something magical. It was icy so we stopped to drink a coffee to warm ourselves. As we stood there we saw a forest of birch trees emerging from the gloom. We settled and waited for sunlight.

As the first rays caught the morning dew on the branches they created a pearl, lace-like sparkle. Agnes stood in the cold, looking strong and perfect.

The image was shot using a Hasselblad loaded with Fuji Provia 100F film.

Mariann Fercsik was born in the Hungarian capital, Budapest in 1981. Since 2006 she has lived in London where she works from her own studio called Onefourteen studio, shooting for various magazines including the Independent On Sunday. She specialises in contemporary, narrative documentary photography and portraiture and her real passion lies in shooting features.

Photographer since 2006, EPUK member since 2013.

See more work by Mariann Fercsik