The new SOUL collection was designed in collaboration with Judith Noordzij . In this blog post, you can read about our photoshoot, which began the day before with a 12-hour drive to Austria. We'd only met briefly before. 

How do I know Judith ? She bought a piece of jewelry from Riverstones. After that, we connected on Instagram. It started with an online connection that blossomed into a SOUL collection we designed together. Because we both love the mountains, we wanted to wear a piece of jewelry that would be a daily reminder of that. At the time, I couldn't have imagined that a few months later, we'd be sitting next to each other in the car for so long, experiencing such an intense day, while barely knowing each other. Luckily, that online connection turned out to be just as good in person. 

The day of the shoot

Judith and I had known each other for over an hour by then. Photographer Sophia already knew Judith from a previous shoot, but I hadn't. It 's always nerve-wracking to work with a "new" team, but it turned out to be a great success! We had a lot of trust beforehand, because Sophia had planned the entire day down to the last detail. The locations where we would photograph, the sunrise and sunset times, and, importantly, the time and location of our dinner. 

The morning

• Departure: 2:45 am
• Start of the walk: 3:30 pm
• Arrival Birgitzköpfl: 5:00 am
• Photography: 5:15 am to approximately 7:00 am
• Return walk: 7:00 am - 8:00 am

The spot where we were going to take our first photos was Birgitzköpfl. Sunrise was expected at 5:23 a.m., and it was a hike of about an hour and a half to reach the top! That meant gathering at 2:45 a.m., and as I always say, I don't do mornings . But that day, we did. It was pitch black. The only light we had was the glow of our headlamps. Interestingly, as we climbed, we heard the bells of grazing cows, even though we couldn't see them. Once at the top, there were very dark clouds on the other side of the valley. We did have some rain, but luckily not the severe weather I expected. After taking photos, we walked back down. Interestingly, perhaps because of the early hour, we immediately had serious conversations interspersed with lots of laughter. Once at the bottom, we really wanted coffee. Of course, the little restaurant wasn't even open yet so early in the morning. Luckily, there was an Austrian stall selling tea and cakes. You could take whatever you wanted, but you had to leave cash, and you guessed it: we only had enough for tea. Which was actually quite delicious after all the effort we'd put in. 

Luckily there was time to take a nap before continuing with the rest of the day. 

The afternoon

• Departure to Innsbruck: 12:00 noon
• Lunch Innsbruck: 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm
• Photography in the city: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Innsbruck was the setting for the afternoon shoot. Just a few hours ago, we were surrounded by nature, and suddenly you're in the city. And what a city! I had no idea Innsbruck was so beautiful. This actually symbolizes the two pillars of Riverstones. There's the City collection , because I truly enjoy the bustle of the city, the beautiful buildings, authentic streets, and charming squares. Then there's the SOUL collection , which stands for consciously enjoying the beauty around you. Taking the time to connect with what matters most to you. In the photos for this collection, these two things come together so beautifully! 

The evening

• Departure: 4:30 PM
• Start of the walk: 5:15 PM
• Arrival Adolf-Pichler-Hütte: 6:15 PM
• Extra time to walk to photo spot: 6:15 PM - 6:45 PM 
• Photography: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• Return walk: 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM

The last part of the day was kicked off with another uphill hike. We stopped several times to photograph the jewelry, both individually and in the jewelry box. Product photography wasn't something Judith and Sophia had experience with, but together we turned out to be a fantastic stylist team. As you can see, the photos turned out truly beautiful. We were just a little too late for sunset at our planned destination, so we had to climb even higher. It was definitely worth it! We took the most beautiful photos there under a breathtaking sunset. Perhaps symbolic of how sometimes going the extra mile can make the result even more beautiful. 

I have to admit, I was completely drained after that. Of course, we still had to get down the mountain. Judith, fit as she is, darted down. Sophia and I had no choice but to slow down a bit. 

All in all, a very tiring, special day that I won't soon forget. I think you can really see from the photos how much fun we had together and how hard we worked to capture the jewelry as beautifully as possible. 

We said goodbye to Sophia in the parking lot and headed back to the hotel. You can imagine I slept wonderfully that night. Which was necessary, because we were going straight home the next day. Another 12 hours in the car together on the way back.

Judith is a big Celine Dion fan, and secretly, so am I. This song was on repeat in the car: "I am alive!"