Nine of Staves 1.1

The Watcher on the Wall. The Guardian at the Gate. The sentry. The look-out. One who has been tested and beaten in the past, one who is rightfully wary and cautious, but still standing ready and waiting for the inevitable foe.

Nine of Staves 2.2

This is a card all about hard-fought gains and imminent threat, about defending that which is ours. We shot it the same day as the Eight of Staves, but I wanted to make sure that it was visibly different. One of the ongoing challenges in every suit of cards is making sure that we’re not repeating ourselves, or, as we get further in suits, that we’re not too obviously calling back to previous cards without meaning to.

Nine of Staves 3.2

There’s a funny little tunnel under the road between the Berkeley Rose Garden and Cordinices Park, and we shot in front of it- it seemed like a defensive position, to me. I wanted it to visually show something that would be a reasonable thing to defend, instead of having just some unknown warrior in a field or some such. But this is visually a believable place to want to control, and likely one that could change hands and be fought over regularly.

Nine of Staves 4.2

The defender has been shot at, and the arrows lie in a pile on the ground. She stands to bar the way to all comers. None shall take what she has won, no matter how they strive.

Nine of Staves 5.2

Stephanie’s version of events is here, and as per always, the full set is on Flickr.