Take that Santa! This is me upside-down and naked in a fireplace Brooke DiDonato's best photograph

"In my 20s, I was living in New York. Then I broke up with my long-term partner in 2019 and I sort of didn't really know how to cope any more. I didn't feel creative my whole experience of living in New York was tied to that relationship, and I felt I needed to go somewhere else and start over. I moved to Austin, Texas I thought I'd give it a go for a bit. I was doing a lot of tinkering at home, and I started doing a lot more self-portraits and let my psyche run wild."

"At this point, in 2021, one of my friends, Mike, was living in a 1940s building in East Austin, with old popcorn ceilings, really cool mouldings and outlet covers and original details, including the fireplace. It was inspiring to be there. I wasn't thinking about what would be popular though it did get a big reaction on social media I was having a bad day and I called Mike to ask if I could come over with my tripod. I knew I wanted to shoot with the fireplace, but I was unclear what the idea was."

"I was thinking about how I was relearning as an adult, and the old lesson people tell kids: Don't play with fire. That's where the title of the image came from Learned a Lesson Then Forgot It. There is a lot of tension but also grace in the image. Mike had recently taken in a stray kitten and she kept getting in the photo, but her curiosity conveyed the right message. People often want to know about her, and whether she's real or Photoshopped in. I shot a lot of different versions of the pose I have around 24 outtakes. Whenever I make an image in a compromising position, I assess the discomfort before I get naked. In this case the pose was extreme, my back hurt for a"

The photographer moved from New York to Austin after a 2019 breakup and struggled with creativity. The move prompted increased self-portraiture and experimentation. A friend, Mike, lived in a 1940s East Austin building whose original details and fireplace inspired a shoot. The subject called Mike during a bad day and shot using the mantel as set dressing, swapping a bowling trophy for a bathroom artwork. The image title, Learned a Lesson Then Forgot It, refers to relearning adult boundaries and the admonition "Don't play with fire." A stray kitten appears in multiple frames. Approximately 24 outtakes were made; the pose was physically demanding.

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