365 Blank Pages

The calendar says December 31, but while people are preparing for New Year celebrations, we wonder what is going to be new about 2016. While others go out to parties or celebrate with happy anticipation at home, posting their pictures to social media, Leland and I find ourselves with no money, and from a strictly financial perspective, struggling to find anything to celebrate after another difficult year in business. 

The videos we've all seen of a person standing stationary while the world around them speeds by in hyper motion is how we feel. Everywhere we go it seems we are in some parallel universe watching as people load their late model cars with new furniture, TVs, Kitchen Aid mixers, cases of wine--and we walk slowly by; detached, observing.

Stuff, I remind myself. There is no material thing here on Earth that is of eternal value. 

Then why does my heart hurt? Why does my whole body feel this burning question, 

If not this, then what else? 

That famous quote by C. S. Lewis comes to mind, If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

But I am here, in the physical, not there. For now, I continue my journey as a soul walking about in a flesh and blood vessel. I search once again for purpose and doing things in the years that I continue on Earth that have meaning, as those years of raising my family had. 

Family. My heart continues to live in two places...here at home, and 275 miles away in a lovely city in North Carolina. Every time I visit, that feeling of detachment disappears. 

How the littles have already changed, just since my 59th birthday celebration in August!

Yes, I always go off onto this rabbit trail and have to talk about my people. That's a good thing because it reminds me of the things I DO celebrate. This crew!

The difficult part of moving into a new year for us is facing the great unknown. So many "ifs" that my head spins. There aren't any details right now, but when I see the image below, it awakens a sense of adventure in me that I thought was long gone. 

I visualize 365 blank pages and I pray for God to be the Author of an amazing new story. Send us somewhere, keep us here, revive our business, shut it down and give us other means of making a living, give us to missions and let us journal in photographs. Head spinning stuff, for sure.

Detachment from the shiny distractions of this life was the only way I could have come to this mindset. As I look back over the losses, life-changing events, and waiting that have led to surrender in my 60th year, I think of the song, Nothing Is Wasted, by Jason Gray.

We are your servants, Lord. You write our 2016 story on those blank pages--all for your honor and glory.

Did Someone Say Wedding?

Happy Labor Day and all that. Entrepreneurs know it as "Monday."

Leland and I have spent our day tutoring and on post-production of the wedding we shot on Saturday. 

Wedding. The word makes Leland cringe (and me too, a little bit). After about 350 of them, he had burnt out on all the drama and closed the door on that aspect of photography.

Enter our friends, Lea and Joe. We first met them as clients, then became friends when they graciously invited us to their home for a holiday celebration around a table full of fabulous food and friends. Long story short, when a wedding date was set and planning began, they asked us to photograph their event, which we politely declined, referring them to wedding photographers. They came back to us later, asking us if we'd reconsider. We said yes, and are so glad we did. We love this couple and wanted to not only celebrate their marriage with them, but give them great photographic memories of their day.

I'll post a few sneak peeks of this gorgeous event--don't want to give too much away just yet.

We arrived at the Volpe residence at 11:30 to photograph Joe and the guys. Since we were early, we shot exterior photos of the front decorations, moving on to the back where we were met with the most beautiful reception setting. It was something straight out of a magazine.

Photo credit: Lynne Holder

Photo credit: Lynne Holder

Photo credit: Lynne Holder

Photo credit: Lynne Holder

On to the house where the ladies were preparing, we were met by the smiling bride, her best friend and maid of honor, two junior bridesmaids and three flower girls--all such beauties. It was so easy to shoot such photogenic subjects. Our only regret was not having more time, and much too quickly, the cars arrived to whisk them away to St. Benedict's Church.

It was a small, intimate wedding, followed by the most fabulous reception I think I've ever been witness to. The food came, one course at a time; a seemingly endless extravaganza for the taste buds. Dessert was not wedding cake, by the way; rather, a 2-tiered display of fabulous cannoli, a piece of which the bride and groom smashed into eachother's faces with great joy and abandon.

Everything about this wedding was memorable--the mass, the church building, the reception--but it was the people that made this day. It was the most fun and love-filled, drama-free wedding day we could have hoped for as photographers, but also for our friends.

Photo credit: Lynne Holder

Photo credit: Leland Holder

Lea and Joe: Salute! Cento di questi giorni! Thank you for the privilege of journaling your day in photographs. 

 














On a personal note: I wish that rogue, horse thieving piece of exiled-to-America, Italian nobility on the crooked branch of my family tree actually made me able to claim being Italian. Boy, do they know how to live, play, and best of all, eat!

My Kindred Spirit

On February 13, 2007, I was minding my own business when I met a gentleman at a singles dinner.

On February 13, 2010, I married him.

Leland Patrick Holder is one of the most unique individuals you will ever meet. He is an extrovert. I think he could make friends with a rock. He has a huge, sensitive heart. His sense of humor keeps people laughing. He talks a lot, but he knows when it's time to be quiet and listen. He is a giver. He loves BIG, and he loves unconditionally.

He is flawed, as anyone who knows him well will agree, with a smile. He swears too much.  He can be judgmental. He's addicted to coffee. He's easily distracted and forgetful. He falls asleep, face planted on the desk in front of the computer, while processing photos.

And I love him.

Leland is an artist; a professional photographer.

He'll shoot nature at every opportunity, this place being one of my favorites.

 Kravica Falls, Bosnia-Herzegovina

He loves to shoot photographs of people, capturing that split second in time when a look tells a story.

 Gypsy woman begging on the streets of Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina

He looks through the lens with his heart; a heart for people and the beauty of God's creation, and a heart for the God who has loved him throughout his life's many twists and turns, ups and downs. When he photographs, he prays to see his subjects as God sees them.

In his 20s, Leland had a job that a lot of people would envy, working for Florida Power and Light. He earned a nice salary. He was house hunting and thinking about settling down into a life of the daily grind, white picket fences, marriage, and children.

And then he quit.

He had a dream. Florida Power and Light, white picket fences, and anything resembling status quo were not in it. This young man with a rebellious, adventurous spirit who had grown up on the east coast of Florida surfing, spear fishing, and diving, packed up his van and hit the road for the Western US. He followed his heart, traveling from one state to another, taking pictures, experiencing life, and just being.

In this video (please excuse the quality, or lack thereof, my unnecessary commentary, and sudden outburst over the raindrops falling on the equipment), Leland briefly tells of his journey to becoming a professional photographer. It was spontaneously shot while Leland was giving me a lesson on the technicals of photography. I never really meant for it to do anything but sit in my video folder, but I think his story of breaking out and following his passion needed to be told. Enjoy!

Leland's website & galleries
And, even though he loves people, he has no time for social media (I attempt to manage it for him):
Facebook
Twitter: @LelandHolder