{holly aletha photos & ramblings}

{new blog!}

2009-01-19T18:29:00.000-05:00

head on over to hollyaletha.com to see my new site! i'm in love.

{big news}

2009-01-09T14:28:00.002-05:00

i'm getting a canon 30d tomorrow! score! goooodbye sony. i've never been more excited in my life, i don't think!

{mama+me}

2009-01-08T23:36:00.013-05:00

a few months ago, my very, very dear friends jess and brett of photographed my mama and me. words cannot describe how much this meant to me, seeing as my mom is my best friend, my mentor, and very recently won her battle with breast cancer for the second time. it's a love i cannot descirbe.

but the truth is...

2009-01-07T17:14:00.001-05:00

how do you define the truth?
what is true in your eyes; your world; your heart?
i'm curious...let me know.

a short break from the photography.

2009-01-05T00:25:00.006-05:00

I wrote this for my dear, dear, dearest friend, Jen. I thought I'd share, seeing as photography and writing hold equal places in my heart.

“Ode” to Jen

No matter where I go in life, no matter how successful I become, no matter how much money I make, I am nothing without the people who have come into my life over the years, regardless of how big of a role they played. Every single person I have ever met was brought into my life for a reason; everyone I have ever known has brought some sort of meaning, and has enriched my life in some way, shape or form, even if I didn’t realize it at first. “They” say that first impressions are everything, but through personal experience, I’ve found that the judgment someone passes upon another person at first is wrong, more often than not. Take my friend Jen as an example: when we first met, I immediately was annoyed by her—real nice of me, I know. My first impression didn’t do her justice at all; I had no idea how important she would be to me someday. After having her in my life for a while, however, I quickly realized how special she is to me. Who knew that my yoga instructor would evolve into my mentor, my inspiration, and one of my closest friends? I surely didn’t.

I was first formally introduced to Jen at a yoga lesson; I quickly misjudged her as one of those bubbly cheerleader types: she was blonde, with the sort of flowing, perfect hair that is idolized in the American media, and at first I expected her to produce pom-poms out of thin air and burst into some sort of cheer involving all sorts of cartwheels and backhand springs. I guess it was just the cynic in me rearing its ugly head yet again. By the end of the hour, however, my tune had definitely changed.

I think it was her laugh that had won me over. Jen has this infectious laugh that just draws a person in—an easygoing, appreciative laugh that invites a person to laugh along with her. Every time Jen laughs, I’m compelled to laugh too. It’s musical, melodic, and just plain happy…it goads a person to follow her lead and fill their heart with happiness right along with her. When I think of Jen, what automatically comes to mind is her laugh. It’s pure joy.

My youth pastor, Joel always tells me “Find your joy—what fills your heart up? What do you have to hold onto even when times are hard? That’s your joy; the key to living a full, happy life is knowing what gives you joy.” Jen has definitely “found her joy.” She is one of the most joyous people I know, and it shows: she literally glows with happiness, with her bright eyes and her contagious smile. Jenni can fill a room with golden light as soon as she walks into it. She has the beauty and grace a girl dreams of having. This quality might make me green with envy in any other case, but instead, Jen just keeps inspiring me to no end.

I admire her strength—and not just the physical kind…though she is a force to be reckoned with on and off the yoga mat: not only is Jen a yoga superstar, she’s also a spinning machine. And when I say spinning I’m not talking about twirling in circles until you get sick—I’m talking about the demanding form of exercise that involves stationary bicycling. Jen is strong because of her love of exercise (something that I don’t think I’ll ever understand), but she’s also strong in other, less tangible ways.

Like most people, she has been through a lot within her lifetime—probably more than the average 20-something person—but Jen doesn’t let that get in her way. She’s the type of person who makes lemonade when life hands her lemons. She has turned her difficult past experiences into compassion: Jen treats every moment with as much enthusiasm as a child opening gifts on
Christmas morning. She takes every chance she gets to pull a person into a comforting, caring hug—even if she might smell of garlic or sweat or something of the sort, though she never does.
Instead, Jen always smells warm, pretty and feminine--like a classic perfume or a freshly picked bouquet from her garden. Jen shows genuine affection to anyone and everyone she meets and has this innate ability to put a person at ease with her warm, healing touch. She is constantly encouraging and inspiring, with a thoughtful and enthusiastic voice that always speaks the kindest of words.

Because of all of these qualities, Jen possesses the kind of beauty I aspire to grow toward. What’s even more beautiful about her is the fact that she is always looking for new ways to grow as a human being. She offers a safe haven for me—I can tell her anything and she’ll give me honest advice that is in my best interest; she’ll also give me a cup of her favorite tea or a cookie (two things that are definitely a couple of “loves of her life”)—sometimes she even snags me some Juicy Couture flavored lip gloss, another favorite of hers.

As an only child, she is the perfect “sister” to me, as well as the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. Jen’s personality and beauty is evident even within something she signs all of her texts with—her catchphrase, KSL, short for “kiss you, snuggle you, love you.” Jen deserves all the KSL-ing in the world, and I thank God for sending her into my life—I truly believe that everything and everyone happens for a reason. Jennifer Nell Painter is living proof of that…even if she didn’t have me at hello.

{PJC: senior shoot}

2009-01-03T16:45:00.034-05:00

My boyfriend is a model.

Okay, he's not really a model. Except when I force him to be. Last Saturday, he was kind enough to let me take a few pictures of him--actually, a whole day's worth of pictures of him. And he HATES getting his pictures taken, but he was desperately in need of a senior shoot (at least, in my opinion the need was desperate). To summarize, my Patrick is a saint for letting me torture him with my lens.

"you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow..."

2008-07-25T21:21:00.009-04:00

this summer has been a long and winding road. cancer, mexico mission, chicago, coldplay, yoga, sickness, clumsiness, foolishness...take the good with the bad. that's often times a difficult statement to abide to. i feel limited. i feel caged. i feel in between. i feel joy and sorrow at the same time, at the same place. i don't know how. i don't know a lot of things...i feel as though i know more than the average 17 year old though, and i don't mean that in a "oh, i am so much smarted than my parents" sort of way. i know i don't know a lot, i know i'm still immature and selfish at times. but i've realized that i am worth so much more than i tend to give myself credit for. and i won't settle for less, not anymore. i want to fly and dance and run around barefoot. i want to learn and succeed. i want everything the world has to offer me, and yet i could settle for nothing and still be content.

words cannot describe how much has happened since school let out, so i'll let the pictures do the talking...

...starting off with a little bit of the mexico mission.

the church we stayed at for a night in el paso before heading to mexico.amen.
in the desert...a complete wasteland. in all honesty, i could not live like this. i don't have the heart.the nicest house i saw there.
please don't throw up your gang signs anywhere in juarez... yonke.
a beautiful yet heartbreaking place.
right after prayer, the workday began.
my kind of people.
leoooo!
chucks shot.
barbed wire everywhere.
my girls.
dancing instead of working...
typical.
let's go to the clubs with the mexican boys.
walking to the community center to use the only plumbing in the town...
sexy ladies.
graciella loves bevin.
isabella wanted a picture with me.
to be continued...

we are people building people.

2008-07-03T18:35:00.003-04:00

off to juarez, mexico tomorrow for a missions trip. i'll be back on the 12th. we're bussing it down there. i hope to make an impact. i hope to love to my heart's fullest capacity. i hope my hands and heart touch lives. check out peoplebuildingpeople.org.

here are the boys last year with 2 of the kids. such beautiful people.

ps: i'm going to be an auntie!

keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again...

2008-06-26T11:32:00.005-04:00

if you know me, you know of my love for bob dylan. it's love bordering obsession. i bought my guitar because of bob dylan. i smoked my first cigarette because of bob dylan. i love bob dylan. i know all the lyrics. all the lyrics. i plan to dance to "Wedding Song" at my wedding.

my point is, on august 22nd, i get to see my love. and that, my friends, is the highlight of my summer. now go listen to a dylan song. feel the loooove.

say cheese!

2008-06-20T21:24:00.010-04:00

can you believe how amazingly beautiful she looks, even after her first round of chemo? i admire her strength and grace more than anything. new camera, by the way. it's gorgeous. sony alpha a100 10.2mp digital slr. my new baby. i've been saving, lord knows i've been saving. dad chipped in, bless his heart.

"And your eyes must do some raining if you are ever going to grow.

But when crying don't help and you can't compose yourself it's best to compose a poem,

An honest verse of longing or a simple song of hope. That is why I'm singing, 'Baby don't worry 'cause now I got your back.'

And every time your feel like crying, I'm gonna try to make you laugh.

And if I can't, if it hurts too bad, then we will wait for it to pass

And I will keep you company through those days so long and black."

2008-06-20T17:40:00.011-04:00

fresh start.

2008-06-18T21:20:00.007-04:00

every now and then, i like to change things up...start fresh, you know? well, i felt like it was time for a clean slate, so here it is. hopefully this site will begin to feel like home. i've been thinking about that word lately. home. to be honest, nothing has felt quite like home in a while.

i took this picture on the last day at my grandmother's house. we had to sell it after she died; before doing so, we (my aunt, mom, best friend, and myself) had to do a little--a lot of fixing up. my grandma and my mom's brother, who is autistic--he's the one in the doorway--had lived there for over 30 years; my mom grew up there.

i snapped this shot when we were all saying goodbye after having worked on it for a year. we sold it to a few young men who fixed up houses and sold them for more than they bought them for...they weren't supposed to touch the house for 2 weeks after it was sold so we all could do our last minute packing and such. these guys didn't hold up their end of the deal, which was especially hard for my uncle, having lost so much, being a person who cannot cope mentally with change.

all of that being said, that was the place which really, truly felt like home to me, albeit i never lived there. so much is changing: school is out, my friends are busy living their lives while i take care of my mother. she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy a few weeks ago. chemo starts up soon. as does radiation. my dad isn't around much--busy with work, his biking, his drums, his bands...always busy. leaving me feeling much older than i really am.

so much is on my mind. all i want to do is figure out how to grow up without getting more weighed down. i want to feel free; i want to create; i want to contribute something meaningful; i want to love.