Helen Joy’s Photography Blog

Helen Joy George 9/27/15 Helen Joy George 9/27/15

mr darcy and his bride | the wedding of ruthanne and stewart

"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

-Mr Darcy

The sun rose up behind her grandmother's antique lace wedding gown and illuminated "their field". The field that Stewart started loving Ruthanne on a night camping with friends in college. The field that Stewart professed his love to her in a beautifully and unashamedly romantic gesture of reenacting the scene where Mr Darcy professes his love to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. The field where Ruthanne said, "thank you but let's just be friends." The field where they, one day ended up getting engaged because Stewart did not give up.

And then, on a dewy August morning, I watched them walk towards each other, then run, ending a tearful and joyful embrace.

This kind of love is rare and I was so honored to document the day for them.

Their wedding day.

www.helenjoy.com

Helen Joy George 9/25/15 Helen Joy George 9/25/15

the girl inside | portraits of my wildflower friends

The girl inside

I return to you (children) full of renewed life

For I tended to the girl inside

I donned my blinders and headed off

Knowing how worthy it was

For a girl, starved, does no one any good

Even the most beautiful of things turn to ash when a corpse lives inside

Why do those around me mutter words of hate?

Why must those who starve the inner girl, receive gold stars for most consecutive days of staying put?

Would they rather me stick her away in darkness to gather dust for a lifetime?

Only to pull her out at the end, when the nest is empty and try to revive her?

This would do both of us a disservice

For I want my children to see me pink cheeked with breathless adventure brimming from within

I want them to know my love is free

It doesn’t take much to nurture the girl

Bits of moments strung here and there.Pauses of wonder at the stars and the smallness of you

It is a worthy cause.One worth the pursuit

A unique soul that was fearfully and wonderfully made is wasted when daily grind builds up walls

For anyone can wash a pot

But the nurtured girl can wash a pot with joy because she knows she is so much more

Inspired by the brave women and mothers who take time to nurture their inner girl.

Photos from the Wildflower Reunion in Bellingham, WA

www.helenjoy.com

Helen Joy George 9/14/15 Helen Joy George 9/14/15

in the prouty windows | reflections of the great light

A random click on an Instagram profile several years ago brought me to Joy. Her profile was filled with beauty and a view into life from a different point of view; a round belly with baby number 4 and her adorable children drew me, and a thousand other people, to her. I watched and waited for pictures to fill my screen as they sold nearly everything they had and traveled the country in their trailer. The adventures, the beauty of the country, and the calling of my own heart for a grande adventure kept me captivated. And then over time, bits and pieces of her heart, her raw and real feelings of motherhood, art, and life pierced me and I knew that one day I would meet this kindred spirit and that we would be friends. In December I attended one of her photography workshops on an island in Florida with 17 other women. Joy was in the midst of great depression, but her willingness to just be herself to us changed us all.

And then one afternoon after all the girls had left, I sat on the couch with her and she looked at me and said, "You have something to say, Helen Joy." Those words have given me such freedom this year. Since then she's become a treasured friend to me.

Joy is a crusader of truth. Her passionate desire to create art with the shadows of every day life in her harvest sessions is changing families, it's changing what people want when they hire a photographer, it's slowly changing the world to not pursue perfection one person at a time. Ever since I met her, I've had a burning desire to get some gritty, real life shots for her; a mirror to her beautiful words she writes daily. The crying children, the darkness creeping in and the nose pressed to the window in search of the light. The dirty dishes and the tangled hair. The fight inside for seeds of hope. I knew I could do it. I'm not the most well known or talented photographer in the world, but I had something to say, and Joy let me say it.

There were times I would feel hot tears on my cheeks and look up at Joy and just nod in silence. It was captured. This feeling. This feeling that she feels, that I feel, that women all over the world feel.

So here is a peek into the Prouty windows...

My dear friend,

So many of us, like you, are pressed up against the windows, searching for the light. In darkness, your light shines through your open heart my friend. Your heart that you bear to others so willingly and openly. You are a light, but you are a reflection of the true light, the great light. Thank you for what you give to so many and for not letting that light be hidden.