2017 was an immeasurable year. Not just for our little boutique portrait company, Marie Holmes Photography, but for many areas in our personal lives. I honestly did not anticipate the impact the past year would have on my heart. It was a year full of incredible highs. Like finally moving forward with fulfilling dreams of helping other small businesses take the next step through a brick and mortar concept (which is still on the way, but we will share more about progress on another post) and an amazing year full of great clients trusting me with their memories. And with all things we had some lows that took us to sad places when we learned that we lost two families members this year over the summer- within 2 weeks of each other as well as seeing our family suffer through the devastation that happened in Puerto Rico that is currently ongoing. Some of these circumstances prefaced my state of mind and what I would come to change in the new year.
I could sit here and make empty promises for the new year or I can take a look around and realize life is really passing us more than we know it. Each day is precious, each day is more than anything… like a new year. I know it sounds so cliche but truly, we only have one chance to live our best life, what ever that best life looks for us.
During our visit to Puerto Rico, 2 weeks before Hurricane Maria destroyed the island in it’s already fragile state we ventured, we explored, we filled up on fried delicious food. We intentionally became a part of what we were doing in every moment. Considering how things can change so quickly, I thought to myself how much I didn’t want hope for doing or seeing the things this beautiful world full of incredible sites and people has to offer. This year I will follow through with reasonable and maybe even some crazy ideas and actually go do them- some that have already been written in stone as we speak.
As far as Marie Holmes Photography this year we have so many new and exciting programs to unveil. I am also venturing into a new medium within photography and approach during my shoots… something I can’t wait to share more about! We’ve also hired a new amazing blogger Grace, who is adding some fun and fresh content on here and we may be introducing another team member very soon! And if you haven’t been to around the site, go check out a new little brand refresh we did to give MHP a new pick me up. Nothing major, but doesn’t it feel good when you finally get that “trim” you’ve been needing? That’s exactly how we feel. While we are in a good place to start the year, we also can’t exactly pile all the new stuff on without scaling back quite a bit on other things. So we are making major changes to our menu and offerings and going all in with a less is more attitude when it comes to the amount of sessions being photographed this year. With some of these changes come some fears. I’ve had a few sleepless nights wondering where this will take the future of MHP, but fear is so crippling to the extent that if you can get passed it you know all the good stuff is waiting on the other side. Adventures my friends, the theme of this year is adventure, in life and in business… taking action and not letting that fear keep me from enriching my life full of experiences. We hope you are ready to join us on this wonderful ride we are about to embark on.
For you, we wish that this year wraps you in love and takes your heart to places you never thought you would go.
And because a post is often better with pictures here are some of our adventures from our trip to beautiful Puerto Rico this past summer. I took more photos on my iphone but I am glad I was able to get a sweet snap of my grandmother with my “big girl” camera.
