Helen Joy’s Photographer Blog

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.

www.helenjoy.com

Helen Joy George 9/10/15 Helen Joy George 9/10/15

sparrow and his mama | in the queen anne's lace

I've wanted a little girl ever since I could remember. In high school I would save little outfits and dresses I found at thrift stores in my hope chest, dreaming of one day have a daughter to dress in them. For the longest time I would see the sweeping fields of feminine queen anne's lace during the summers and dream of one day taking yearly pictures with a little girl in them.

After 2 boys and 4 miscarriages I had completely given up hope of having a little girl. So much so that the long treasured clothing had been doled out to friends and family for their daughters. And then my rainbow girl came, a huge gift of love from God. She was the beginning of my healing and my seeing God as a loving father who doesn't want to teach me a lesson but who wants to bless my heart with my Lucy Miller girl.

Last year I had my sister snap a few pictures of us in the queen's anne lace, but the getting up and down in the summer heat to change settings and see what she had captured completely ruined the experience I wanted to have. So this year, Lucy Miller's second summer, I asked my beautiful, talented friend Amanda to photograph us. Amanda is not only a gifted artist she is a mother that knows the feeling of holding a long awaited gift. Her son Sparrow was born after Amanda suffered 3 miscarriages.

So one evening between all the stuff of life (while my boys ate take out in the car and watched a movie on the way to a birthday party) we photographed our grateful love with our babies and the results are magic.

I will forever treasure the images she captured and the feeling of being there in my dream field with my dream girl.