As a photographer I find beauty in love, in the strong bond of family, and within a person’s soul…the very essence that makes them who they are.  Beauty comes in all forms and to me has little to do with what is on the outside: shy, witty, outgoing, peaceful, kind, loving, powerful, reserved…it’s all beautiful.

I recently read an article where a bride was told that her wedding wouldn’t grace the photographer’s blog because he only blogs “publicity worthy” couples. Are you serious?  I was so angry for her.

Some of you know that I have two blogs. This one, and a blog called “Reclaiming Life”.  I haven’t shared my Reclaiming Life blog here, because it’s quite personal, but I’m going to now so you know where I’m coming from.

Here’s my story of losing 90ish pounds.

http://reclaiminglife.wordpress.com/my-story/

Through the years of losing the weight and to this day of keeping the weight off, I have learned…no I have fought to remember…that I am NOT defined by the clothes I wear, by what the scale says, or by how I age as I grow another year older and wiser .

My laugh lines are here because I laugh.

My stretch marks are here because I was blessed to have three amazing children.

The dark circles that appear under my eyes is often because I stayed up late with friends laughing or because my kids were up in the night and needed me.

The reason I have worn the same dress to the last few functions is because I detest shopping. My favourite dress is comfortable and I feel good when I wear it.

I rarely wear heels because I am clumsy and I will fall in public.

I often sport roots because I don’t have the time to spend three hours in a hair salon, but when I do go I love it and have a swagger in my step.

Now…does that make me any less worthy than someone who is aesthetically more “Beautiful” by society’s standards?  Am I anymore worthy to grace someone’s blog at 150 pounds than at 242 pounds?

I am the same person in so many ways, only now I don’t walk with my head down. I walk with my head up…shoulders back…and a smile on my face because I have found out who I am and I make no apologizes for it.  It’s not because I weigh less.

I will blog every single person I photograph (unless it’s their wish that I don’t) because you are all beautiful and you are worthy to be celebrated just as you are.

That’s it. That’s all.

From my heart to yours,

Christine

The standard answer ran through my head…

“It started at the birth of my kids, and took over.”

That’s part of it…but that’s not it.

My passion for photography really took over because I wanted to show Women how beautiful they are at any size, shape, age, and stage in life.

Many of you know that I lost 90 some odd pounds 5 years ago.  I don’t have many photographs of myself during that time in my life because I didn’t feel beautiful or worthy.  Looking back, I wish I had.  As I flip through my old photo albums, years worth of pictures of my children growing up with the absence of their mother in the photos stare back at me.  My kids love me the same no matter what size I am.  Those pictures are for them just as much as they are for me and those who love them.  Why did I think being documented as part of their early childhood wasn’t important?  It absolutely is.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned after losing the weight is that confidence, strength, wisdom, and beauty comes from the heart and it grows with age.  I used to believe that if only I were a certain size and weight THEN I would be happy and confident.  My confidence grew not because I shed pounds, but because I worked hard and I was proud of the work I put in.  I finally put value on who I was and I found beauty in the everyday.

If only we could view ourselves through the eyes of those who love us.  We are loved deeply.  We are cherished.  To look at a photograph of someone we cherish, we are taken right back to that time and we remember all the things we love about them.

There is so much beauty that lies within the story told through a photograph . To be able to document that story, is an incredible feeling.

The thoughts I’ve shared here, is the reason I updated my website Homepage slide show and the Galleries.

http://www.christinehopaluk.com/index2.php

If you are a picture hater and refuse to have your picture taken I would like to leave you with this thought. The photographs aren’t only for you. They are for those who love you. You are beautiful and you are cherished.  The bond you share with those you love deserves to be documented. Your loved ones want to remember you just as you are.  Perfectly, Imperfectly, Undeniably YOU.

From my heart to yours,

Christine

This group of men had so much character! They played during supper time with so much joy, and you couldn’t help but smile through every song they played.

In the morning, I would go sit on our little terrace and enjoy the yummy golden light of the morning while listening to the soft waves from the ocean.  Here’s some views that were only steps from our little terrace.

This is a lime tree.  The staff would come every morning to pick limes to add to the drinks.

One morning a nice grounds keeper named Aaron asked if I wanted to try some coconut milk.  After nodding yes (while sporting sticky-uppy morning hair I might add) he climbed a tree and brought me a coconut.    He quickly whipped out his pocket knife and expertly cut away at the coconut until there was a nice little hole to sip the milk through a straw.  It was refreshing and sweet.  Little tip for future visitors to the resort: if you take your coconut to the bar, they will fill it with coconut Rum…Yummmm.

On our third day there, my hubby and I booked Swedish couple’s massages.  We chose to have our massages in the Tree House with views and sounds of the ocean.  I’ve secretly always wanted a tree house (as kids my little sister and I spent countless hours trying to build our own…it was pathetic) so the ambiance was greatly appreciated even though I had my relaxed eyes closed for most of it! 

On the first day I walked by this tree stump, it was just a tree stump.  It magically grew a face by the next day.

This was another favourite view.

Mmmmmm…food.  There’s a reason I returned home and wasn’t hungry for days.

Another view of the stair case I fell in love with.  Love, love, love the lines.

One of the resort photographers who, if I remember correctly, told me she has been a resort photographer for over 15 years…now that’s a good gig! 

Part of the all-inclusive package included at Couples Negril resort is the option to go on water excursions.  We booked the glass-bottom boat tour which was really interesting.

They took us to a choral reef which you can also visit via scuba diving (next trip we will scuba for sure).

Do you see the goat in the window?  A 1/2 hour later when our boat traveled by again he was still in the window.

On our last night we booked a Catamaran excursion….a.k.a the “Booze Cruise”.  One rum punch will have you giggling if you can get through the initial sip.  Two rum punches will have you seeing double, and the third will knock you on your tanned tush.

I asked our bartender for the trip if I could take his picture and this is what he did.  Then he admired my hubby’s “Canadian” hat.  My hubby gave it to him.  I hope he wears it!

The boat stopped so we could swim into these caves or take a ride down the water slide on the boat.  For a small fee, you could climb up and jump from the top of the caves into the crystal clear waters below. I was not so brave.  See the splash to the right in the picture below?  I guess someone took the plunge, but I missed it.

I had hoped to see someone getting married at the resort.  As we were sitting on the wicker swing awaiting our taxi to take us to the airport to fly home, I looked down and there they were…a bride and groom just married.  Love, love, love.

This was the last picture I took.  The sun was setting as the airplane took off to return home.  The bright sunset shone through the plane window.  Ahhhhh…it was a great vacation.  Have you booked your trip yet?