NOVA Portraits | Holly – The Girl with the Guitar

“She sat listening to the music. It was a symphony of triumph. The notes flowed up, they spoke of rising and they were the rising itself, they were the essence and the form of upward motion, they seemed to embody every human act and thought that had ascent as its motive. It was a sunburst of sound, breaking out of hiding and spreading open. It had the freedom of release and the tension of purpose. It swept space clean, and left nothing but the joy of an unobstructed effort. Only a faint echo within the sounds spoke of that from which the music had escaped, but spoke in laughing astonishment at the discovery that there was no ugliness or pain, and there never had to be.” (― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged)

I think Holly’s beautiful three-part senior session changed my photographic life. These images are from the end of our session, too sweet to resist sharing, and perfect for a gentle morning introduction to a three-hour session that will probably live in my portfolio forever.

When Hilary (Holly’s mom) contacted me with the news that we would be able to shoot at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia, I am not kidding you – I screamed. Pete and I seriously considered getting married at Airlie in 2005, but I honestly never imagined I would get to do a shoot there myself! With so much photographable material, we were hard-pressed to choose one spot for our session, so we went with three – and then Hilary sweetened the whole deal with a classic 1950′s Chevy Bel Air convertible.

Oh. My. Word.

Forgive my excitement and ridiculous organizational tendencies, but this is going to be a three-post day, with a FANTASTIC reveal coming later today at The Girl in the White Dress – You have GOT to see this!

Part I: NOVA Portraits | Holly – The Girl with the Guitar
Part II: NOVA Portraits | Holly – A Bit of Anthropologie
Part III: NOVA Portraits | Holly – The Girl in the Old Red Car

FILED UNDER: Airlie Center, Holly Tupper, NOVA Portraits, Portrait, Senior, Warrenton