While I was off in Colorado having my mind blown and life changed, I shot a few rolls of film. I planned to shoot a roll of landscapes, and double expose it with portraits of the new friends I made, but like all good plans involving a first timer who is also a complete idiot – I failed. I accidentally rewound the film all the way and was unable to double expose it. I also accidentally opened my camera in the middle of a roll and ended up with some of the most fantastic light leaks ever. A mistake I plan to repeat.

With deliberate and utter intention.

But I digress.

I love film – I’m mildly obsessed with it in fact – and if I had a constant stream of hyper disposable income I’d likely shoot a whole lot more of it. I like not having to edit. I like embracing the mistakes, the flaws, the imperfections, the inconsistent consistencies. And most of all, I love the honesty of film. The color. The grain. So without further ado – and prattling on by yours truly – here are a few frames from my time in Colorado.

Perfectly imperfect.
Completely unedited.
Solely on film.

(Black and white images shot on Fuji Neopan 400 and Color images shot on Fuji Superia 800 with Nikon F100. Processed and scanned and Richard Photo Lab.)

Seven remarkable women volunteered to be a part of this Beauty Collective. They came to Taylors Falls with seven different and incredible stories. Seven sets of fears. Seven faces. Seven cars and seven bodies and seven beautiful hearts.

These women are all beautiful. They are all flawed and imperfect. They are all funny and unique and special. These women are real. They are you and me. Your mothers and sisters and best friends, and strangers behind you in line at Target. They are faces in a crowd. Commuters. Worker bees. Dreamers. Lovers. They are each and every one of us. And they are remarkable.

So, let us revel in their beauty. In their flawed perfection. In their exquisite and profound beauty.

If only for a moment.

And let us allow that moment to last a lifetime.

To the ladies in these photographs, thank you. For giving yourselves over to this project. For showing me your insecurities, for trusting me with them, and with your beauty, and for your vulnerability. You’re all so wonderful, and my life is richer because each and every one of you wonderful girls are a part of it.

If you’d like to know more about the Beauty Collective, please read this post. And if you’re a photographer and would like to set up your own Collective, please contact me.

xoxo

Darielle and Isaac are the kind of people that you fall helplessly in love with the second you meet them. They are warm and kind, laid back, incredibly funny, and they exude happiness and joy. Their wedding day was an absolute reflection of the love that radiates from within them and lives in everything around them, and I was honored to tell their story.

Here is a preview of the first part of their wedding day – Darielle getting ready, her and Isaac’s first look, and some amazing portraits under a bridge in downtown Saint Paul.

A few still images of their monumental love.

Darielle + Isaac from athena pelton on Vimeo.

Music “Bella” by Angus + Julia Stone. Download it here.