CityView Magazine

12 April 2023 "One of my favorite poems is 'Invictus' by William Ernest Henley. I remember reading the lines, 'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,' and thinking, 'Wow.' It talks about life, and it's how the words make you feel. That, to me, is what photos should do." – Holly Hulse "I stood on that beach visiting with my husband and thought about my grandfather being there during the war," she says. "e day we were there was a beautiful, clear day. It was a little windy and a bit cold, and I took picture aer picture. Seventy-five years prior, it was a war zone. But that day was peaceful. "My grandfather has been gone for 20 years, and I still can't talk about him without crying. He's the whole reason I'm a photographer." e Hulses moved back to Fort Bragg in July 2020. One of Holly's first phone calls was to a friend who owned a global consulting firm. "With her help, I started my business from the ground up," Hulse says. Finding her passion was easy; gaining her footing was the hard part. "is area is so saturated with photographers," Hulse says. "Portraits, family — you name it. Photography is a great business to start, but you have to find your niche. Finding what makes you happy is key." In September 2021, Hulse happened upon her first break in the industry, and she would find that calling. She met an Italian show designer, Barollo, and he invited her to the fashion show in New York that he was producing. "I didn't know the ins and outs, so I took the opportunity," she says. "It was the largest favor that I had been given. I got there early to see the setup and talk to him and the models. at night, I was straddling a walkway from an overcrowded photographer pit. I was so tired, I think I crawled back to my hotel that night. "But when I got home and started looking at the hundreds of photos that I had taken, each one made me smile. By the end of the photo card, I knew fashion was what I wanted to do." Hulse says meeting people and putting her all into what she does are what she loves best. "In the photo pit, you are with 20 other photographers all trying to get the same shot. e energy is exhilarating. You have to click and think at the same time. It's fast- paced, but you also have to anticipate what is to come," Hulse says. "Fashion is my passion. I fell into it, but it's what drives me." Beauty in everyone Growing up in New Jersey, just outside Manhattan, Hulse says she always looked at the same kind of pictures she is now shooting. "I'm doing this for the little girl who would see models in Jersey, on the covers of magazines in the stands at the grocery store. And it's not just supermodels from the '80s and '90s. I believe every woman, edited and unedited, is beautiful in any form." She also says she hopes to show that beauty in all facets by featuring photos of Holly Hulse

• Cover