Caroline Maxcy
Horseshoe Bend Fine Art Film Destination ...

Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona at golden hour is nothing short of magical. Add in a gorgeous bride and groom and 60 of their closest family and friends bathed in the warm desert light and you have something like a dream. Sheri + James said their joyful, tearful “I dos” earlier this month canyon side and I had the honor of being there to capture it all.

Horseshoe Bend Fine Art Film Destination Wedding Photography — Sheri + James — Page, Arizona
Caroline Maxcy
Alexa + Jordan — Sundial Resort Military ...

Here we are in the heart of a frigid winter (even for us Floridians at times) and I’m dreaming of warmer days. So why not share a peek into Alexa and Jordan’s seaside Sanibel Island wedding from this past summer. Revisiting these images is like a treat! I can almost hear the lull of the waves and the rustle in the palm leaves and nearly feel the sweet summertime sun on my skin…

Alexa + Jordan — Sundial Resort Military Wedding Photography — Sanibel Island, FL
Caroline Maxcy
Sugarcane Inspired Styled Shoot — Florida Film ...

In reflecting on the last year I took some time to note things that had given me life or drained me in the past. (It’s an effort in aiding in decision making for this “decision fatigued” gal right here. And the idea is all thanks to Emily P. Freeman and her “The Next Right Thing” podcast!) Something that undeniable breathed life in to my work and inspiration was the process of shooting creatively with film. (You can check out my past blog post about the process and love affair by clicking here and here.) So I set out to spend more time behind my film camera pointing it at beautiful things and lovely light by marking down a few “inspired styled shoots” in my calendar. This is the very first of them…

Sugarcane Inspired Styled Shoot — Florida Film Photography — Lake Placid, FL
Caroline Maxcy
Anna Grace Senior Session — Senior Film ...

Anna Grace’s Senior Session at Dark Hammock Legacy Ranch was nothing short of a dream…

Anna Grace Senior Session — Senior Film Photography — Dark Hammock Legacy Ranch, Sebring, FL
weddings, film
Caroline Maxcy
Jade + Brett — Bok Tower Gardens Film Wedding ...
Jade + Brett — Bok Tower Gardens Film Wedding Photography — Lake Wales, FL

France Film Photography — Luxury Editorial Film Travel Photography

France Film Photography — Luxury Editorial Film Travel Photography

carried my little tank of a medium format film camera from Florida to Paris and deep into the French countryside. Through châteaux, cafés, and cobblestone streets. I felt every ounce of the weight, every flicker of stress. The chance of rain. The TSA swabs. The quiet panic of asking for a hand check instead of an X ray and wondering if this would be the moment everything slowed to a halt.

But then there was the magic. ✨
The slowness. The intention. The way film asks you to really see, to trust the moment, to wait for the light instead of chasing it.

In the end, it was never really about the weight or the logistics. It was about choosing presence over convenience, craft over ease, and trusting that the slower path often leads to something more meaningful. Some places ask to be documented quickly. Others ask to be felt first.

France was the latter. And I would carry it all again. 🤍

Sugar Beach Viceroy — St. Lucia — Luxury Travel Editorial Photography

Sugar Beach Viceroy — St. Lucia — Luxury Travel Editorial Photography

Oh St. Lucia… what a dream. There is nothing quite like the hazy, cinematic feeling of medium format film, especially in a place like this. After dropping our bags at our beachside bungalow at @sugarbeachviceroy, we stepped straight out the back doors with cameras in hand and wandered the shoreline beneath the Pitons as golden hour lingered a little longer than expected.

Film held the softness of the light and the texture of the landscape, while the rest preserved the subtle details and sense of place. Salt in the air, warm sand underfoot, and that gentle, unspoken kind of luxury that stays with you. Pure magic.

Ireland — Summer 2023 — Fine Art Luxury Travel Photography

Ireland — Summer 2023 — Fine Art Luxury Travel Photography

Our ancestors hide in family trees, delicate leaves on thin branches stretching further and further toward the heavens. We borrow their genes and names and, I’m sure, a handful of epigenetic characteristics. But their hearts and stories remained unseen.

Until Ireland.

It was the summer of 2020, and we were simultaneously deep in Ancestry DNA intrigue and hungry to dream of travel again. The Emerald Isle began looming large on our ancestry maps, and the “ex-travel agent” in my sister came out with a force. It was decided: we were going to visit the land of our ancestors, as soon as we could indeed hop on a plane again.

A handful of summers filled with planning and dreamy dinner meetings later, we were packing our bags with waterproof shoes, raincoats, printed itineraries, and my collection of cameras to set off for Ireland in July 2023.

France — Spring 2025 — Fine Art Luxury Travel Photography

France was a pure feast for this photographer’s eyes. I brought home over 1800 photos including the five rolls of medium format film captured in the French springtime light and air I just dropped off at the post office to send out to @thefindlab for developing. There is so very much more to pour over and share but for now here are a few of my very favorite captures so far.

Pictured:
Chateau Chambord @chateaudechambord
The City of Amboise @amboisetourisme
Les Hauts de Loire @leshautsdeloire
The Eiffel Tower @toureiffelofficielle
Chateau Versailles @chateauversailles
Luxembourg Gardens Medici Fountain
Petit Palais @petitpalais_musee
Notre-Dame Cathedral @notredamedeparis
Château Chenonceau @chateau_chenonceau
Montdomaine Winery @montdomaine
Our Airbnb Eiffel Tower views @airbnb

Toccoa Falls Wedding Photography — Reagan + Keegan — Toccoa, GA

Toccoa Falls Wedding Photography — Reagan + Keegan — Toccoa, GA

Here’s your sign to marry your love in front of an epic North Georgia waterfall. Congrats to Reagan and Keegan who did just that in the most stunning and joyous ways!

Toccoa Falls is just a 1.5 hour drive northeast of Atlanta, GA. and is located on the campus of the Christian college, Toccoa Falls College. As a beautiful 186-foot-high waterfall, Toccoa Falls is one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, making it one of the most stunning wedding locations in the Southeastern US. I mean, just wow!

Sea Island Resort Wedding Photography — Rachel + Duke — Sea Island, GA

Sea Island Resort Wedding Photography — Rachel + Duke — Sea Island, GA

Rachel + Duke’s Sea Island Resort wedding day was a dream! So grateful for this little slice of heaven hidden on the south Georgia coast, for this sweet couple and their families that welcomed us in for the celebration (and the sweetest past client referral, thanks Caitlin!) and for the amazing team that came along for the fun. Thank you again and again!

A Fail Proof Formula for Processing in the New Year… that failed — Heartland Living Magazine — Editorial Photography and Writing

A Fail Proof Formula for Processing in the New Year… that failed — Heartland Living Magazine — Editorial Photography and Writing

I’m giving you a formula at the end of this article that is guaranteed to work for new years planning success. But first I’m going to tell you a story about how it didn’t. How this year, in those first hazy days of 2024 the tried-and-true, fail proof formula failed me. 

And this all begins with another fail proof formula for processing things. It involves:

#1 Solitude 

#2 Uninterrupted time 

#3 Shimmering daylight. 

Give me those three things and my scattered thoughts start to click into place, my mind starts to actually work. I can process and grow. I can write and create and brainstorm with the best of them. I could conquer the world with enough of it, I truly believe. 

But the three seem to be quite elusive. Especially in the last three years since becoming a work from home parent… to a toddler. And to find them in unison is nearly impossible. So here at the beginning of 2024  I’m trying my hardest to pivot. To seek out nearly perfect scenarios and roll with it, if you will.

How do I find solitude in the presence of others? Noise canceling headphones help. 

How do I carve out large amounts of time where it doesn’t appear to exist? It seems, if you squint, you can find the time in quite tiny increments between all the other things pressing in.

How do I learn to think in the dark? Seek the magic of the daylight beyond the horizon. 

The Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador (1917 - 1980) says,

“Christianity discerns that beyond the night

The dawn already glows.

The hope that does not fail is carried in the heart.

Christ goes with us!”

Now I can’t stop thinking of the dawn glowing beyond the inky black horizon of night. And somehow, by some miracle, outside of the laws of my fail proof formula, I’m writing this in the dark.

The Quiet In-Between

Do you notice, or maybe it’s just me, that you hold your breath when smiling for a photo? We suck in a big inhale and freeze. It’s habit or pattern or maybe we are just trying to posture ourself in a way as women to look thinner or as men try to puff out their chest or broaden their shoulders or something of that sort. It’s just what we do as humans. And, yes, we capture some truly delightful photos while holding our breath. Yet some of my very favorite captures are the relaxed in-between moments. As we walk from one spot to the next. Guard down, we chat casually about life. We share stories. We breathe.
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Today in the in-between we still sit in the glow of the Christmas tree, still cozy in our Christmas PJs, the clatter of Christmas toys being thoroughly enjoyed, the Jesus Storybook Bible still open to page with a baby in a barn, a warm cup of coffee in my Santa mug in my hand, a jazzy instrumental version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas plays softly in the background.
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We are holding on to the magic still. Or maybe finally truly seeing it for the first time this season.
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I’m wrapping up edits for this year before we head north for vacation for a spell celebrating Christmas with my husband’s family, the last batch of presents from under the tree in tow. There’s more magic to come.
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I used to dread the Christmas let down. All the building anticipation for the day comes to a halt on December 25 as your head hits the pillow. But these days I’m loving it. Because we decide when the halting stops. Because the quiet space gives us room. Room for pause, room for reflection, room for peace, room for pure & simple joy, room to exhale after the long holding of breath in the whirling pace of things, room for Him.
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We are holding on, gently, in the quiet in-between to each and every slow moment with room to breathe.
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And we just might stay in our Christmas PJs all day.

Merry Christmas! — The Fox Family — Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL

Wishing you and your family a blessed and joyful Christmas and new year!

🤍 The Fox Family - Devon, Caroline and Norah
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(Photo Number 1 is Norah’s pick for the Christmas card. And a big thank you to the lovely @reagancorinne.photos for capturing my family so beautifully!)
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“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.”

- Attributed to James Allen Francis on the life of Jesus Christ