Moving to Germany and turning 40 sparked a dream for Holly Hulse.
And in six short years, she made that dream come true by following her passion for fashion photography.
Hulse, who is married to an Apache helicopter pilot based at Fort Bragg’s Simmons Army Airfield, had been working since she was 15. She was working at Walt Disney World in 1996, which is where she met her husband, Jonathan, while he was on a Single Soldiers weekend. After they were married in 2002, she got her real estate license and worked in Fayetteville for more than a decade.
When Jonathan was stationed in Germany in 2016, she started thinking about what she really wanted in life.
“I turned 40 in Germany, and I took a break for the first time in my life,’’ Hulse says. “For the first time, I could decide what made me happy.”
With her husband’s full support, she started taking a lot of hikes and renewed her love for photography.
“I loved my camera, but it was my grandfather, Pfc. Michael Stencel, that was my inspiration,’’ she says. “I was always intrigued by his camera, and his advice was to always have a camera because you never know the memory you are going to capture.
“He was a photographer, too, and encouraged me to take my first photo. I think it was of my feet, but he told me to take it,” she says with a laugh.
Her enthusiasm went to a deeper level when she started looking through her grandfather’s World War II photo albums.
“I decided that I wanted to retrace his steps while in Europe,” Hulse says.
Her grandfather took photos while he was in the Army serving in the war. Hulse started not only finding the locations where his photos were taken but recreating the pictures from his albums while learning some of the finer tricks of composition and focus. It was as if her grandfather was teaching her and guiding her to a career in photography.
“One of the most poignant photos that I took was of a liberated concentration camp. I stood in the exact same spot he did, took the picture, and it struck something in me,’’ Hulse says.
“I knew in that moment that I wanted to do this; I wanted to be a photographer. I didn’t know what type, and I didn’t know how to get started, but I knew I wanted to be a storyteller.”
Another meaningful location was Normandy, France.
“I stood on that beach visiting with my husband and thought about my grandfather being there during the war,” she says. “The day we were there was a beautiful, clear day. It was a little windy and a bit cold, and I took picture after 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.”
The 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.
“This 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. That 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. The 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 women in a book she plans to put together.
“I want to show portraits of women — whatever, whenever they are — that can tell a story. It takes patience, and it is one shot. I want to show real women who provide for families and put them all in a book. I want to show that little girl that you can be anything. You can create a beautiful world. Being a self-taught woman who started this in my 40s, I want to show that things come together when you least expect it,” Hulse says.
Words of advice
Another inspiration in her life was a poem she read as a teenager.
“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.”
For aspiring photographers, her advice is to create a name for yourself.
“If you want to be a photographer, use your name, create your own brand,” Hulse says. “My company is my name. It’s important for me to meet people and be my genuine self. And I want to be me. In photography, if you don’t differentiate yourself, you get lost. That’s how I see it.”
Hulse says she expected it would take a while to get her name out, especially not being in Los Angeles or New York. But she has hopes for her end game.
“When people see a photo and recognize it by my name, that is when it will all be worth it.”
Her photos have been displayed in galleries in New York, Chicago, Washington, and Europe.
“I’m anticipating being able to work in Paris, London and Milan,” she says. “Something I’ve always done is dream big. Even if it takes a while, I will do what I can to make those dreams come true.”
She said passion is the driver.
“Do what makes you happy. The moment you are not happy, the passion has left. Falling into fashion photography has been a dream, and it’s something I have an eye to do. Everything I’ve done is self-taught, and starting a business is hard. But I’ve done it. Even on days when I’m not doing my best and feel the struggle, I have support from my husband and keep going.”
