Into the wilderness ~ Vancouver Island Outdoor Boudoir Photography

 

“I’ve lost my wild heart once. Twice. Too many times to count.

I’ve lost her most often when I’ve forgotten myself, when I’ve denied my own truths, when I’ve pushed down the need to create for so long that my heart...she finds better things to do.

The funny thing is, that the losing and the finding are interwoven.

We must lose our wild hearts from time to time, I believe. 

We must so that we know why we need them. 

We must so that we remember that in order to be found we must go into the wilderness. 
Sometimes, it is only in the getting lost that we can find our way back home.” 


― Jeanette Le Blanc

 


There's something special about the towering trees, the crashing waves, and unrelenting power of mother nature. I've always found a home in the ocean - found solace in her tandem gentleness and terrifying strength. Shooting this session at Sombrio beach filled an artistic emptiness in my heart I didn't know I had (and so did meeting this incredible babe, but that's a whole other story!). There is something so special about creating empowering magic with wild women in the wilderness. This woman especially - she has such a unique and breathtaking energy. Grounding and simultaneously up-lifting. I actually met this incredible woman when she was sent my way because she was gifted a boudoir session. I was like a bee to honey - instantly drawn to her sweetness and ability to laugh in the face of challenges. Almost a year later and I am lucky enough to call this incredible woman a dear friend. I am so deeply grateful that my work connects me to SO many inspiring women - lifting each other up and making the world a better place for the next wave of babes. 

Without further ado... one of my favourite wild women, in one of my favourite wild places. 

 

 

Molly AshlieComment
Retro Boudoir ~ Victoria BC Photography

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who come alive."

There's some people you meet in life and you are just drawn to their energy. This lovely lady and I actually went to high-school together - and I have been blessed enough to watch her grow, blossom, and become the incredible woman that she is today. She has such a unique and amazing energy, and brings light to any room she enters. I had the itch to do a really quick and more creatively fuelled shoot - and this babe was game to pop over to my studio for a super quick collab! We had such a fun time creating these images <3 

 

Molly AshlieComment
She Transformed ~ Victoria Outdoor Boudoir Photography

I'm not going to write a lot about this session, because this incredible woman wrote me such a breath-taking testimonial and wrote more eloquently than I ever could. I will preface this post briefly by saying that I am a better person for having to have met this wonderful woman. She is strong, loving, inspiring, and unapologetic. Thank you for the incredible opportunity to create empowering art with you. <3 


The past two years have been transformative, empowering and heart breaking all at once. I left a toxic marriage, confronted years of trauma and started on a healing journey that has changed my life. I wanted this shoot to represent the new me. The empowered me. The me that is left behind after stripping away all the years of trauma and abuse. I am a phoenix rising from the ashes and I wanted this shoot to show that I am not ashamed of any part of me. Not anymore.

I am recommending it to everyone I know. If you want to celebrate your beauty. If you want to celebrate your age. If you want to celebrate your strength. If you want to just say...look at me world! I'm fucking fantastic and proud of it! As women we are somehow taught to keep our beauty underwraps. Don't be too pretty, don't be too big, don't be too out there. Don't intimidate others. 

Well....I'm 42 years old and I'm saying ENOUGH. Here I am! I'm strong, empowered and gorgeous all at the same time. Everyone should have the opportunity to feel this way.

 

This was one of the most affirming, empowering experiences I've ever had. Molly offered me an opportunity to collaborate with her to show a side of me I have been nurturing in private for the past little while.

 

This session made the new me public. Molly understood what I was trying to do intuitively and effortlessly encouraged me to share myself in a way I am rarely comfortable with. Because of her, I now see myself in a completely revolutionized way. The transformed me is now indelibly etched and printed through the lens of her camera. Seeing myself this way has truly changed how I love myself.

Molly AshlieComment
She Celebrated Herself ~ Victoria BC Boudoir Photography
 
I couldn’t have asked for a better boudoir experience and I’m still beaming from my session! 

 

This incredible woman was a treat to work with! She booked her session as a birthday present to herself - and proceeded to just knock it out of the park. From the second she stepped into the studio she just really let herself melt into the process and enjoyed it every step of the way. It's so easy to get stuck in your head before your session - because getting naked in front of a stranger isn't something most people are 100% comfortable with! But once we get the babes in the makeup chair it's all fun and games - and we get to have a lot of laughs and really just pamper you and make you feel like the total goddess that you are. 

This lady was no exception! She just leant right into the process, tackling all the weird crazy poses I threw at her and coming up with some of her own! 

 

Thank you so much for the wonderful opportunity to work with you, beautiful! I am so happy we got to capture this magic together. I hope you look back on your album and photos for many many years and feel inspired by the brave and bold woman you embodied that day! 

Molly AshlieComment
Outdoor Maternity Boudoir Victoria BC

i struggle so deeply

to understand

how someone can

pour their entire soul

blood and energy

into someone

without wanting

anything in

return

i will have to wait til i'm a mother – rupi kaur

 

Maternity Boudoir Photography

 

This has to be one of my favourite sessions of the year, so far. I adore outdoor boudoir, and I just loved being able to work with this incredible woman during this beautiful time of her life. There is just something so special to me about a woman embracing her wild while outside - and something even more breath taking when it includes the creation of new life. Here she was creating fingers, toes, an entire life, and she was tromping all over the rocks down at Dallas Road like a warrior! I adored working with her, and I am so happy with how the images we created together worked. Without further ado! 

 

Molly AshlieComment
She Took The Plunge ~ Victoria BC Boudoir Photography

 

 

And the stars blinked

as they watched her carefully

jealous of her shine

 

 

I met with this lovely lady for our coffee meeting - and was instantly enamoured with her incredible energy and enthusiasm. She had been following me on Instagram for a while and had friends who I had worked with on their sessions. It's always fun when clients are super familiar with my work because then we can gush about certain babes previous sessions and just have a lot of fun working with poses they've seen to make them their own. 

 

I am so proud of this babe for taking the plunge and connecting with me to get these photos done of her! We had an incredible time start to finish - and I am just so blown away by how well she did and how well she really just let herself enjoy the process. She really relaxed into our session and into herself - and it just shines through! 

 

Molly AshlieComment