we can all always use a laugh till we cry moment.

geeeeeeez, i just about DIED looking at these photos from this winter in israel. i laughed so hard i think i woke up the neighbors.

we had gone to the beach in atlit, israel to go for a walk and to shoot some footage for a birthday video that we made for my mom. that is why she isn't in any of these photos. and obviously, it looks like we got a little sidetracked.

melancholia // israel film shots, part IV

i gasped once i got these shots developed. i mean, they are so unusual to me...the darkness, the moodiness of it all, especially in places like the Baha'i Holy Land. i feel like these photos capture what i feel to be a huge surreal-ness to the environment there. most of the photos we see of the Shrines and the Gardens are always so beautifully colorful, so bright and bold and cheerful.

i will always say, as long as i live, that there is something so powerful and HUGE about the world when its grey, and dark and raining. it's like another layer of depth to things at times, it allows people to let down, open up, and take a moment to reflect, or allow themselves to feel those at heavier, harder emotions [which, by the way, are just as valid to feel and express as the light ones, like joy and gratitude ; it's just a balance right], [a dear mentor of mine shared with me this beautiful, totally truthful quote by a physician in the early 1900's, i believe: "if one doth not let the tears fall, the body will find other places to cry"].

some of you might disagree, that walking around with an umbrella in your nice clothes is a drag. i quite like it. it's very good to expose yourself to the elements, and there is some sort of romantic nature about it, some wonder.

most of these shots were taken on a day where it was raining so hard, then it started hailing. we were waiting under the roof of the Shrine of Baha'u'llah, to find a clearing in the straight-up-torrential- downpour to walk back to the Pilgrim house. when we found a bit of a clearing, we went for it, even though others were still waiting for the rain and storm to disappear.

call me an alaskan rainforest girl ... that i love my melancholic moods and my stormy skies...call it what you will, but there is so much magic to it, for sure.

i HAVE to go on record and say that this is one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE-EVER PHOTOS. of two of my most treasure people.

do you like being out in the rain and the storm? if so, what is your favorite thing about it?

be still, my beating heart.

// layli samimi photography 35mm diptych - Baha'i Holy Places, Israel

and the geraniums were outta sight // israel film shots part II

there are times when i go back home to israel when the geraniums aren't in full bloom, they're just little guys, still beautiful and vibrant red but not crazy electric red as they were this winter. i mean, it was pretty unreal, how red those outrageously stunning flowers were. my brother at one point, commented, "i mean, lay, they are so red your eye cannot even focus on them for too long or make them out", which then quickly spiraled in to me teasing na'im that he was going to go blind if he kept looking at them, etc. etc. [trust me -- we are quite the comedy duo].

here are some 35mm shots [part II of my israel film shots] that i just got developed and they are not photoshopped. that is how red they were, and even redder, as we all know that film photography kinda mutes the colors a bit...

this collection of photographs really mean a lot to me and i hold them really close to my heart. for all the obvious reasons: the Baha'i Holy Places; my beloved family; 35mm film, etc. etc. but these are really special to me, i think the color and the mood that was captured in these shots was soooo accurate that i feel as though i am transported back there just by looking at the photos. i mean, like, really transported back. it is strange. and awesome. i also feel that the photos are able to humbly capture the "other worldliness" of the Baha'i Holy Gardens, at least for me, and for my experience [which is what's important, anyway, right? when one is trying to document their life, it is most important that it make sense to the creator/documentor...right, am i right??].

without further ado, here they are, in all their ________________.

all of us dudes.

that's my sister, sitting there on the stairs of the terrace!

i love how my sister's tights match the sky. ahhhh.

dougie fresh

one of my favorite shots of all time.

this post is dedicated to my sister, for she was a large part of my inspiration for these shots.
*israel film shots part III+ coming soon.

israel film shots // part I

i just got back from the Holy Land and it was soooooo refreshing and rejuvenating to be with my family [minus my older brother and his cute family]. i feel so blessed to be able to be in Israel for a month and to have such an amazingly close-knit, hilarious and creative family. i shot five rolls of 35mm film; i'll be posting throughout the next couple of days. i hope your winter break [if you had one] was super fun and filled with laughter and quality family time.