Hello and welcome back to our monthly newsletter, where you’ll get all the latest a&b and studio news that’s fit to print: Where we’ve been and are heading, what we’re shooting and studio updates, along with some of our favorite things & people. Know someone who might like to receive this in their inbox on First Friday’s as well, please forward this free post to them and THANK YOU!

current location📍

We’re back “home” in Colorado! We’re thrilled to be back since our last visit was late November last year and excited that we’ll get to see so many family and friends while we’re here. Of course, we’re also squeezing in all the requisite doctors appointments that we can. Ah, one of the “joys” of not having a current home base. The middle of the month will see us at visiting Bill’s sister’s family and participating in the Airstream Maintance Rally in Larkspur. We’ll finish up the month visiting Anne’s brother’s family in SLC over the Memorial Day holiday.

in the rear view ↩️

April saw us spending an enchanting time in New Mexico, specifically Santa Fe followed by Taos, but before we hit those, we detoured to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. (Heads up, if you go during the busy Summer months, you will very likely need to get timed entry tickets in advance.) It was our first visit to the caverns and it was as cool as we hoped, and had heard, that it would be. Unfortunately, with all the staffing cuts NPS is having to deal with, we weren’t able to take advantage of the guided tours, but even just going around on our own was amazing. (Maybe we should have done the audio tour, though. If you’ve been and done so, let us know what you thought!)

We hear there are bats that come out of the cavern at dusk and returned back that evening in anticipation. Sadly, for all of those gathered, it was a bit of a bust—too early in the season, even though they did host their bat program and it was highly informative. The photos Bill got in the cavern are simply stunning. Cannot wait to share the full gallery on our Travel Journal soon.

field notes 🗒️

We’ve mentioned before how much we love Santa Fe and Taos and this most recent visits did not disappoint either. Anne made good on her previous promise to shoot some of the residential entrances around the city and will have a Journal post on it soon. In the meantime, you, our dear readers, get a little sneak peek right here.

road food 🌮

While in Santa Fe we also hit some of our fave F&B establishments like the Gruet tasting room, Secreto Lounge, Counter Culture & Iconik Coffee. 

And, we also got to try a couple of new faves like and Mille (below), an awesome French cafe. And, yes, that loaded French Toast tasted as good as it looked. While we liked the chocolate croissant, it couldn’t hold a candle to our beloved Bakery Four here in Denver, perhaps not surprisingly. We haven’t found another chocolate croissant on our travels that can match Four and believe us, Anne has been trying!

Before leaving town for Taos, we met up with our dear friends C&C at La Plazuela at the Hotel La Fonda. They were passing through on their way to AZ and we had a blast regaling each other with stories while enjoying margs and tableside guacamole. Yup, it’s definitely a tourist spot, but the ambience can’t be beat, especially when enjoying it with friends.

next exit 🛣️

June will find us back in, well, we can’t actually share just yet, but we’ll be there all Summer!?!

travel journal 📔

Did you miss our Journal post from Grand Teton? Coming up next will be Yellowstone and photos from Santa Fe and Taos!

just around the corner 🔜

Friends, who among us could not use more connection in this crazy and increasingly difficult world we’re navigating of late? We wanted to create and share something nice to help redirect our precious attention back to the bonds we have with one another. So, in our last newsletter, you saw we’re bringing to life a way to connect that doesn’t require a screen. We’re incredibly excited to introduce the Love Notes Postcard Project!

The Love Notes Postcard Project is the gift that keeps on giving. First when you open your package and then again when your recipients receives their postcards. And those you keep to display will continue to make you smile.

Four times a year, starting with early July, Project members will receive:

• Five 5×7 fine art postcard prints with First Class stamps
• Personal, hand-signed letter from a&b discussing the inspiration behind that quarter’s theme as well as the individual postcard prints
• A surprise small gift (think magnet, luggage tag, bookmark, etc.)

Each shipment is wrapped and packaged beautifully (our clients already know the love and care we put into every package). And of course you can cancel anytime you need to ahead of the next quarter’s drop.

We chose Postcard Project instead of Postcard Club because we are asking something of you: To be a part in a bigger plan…to sign off for a few..put out tangible beauty in the world…and to take a brief respite to let your loved one know you were thinking about them.

Should we have extra postcard sets, we’ll make them available for purchase, without the gift or letter. And once they’re gone, they’re gone. 

More info and photos to come shortly, but you already know it’s going to be good! So start thinking of who will be the first recipients of your thoughtfulness. More info and photos to come soon!

artist spotlight 🔦

We’re not sure where Anne first found poet Andrea Gibson, but it was likely a link to their incredible Substack “Things That Don’t Suck”. If you’re unfamiliar with Andrea, a very brief history: they was Colorado’s most recent Poet Laureate, was the star, along with their spouse, Megan Falley, of the Oscar-nominated documentary, “Come See Me in the Good Light”. Their last performance filmed at Boulder Theater in January 2025 will be screening at Red Rocks, accompanied by the Colorado Symphony this Summer. Hopefully you’re lucky enough to live in Colorado or be visiting on July 5th. 

Sadly, Andrea passed away six months later from the ovarian cancer that the film documented. The film is still steaming on AppleTV. (You can also find it on Amazon Prime, but we prefer not lining Bezos’ pockets whenever we can.) Do. Not. Miss. It. In fact, if you haven’t yet seen it, stop reading this newsletter and go watch it. Don’t be afraid of it being too sad either, as it’s actually incredibly hopeful.

Simply put, Andrea was a true force of nature. At least, we think so. We’ve never found poetry so accessible, yet also so full of meaning, serendipity and enchantment. Their A Different Kind of Bucket List post especially spoke to us. Bill, awesome nerd that he is, set up an Airtable automation to email one item from the list to himself as a daily reminder. We think they would love that.

cats crossing 🐈‍⬛

As you know, we’re not alone on this journey of ours, thankfully. Our dear kitties, Frankie and Willow are with us providing much needed cuddles and lots of laughs, always. 

wild hearts 💓

Where we share sightings of hearts in the wild, because who among us couldn’t use a little more love?

u-turnin’ 🔙

ICYMI, our April Tranquil Tuesdays…click each one to open the post.

on the radio 📻

American Spy (audio) book by Lauren Wilkerson. We’ve all been entertained by Tom Clancy, the various Bond films, and John le Carré with seemingly endless spycraft. In Lauren’s book, she does two things distinctly different than her predecessors: Show more of the day-to-day life of an intelligence officer, and even more compellingly, does it from the perspective of a black woman. Excellent read (in our case, listen) with just enough suspense to make you want to turn not just one page, but many more.  

Kacey Musgraves’ new album Middle of Nowhere (Apple Music | Spotify). This has been on repeat in the truck and in the rig. We were lucky enough to see Kacey in Denver when she was touring for her Star Crossed album — the one where Anne fell really in love with her; not only her voice & songwriting, but how hilarious she can be. (See the Dry Spell & Mind Your Own Biscuits videos) And, did you see her naked performance on SNL? She is Justified, mmhmm!

packing for our trip 🧳 

Holland Photo Arts Print Shop (and the Oh Those Hollands! gift shop) is our full-time work. As artists, we love nothing more seeing our pieces proudly displayed in our clients’ home (yes, yours!). Giving a piece you love a home is one of the best ways you can help support us and our work. Also, see above Postcard Project!

Thank you! It means the world to us both. 

Lastly, if someone you know would enjoy this and Tranquil Tuesdays posts, please share this email or send your friends to our Connect page.