Envela’s Story

Sep. 192016 . Category:business, Encourage, growth, Guest Blog, How Do You HoldFast?, photography, Uncategorized

From the get-go, HoldFast’s allegiance lies in this: steadfast dedication to professional photographers and the systems they utilize. Committed to paving the way, HoldFast gear accentuates style while also performing comfortably and efficiently. Responsible for creating a new genre within the industry, we’re changing the way photographers look and feel while doing their best work.

In this series, you’ll hear stories of HoldFast gear and the photographers–the pioneers, the adventurers, the originals–that use them. This isHow You HoldFast.

With a passion for exploration making its introduction at an early age, thanks to her parents, it didn’t take long for a second passion, photography, to surface for Envela Castel. Influenced by cinema, she’s been shooting portraits for several years, starting first in Paris, France. Her goal? To tell the story behind the face. She begs the question: “What can I tell about this person when I see their portrait?” It’s no wonder HoldFast and Envela are a perfect fit. The earnest desire of HoldFast is to enable photographers to have what they need to tell their stories.

Envela Castel. © Envela Castel, all rights reserved

Portrait series with Mia. © Envela Castel, all rights reserved

“I chose HoldFast as I remember looking for straps that looked like harnesses. I saw many photos of the Moneymaker online, and immediately fell in love with it, its look, the colors, the leather, and the fact that you can hold three cameras or other accessories at the same time.”

This is the hallmark of the Moneymaker: while a standard two-camera setup, it is easily adaptable for a third camera, and still performs with efficiency and ease. “What I find the most helpful is the quickness with which it allows you to draw your camera, and how it helps with the weight of some DSLRs,” says Castel.

After focusing on portraits, it was onward and upward for Envela. Her passion for adventure caught up with her work. “Not long ago I started wanting to make a mark of my own, and traveled by myself around the U.S from east to west, biked through 331 km in France, trekked in the Burmese mountains with a rifle and a machete, dove in the Andaman sea, rock climbed on a Thai cliff, zip-lined through the Lao jungle and slept in the canopy, rafted in the Nam Tha river’s rapids.”

By creating a new niche within the market, HoldFast gear allows you to go where you need to go—even if that means the jungles of the furthest corners of the world—with the confidence and assurance that your gear is with you, no questions asked. Envela attests to this: “Ever since I started traveling, it has been a pleasure using it; not only does it save you from neck and back pain, it also allows you to walk hands-free, with your gear on your side, never changing color with the rain, the heat and the sweat. I just came back from a four months adventure in south-east Asia, and the Money Maker’s been a big part of it.”

We’re glad to have been along for the ride.

Khmer woman with her Kroma in the Wat Nokor pre-angkorian (around 10th century). Kroma is a Khmer scarf from the ancient times, made of silk or cotton is used everyday and in many ways. © Envela Castel, all rights reserved