M.I.A. No Longer

I can't believe it has been over 2 months since I last blogged! Where has the time gone? Time is a funny thing. There are some days, or moments even, that seem to stand still and remain unchanged for what seems like an eternity. And others that flash before your eyes and are gone before you had the chance to embrace them.

As a mother to 2 wonderful and energetic children, my time often resides in the fast lane - weaving in and out of the day faster than the drivers on the highways of Detroit. I wake up every morning to my babes either snuggling with me or asking if they can play (this is usually at 6AM). Followed by the chaos that goes with getting ready for school. Inevitably, we are out the door and loading up in the car 15 minutes late. This is when I start to wonder what I am going to do when they are no longer in preschool and being late daily isn't an option. The rest of the day goes by in a blur and before I know it, it is time to call it a night and go to bed. 2 whole months of days like these have gone by and I can't seem to recall any of them individually as they have meshed into one large blob of time - only special moments with my family and projects with clients standing out above the rest.

I want to make changes to how I use my time by utilizing it better and appreciating it more! And I want to spend more time sharing what goes on in my day to day life - both professionally and personally. I will be doing this through more blog posts, Facebook interactions, and Tweets. I would like for you all to get to know the person behind the camera and not just the work that flows from it.

Be on the look out for more posts soon!

Amy

Christmas Traditions and Family Memories

Christmas time is a wonderful time of year! In our household, it is filled with bright smiling faces, giggles and shear joy. This is also a time filled with tradition, both old and new.

When my husband and I first married, we decided to adopt some of the traditions he had grown up with, namely the food we would be eating (he's Italian and who doesn't love Italian food!)! For breakfast every year, we fry chunks of pepperoni (it's very yummy!) and eat it on bread. We also do a more traditional Italian meal for dinner - lasagna, meatballs, chicken parmigiana, etc.

I wanted to add a new tradition and so we started the tradition of The Christmas Pickle. For those of you who do not know what The Christmas Pickle is, it is a Christmas ornament that looks like a pickle and is hung on the tree Christmas Eve. The first child or person (if there are no children) to find the "hidden" pickle on Christmas morning gets a special gift. Over the past couple of years we have altered this tradition slightly. Instead of hanging the pickle on Christmas Eve, we hang it with the other ornaments once the tree is decorated. Every night we move the ornament to a new location on the tree and our children search for it, racing to be the first to find it.

This year we have added another new tradition that we hope to enjoy for many years to come. The Elf on the Shelf.

This is Harry, our scout elf. He was sent to us last night from the North Pole (aka Target), to watch over the children and report to Santa nightly on whether they have been nice or naughty. These elves are known for a little mischief and fun while they are at your home. Harry's first bit of fun included raiding our cabinets for mini M&Ms and playing Mario Party on the Wii.

Our kids were so excited to find him this morning and have been guessing what he will be up to next. I can't wait to put Harry into different situations and hiding places. This is one tradition I can't wait to continue!

Fall Beauty

I love fall sessions! I love the lighting, the colors and the fun that fall brings. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do a fall shoot with 2 absolutely adorable children. I had a lot of fun with these two and look forward to seeing them again.

Kamieo Photography Celebrates a Major Milestone

I love to support other photographers in their endeavors of creativity. Kamieo Photography, is one of those photographers. Her work is full of life, color and energy. So it is no surprise that she has acquired quite the following - over 5 Thousand fans! To celebrate this major milestone, Kamieo is having a 5K Fan Giveaway. There are over 20 vendors participating in this giveaway; Borrow Lenses, The Organic Bloom, and, Whisker Works are just to name a few.

You do not want to miss out on this! Check it out:

http://kamieophotography.blogspot.com/2011/10/5k-fan-giveaway.html

Let Kamieo know that Carsten Photography sent you!

What to Wear - Fall 2011

Need some inspiration on what to wear for your upcoming family portrait session?

Vibrant colors are a great way to add some personality and additional color to your pictures. A mix of warm (brown, pink and yellow) and cool (green, blue and purple) colors will be perfect for your fall portraits this year.

For additional ideas and suggestions, please click here.
Happy shopping!!!

Meet The Kennedy's

Every portrait session I do is completely different and unique - the families, the locations, the experience. Working with the Kennedy family was NOT an exception to this statement.

When the family contacted me for portraits, I asked my typical questions to find out about them. "What's your family dynamic?", "Is there anything I need to know about your kids?", "Are there certain topics that make your kids laugh", etc. The response was, "They really are just crazy fun loving kids. Love sports, and arm farts. So if you can do a mean arm fart and also take pictures we are sure to get big laughs!" I knew right then that this was a family I could not wait to work with!

From the very start of their shoot, the Kennedy's kept me smiling and laughing - when it should be ME making them smile and laugh! The kids ("A", "S", "T" & "H") were amazing! "A" had a chance to rock the arm farts - since my skills were definitely lacking! "S" not only had great posing ideas and locations, but she also made some of the best goofy faces. "T" was full of smiles and "H" was just as cute as can be. "Fun loving" was the perfect description for these guys.

I had such a great time shooting the Kennedy's session. This is a family that truly loves each other and enjoys life to it's fullest.

2011 Senior Portraits

There are many milestones we look forward to in our journey through life. Most of which are before we become adults - starting school for the first time, becoming a teenager, getting our driver's license, first kiss, and senior year!

Senior year is special for so many different reasons and is filled with so many lasting memories. Some of the things to look forward to are prom, graduation day and your senior portraits!

I had an amazing time with the beautiful Lily Harris when we shot her senior portraits. I seriously could not have asked for a better model to work with. She was energetic, fun and super prepared - she had a suit case full of clothing and accessories for me to choose from, what more could a photog want! We started off at an auto repair shop/junk yard, moved on to a dilapidated barn (where she found an old creepy baby doll arm), then off to a few local wineries and finishing in a field full of little yellow flowers. I could have shot her all day!

Congratulations Lily on completing this stage of your life! I know that great things are ahead of you. And as the great Confucious once said, "wherever you go, go with all your heart."