Texas Couple tells love story during Winter Photoshoot

Port Huron, Michigan Couple Photographer
photographs young love from Texas

   This year I had a goal- take less “portraits.” I know that sounds ridiculous but I was swooning over the images I was seeing on Pinterest- full of love, fun, emotion. And my photography runs on emotion.
   If you give me a love story, a trauma, even a fairytale, what I can create for you exceeds what I work off of when I’m just running on colors of clothes.
   With Kaley and Shawn I got the most adorable love story! They’ve been together since they were young (as if they’re old now... haha) and got married, moved, and Shawn enlisted in the military before they were even 20. I loved watching their love story unfold as the images popped up in my facebook feed over the years.
   Kaley came to me for her Senior Portraits nearly 4 years ago and she was a beauty back then. Not much has changed.
   Fast forward to now. They were home visiting from the sunny, warm state of Texas and booked a shoot in Michigan with AJBC Photography in the dead of Winter. Snow, deep snow, and below freezing temps, way below, just a touch above zero.
   We grabbed a warm blanket, headed out to the forest and I just watched them enjoy each other, snuggling, dancing, smooching. I didn’t need to ask them to “act like they like each other” like we’ve had to do with so many couples in the past.
    It felt so good to photograph people just being themselves. I’ve never been one for awkward stiff posing, but I’m losing that “posing” side of me even more, and I love it!!

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Check out our full Lovers Gallery!

If you like this love in the snow look check out Jen & Zack's Session!

If you like this outdoor feel check out Casey & Evan's Engagement Photoshoot!

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London, Ontario Maternity Photo-Shoot

Family Session at Springbank Park in London

Mommy and Me, Daddy and I, Maternity, Family,
and Big Brother Photoshoot all in 1!

   11 years old and I knew no one where I had just moved to, except for the girl who rode her bike through my neighborhood. It seemed like every summer after that we would accidentally meet up and ride through the neighborhood at least once together.
   15 years old and we were at the beach every single day that summer. Almost every night we would have a sleep over. My bike ride friend had quickly became my best friend, and we went through all the typical growing up stuff together- boys, crappy boys, dances, bad dancing, shopping, the first time house party, driving, and laughing way into the night. She had this outer tough shell that was hilariously funny because when you actually knew her she would laugh at anything and was that friend you could count on, for years.
   16 years later and that same girl is now an amazing, caring mother of (soon to be) 2 kids and has a kind man by her side to take the adventure with. She’s one of those cool moms I love- she takes it seriously, but she knows life can’t be that serious, which is turning her son (and I’m sure her daughter too) into the smartest, most caring, truly unique little individual.
   She hopped the border when she got older and moved to Canada, so that gives me the perfect excuse to explore new areas when we go visit her! This time she took us to Springbank Park, which is huge, this is only a little slice of it, but what’s special about it is the last shot of our night was in the same exact spot where we shot the last shot of the night at their FIRST maternity session.

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See how effortless it is to just live in the moment with your family while ajbc photography photographs your life, beautifully and naturally.

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Check Out Our Full Family Gallery!

Want to see more of this little guy? Check out Maasai's adorable birthday shoot!

If you like this fun & playful shoot check out the Burnette's family shoot!

a spark amongst the wreckage

Visiting the aftermath of the
Great Smoky Mountains wild fires

Among the charred forest in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Among the charred wood and black mountains, a spark lives, and it has nothing to do with fire.
It's an open flame, but it's built of hope instead of heat.

This is my experience in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park 4 months after the Forest Fire of 2016 hit.

Concept, styling, photographic direction, and editing done by Autumn Carufel (AJBC Photography.) Images shot by my husband- Jake Carufel.

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A deeper look

I remember standing on the top of Chimney Tops after scrambling to the summit. The whole hike was uphill. I was tired, pissy, and in awe of what I had just done. It was 2007 and my husband and I had been married for less than 2 months before he had convinced me to do a 4 mile, strenuous hike in The Great Smoky Mountains.

What he didn't tell me was we would reach the half way point, the tiny top, at sunset. I know what you're thinking- how romantic, being at the top of a mountain while the sun slowly sinks below the horizon. But what you need to think about, and what my husband should have thought about, was what happens after sunset. Well. Let me tell you- it gets dark. Really dark.

We then had to hike 2 miles, down hill, toes smashing the front of our boots the whole way down,  in the dark. With one headlamp. And bears. And no water.

And then. I twisted my ankle. And then I twisted it again. And again. And Jake told me I had to stop crying because he couldn't carry me down the mountain so I put my game face on and made it down.

The next day we went back to the look out area where you could see where we had hiked, and that's when I instantly I fell in love with hiking- the battle, the pain, and the feeling of conquering something larger than myself, something not everyone has done, seeing things some will only see in photos.

We've been back to the mountains every year since then. We've hiked to many peaks, fished a lot of rivers, and have made a deep connection to the area

After the forest fires hit we wanted to go back, not to be nosey, but to see the place on Earth we loved so much in it's current situation, as it sat, as a part of history.

In 2017, ten years later, Chimney Tops is now charred, crumbling, and closed. It's black, sad, and dead. I don't know if anyone will know the feeling of standing on the top of that peak ever again. All because 2 kids with matches decided to play with fire.

Looking at it honestly felt like someone had hurt someone I loved, and took away all their beloved memories of us, and left me with this skeleton. The very first place where my husband and I, my best friend, had started our path of adventure, bad ideas, and passion for the outdoors together was no longer.

But. The mountains refuse to give up. At first glance, pulling into the park everything looked amazingly alive. It was plush, green. Then we realized, the green was filling in where everything had burnt. Nature was taking it back again. And it looked more beautiful then ever. That just proves to you- Nature will always win, so be nice to it.

These are just a couple of photos taken with my phone of the homes affected by the fires, and this doesn't even begin to tell of the whole story, all the damage, and the sadness that has covered the area for the time being.

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Something to consider- becoming Friends of the Smokies.

The Great Smoky Mountains is a National park with FREE entry. They live off of purchases made at the park and donations. We've been members of the park for over 5 years now, maybe longer,  and I hope to continue to do it every year so it's still around for future generations to enjoy. The joy, the stories, the adventure, the calm that the park has brought us is something I will be forever grateful for.

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Check out my full Self Portrait Gallery!

If you like the outdoor feel, check out Elores Photoshoot on Lake Huron!

Check out Hannah's Session where we started our own fire to create a powerful shoot!