#savethetrees

A trip to help save the Planet

An adventure in California
told through Photographs and Film

This year I got invited to tag along with Team Bartlett to photograph and help film their adventure to California where they (and I) would climb hundreds of feet up in to some of the WORLDS largest trees to help ArchAngel (a nonprofit based out of Traverse City, Michigan) get clippings from these giant trees to later clone their DNA in order to help preserve their genes, and in the bigger picture- Save the world, by saving the trees! 

Here's a video I made before we left, just to inform everyone of what was going on. 

And here's a quick video update after we got back! 

This is really just the beginning, for all of us involved. The trees are still tiny, the stories are still untold, and the future of it all is still unknown. But things feel like they are all slowly working in the right direction and we can't wait to show you what the adventure looked like from our perspective! 

We create our own "Through the Looking Glass" moments

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Watch the video to see an AJBC fairytale unfold- 

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Photographer- AJBC Photography
Poem- Autumn Carufel
Assistant 1- Taylor Walsh
Assistant 2- Jake Carufel
Model- Lauren Cross
Wardrobe and Props- Lauren Cross Designs

Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit Michigan

(Below: Poem written out, followed by individual portraits found in the above film.)

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There is a truth in this world that I refuse to believe. 

The truth that everything has to be exactly as it seems.

Because, you see, I am a dreamer, and I am a collector. 

I am a believer and I am a fairytale wrecker.

But not in the way that you probably think I am.
I don’t sit down and destroy books of fiction. 

I sit down and give those books vision.

I open the pages and give them eyes.
I open suitcases and watch as hopes come alive. 

Because when I was a kid I was told fairytales aren’t real.

You can’t blame my parents, it’s just how the rest of the world feels.

But me, I knew different.

Me, I knew more. 

Me I knew wanting something that was impossible was just through a hidden door. 

A door I would find eventually in my life.

Where plays and toys and make believe...

Would slowly show itself to me.

But as something new. Something real.
Something I could touch
and something I could feel. 

And no I’m not too old to feel this way. 

I say you’re too old, for taking my dreams away.

So go back to a time where all you wanted was to be free.

And start realizing your head is the only thing that makes it so it can’t be.

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Photographer- AJBC Photography
Poem- Autumn Carufel
Assistant 1- Taylor Walsh
Assistant 2- Jake Carufel
Model- Lauren Cross
Wardrobe and Props- Lauren Cross Designs

Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit Michigan

The back story:

2 years ago I posted on facebook that I wanted to do a creative shoot. That's how I met Lauren. She said she might be interested so I quickly stalked her on facebook. Her look was unique and gorgeous, so I knew she would fit the part. But then I started realizing she was also an artist, a maker, and a collector. We had similar loves for old and grungy things, so we decided to meet. I drove to her house in Marysville where she showed me room after room after room full of beautifully old and rough pretties! 
And then she took me to the back corner of the basement to show me The Door, and an idea was born. We spent the next hour developing the story- a girl playing make believe finds a door, enters it, and then finds herself transported in to this land where her daydreams are now her reality. 
I think I secretly live through my photography, because that's all I want out of life- magic, all the time. 
We kept in touch, passing back and forth ideas and photos. My schedule FINALLY allowed for me to fit the shoot in! My husband Jake, my assistant Taylor, and myself drove to Marysville where Lauren allowed us to gather up her precious treasures and take them to our first location. The sun was shining, the weather was perfect, and right away I KNEW, I just knew, this was going to be one of my favorite things I had ever shot. 
We filmed, photographed, laughed, and left with plans to meet again a week later, when we would haul the heavy antique door down the road, down a hill at 8 am, balance it on the roots of an old tree sticking out above the water, and then drive to Detroit. 
Because we had photographed at what looked to be a more modern conservatory for our "make believe in real life" scene  I wanted to go to a much older, much more original concept of a conservatory for our "entering the fairytale world" scene, and so it came that we traveled an hour + together to The Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit. Belle Isle is beautiful and not only was it a wonderful place to end our shoot and tell our story perfectly, it allowed us a day to just enjoy something new and unique together, which is becoming more and more important to me with every shoot I do. 
It used to be just about the photos for me, because that was what I was taught portrait photography was. Now it's about the whole experience. Because if not for the experience, then for what?
Afterwards we shopped in Ferndale and got some tasty sushi and quietly drove back home after a long and creative day. 
It took me another year to sort through it all, find the time, and get to a place where I could properly put it all together. 
Our video we filmed is still not done, but I am ecstatic to release these images accompanied by a poem I wrote for it. 
And to think, it all started with an old door.  

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If you loved the Concept of "The Door" then you should also check out "The Pillow and The Pond" and The Burning Shack- they are some of my favorite projects to date!

Check out the full beauty gallery here

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Senior Session- 1 amazing teen with 6 different personalities

A senior session with diamonds and guns, mud and dresses.

   It makes me happy when I meet a girl who can push boundaries but not be afraid to give back. A girl who can wear diamonds well, but doesn’t freak out when she falls in mud. A girl who can look like a lady in an evening gown but can out shoot the boys in the woods.
   That’s Tiffany- exactly.
   Not to make me sound old, but she’s a reminder to me that there’s still girls out there that are going to grow up and lead this world and make it a better place. There’s still girls out there that people can be proud of.
   Her shoot took us 2 different days to complete due to the fact we went from spinning in circles in a brand new prom dress in front of a handmade backdrop I had made, to grabbing guns and boots and hiking down the muddiest hill I’ve ever seen! We also grabbed amazing coffee in Croswell and climbed around some old buildings in Goodells. We were literally all over the place!    I LOVE shoots like these. Because shoots like these aren’t really shoots. They turn in to fun days of exploring with new friends.
   Check out what we did on our little adventures together:

(OH! And scroll down to the bottom to see what everything thing looks like behind the scenes on BOTH days of our shoot!)

There are so many looks to this session if you love the glamorous prom dress outfit check out Janelle's Senior Photoshoot!

For a more outdoor country feel check out Tayler's senior session!

Check out our full Senior Gallery

Check out our behind the Scenes video too of BOTH days we shot!

strength and beauty- a fitness photoshoot

A photoshoot that shows off
strength and beauty

Deadlift and dropdead gorgeous- a woman's fitness journey

   Some people you just have an instant connection with and you’ll make sure you do whatever it takes to make sure they have every opportunity to express themselves.
   That’s what happened with Leigh. She came to the studio and told me about how hard she had been working to get fit and wanted to show that off in her photos.
   Strong women make me happy. They make me proud. And they remind me of all that we are capable of. Don’t let your femininity limit you, let it expand you. Let is set you up to break the rules and knock down stereo types.
   I was so excited that she had found me and trusted me with her vision, and her self expression. We talked a lot before the actual session, about wardrobe, about her look, about what she wanted these images to say about her. Our first idea of what we thought was right for her slowly morphed in to what I KNOW is right.
   We decided we didn’t need a crazy location, we just needed her. And at the end of the day, isn’t that all we really need in order to define ourselves? We don’t need help by using fancy things to define us and we don’t need to hide behind anything. We need who we are and our story, and the will to tell people about it.
   So here’s Leigh’s story. She’s a mom. She’s a wife. She’s strong. And she can deadlift weights like it’s her fricken job.
   These are the type of women you need to watch out for, and allow to motivate you.

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View our entire Beauty Gallery

Into Fitness? Check out Jeni's Yoga Photoshoot

Check out some more strength and beauty in Roberta's Fitness Session

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