Amy Wenzel Photography

ATTACK OF THE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN…

She caught a gust of wind while checking the mailbox for mail. Its amazing how my favorite photos always come at the most inopportune moments. When I was 9 I looked all ugly and akward. I hadn’t grown into my teeth yet. If any of you have seen the old 1984 movie “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott, you will know what I am talking about when I say I looked like the scary children under the cape. Anyway, some kids just all get all the luck!

Back in the day I worked at a photo studio where you could get your photos taken with the bunny at Easter time. (Not a fun experience for me) I would go home from work with scratches all over my arms. Those bunnies never let you hold them like this! I guess thats the difference between being a slave studio bunny and a dearly loved pet. I just adore this picture.

Next on the list– Don’t judge we all did it once.

She’s a very serious gardner. Don’t mess!!

I think this little guy belongs in a Ralph Lauren Ad.

Here’s his casual look. =)

Baby brother is just as darling.

Over the past few months I’ve been contemplating opening up a studio. I’ve been shopping around looking at different spaces and have fallen in love with a space downtown. We’ll see what the coming months hold for Amy Wenzel Photography. I’m so excited to be expanding my business. Thank you to everyone for letting me photograph your beautiful kids!

IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY?

It’s never to soon to be thinking about your Holiday pictures…my first little Christmas model of the season was not too thrilled with her hat! She kept pulling it off, over and over again. But we managed to capture her in the act before it was too late.

Children have so much love to give. They can even completely give their heart to a stuffed animal. When I turned two I got a stuffed lion for my birthday and I still cherish him! I will never be able to part with that special remnant of my childhood.

I’ve had so much fun doing all my outdoor photography this summer. It’s hard to believe that Fall is rapidly approaching. I saw a tree today with red leaves on it and couldn’t believe my eyes. I once moved out to California to try to escape the seasons. But it just wasn’t right driving around in my car listening to Christmas music with the palm trees lining the streets. My husband finally passed a house rule, no Christmas tunes until after Thanksgiving. I was able to argue it back to no Christmas tunes until after Halloween. Much Better. (FYI- greatest Christmas album ever is The Carpenters Christmas. Definately check it out this year. It will take you back to a sweeter time, believe me. Its ghetto-fabulous.) So, California didn’t work out for the long haul, and as much as I hate the cold I must admit I am dying to photograph some kids romping in the orange colored leaves. I’m almost completely booked up for September so call to get your October session time with the beautiful fall colors!

One more photo to share…love the couch, love the smirk, love everything…

I have tons more to share with you guys this week…stay tuned!

WHEN DID I GROW UP?

Remember turning up the music alone in your bedroom and jamming your heart out? All you needed was a hairbrush for a microphone and your Debbie Gibson or Amy Grant record. Suddenly the world was your stage…

I could have photographed this little girl ALL DAY LONG! She let me peek into her world, making me wish that I had never grown up.

I often think about being a kid and the moments of childhood that were so sweet they almost haunt me now. I grew up playing on Lake Michigan during the summers. A few weeks ago my sister and I went to the beach for the day. It was one of those scorcher days but there was a heavy breeze. The lake was as warm as bath water and the sky was piercingly blue. The grass on the dunes was waving at me and the seagulls were flying over head. As I splashed into the water I realized that my senses were alive like they hadn’t been in a long time. The “adult stress” just melted away. I just kept thanking God that I could actually smell the water and feel the sun tingling on my skin. The worries of life can dull our senses and make us miss out on the little things. The tiny details. The wonders of the creation around us. That is what is so priceless about childhood. It’s truly living. Maybe that’s why I like to photograph kids. To help them remember the days when a seagull could make them smile.

MIDNIGHT TRAIN

Have you ever noticed how late night thoughts can be dangerous? Everything you didn’t want to think about all day long suddenly sneaks in like a thief and starts shaking your heart around. I stay so busy during the day that its easy to put off uncomfortable thoughts, but at night when I’m tired….I can’t stop the train from comin’!

For instance, this little boy in Albania. He was sitting placidly on the bench as I approached him from a distance. I was out with my camera that day just shooting my surroundings on the streets of Tirana. As I came up to him I flashed a smile and asked if I could take his picture. He grinned back and nodded yes. I’m not sure if he understood English or simply knew what I wanted when I gestured to my camera. So I snapped a couple, smiled again and thanked him. “What a sweetheart,” I thought.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later when I was back in the states and pouring over my photographs on my 20″ moniter that I noticed the fine detail of this picture.

For some reason I cannot get over the fact that I never even noticed he was crying. I can’t stop wondering what he was crying about…was he lost? Was he scolded by a parent? Did some other children make fun of him? Here I have captured forever his moment on that bench, who knows what he was going through sitting there all alone. I can only pray that maybe a blonde chic with a camera made him feel special by wanting to take his picture that day.

Alright, let’s move on from the melancholy, shall we? Here is one of my favorite pics of my hubby from Morocco. We stood on jagged cliffs above the Atlantic and watched the surf crashing into the air. The smell of salt and fog was amazing. Yes, fog does have a smell in my world. My husband is a rock star when it comes to supporting my photography and growing business. He is definitely my number one fan! Unless someone out there wants to contend for that position- you’ll have to fight for it, believe me.
To see more pictures from my trip, visit www.amywenzel.com and view my photojournalism gallery.

This little girl from a recent session gets the “BEST COMPLIMENT OF THE WEEK” award. Her mother emailed me tonight and let me know that her daughter thinks I am a princess because I am “so beautiful and nice.” I absolutely LOVE photographing 6 year olds. They are young enough to be goofy and totally real yet old enough NOT to run in circles like a caveman while I chase them with my camera. That category belongs soley to 1-3 year olds!

Here is a favorite maternity picture of late. This was from one of the Los Angeles sessions. They had an amazing house that they had worked on themselves, but I had to drive up what felt like a completely vertical hill to get to it! It was so steep that the other side of the hill was completely blind and when I inched my way to the top my car was facing a vertical hill down that went straight into a lake. My palms are sweating just typing this. But whatever I have to do to get there, I love sharing in the joy of these expectant mothers. It is such a special time laced with emotion. I have some great new maternity pictures that I need to get on my website.

The next few shots are of my sister-in-law who has no idea how gorgeous she is. I loved the look of astonishment on her face when I showed her these pictures. It is so awesome to be able to show people how I see them. As women we can be complete perfectionists with our appearance (and the media definitely doesn’t help!) With my camera I feel like I can bring out the best in anyone and show them how truly lovely they are if they will just look through someone else’s eyes.