Roxanne’s such a good big sister!

]]> http://carmenash.com/blog/2010/05/pearl-and-roxanne-coblentz/feed/ 0 http://carmenash.com/blog/2010/03/mexico/ http://carmenash.com/blog/2010/03/mexico/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:21:02 +0000 admin http://carmenash.com/blog/?p=1899 This past January, after traveling for work, the holidays, and photography conventions for 6 weeks solid, I took a trip for myself!  It was the Lehman’s Women Trip.  It was made up of my mom-in-law, my husband’s cousin, and his four aunts.  No men, no phones, no computers!!  Can you believe that, I actually detached my computer from my hip!!  All we did was sit on the beach, read, eat guacamole, drink margaritas, eat more guacamole, drink wine, and more beach!!

This trip was so valuable to me.  After three weeks of photography classes and conventions.  I was able to read through my notes and a book from the different speakers.  It was the first time that I actually had had a break to take in and process what I learned.

This is Rose’s (Caleb’s Aunt) palapa on the beach in Mexico. We slept upstairs, where there are two beds covered by mosquito netting! There is a bathroom, kitchen, and living/eating area downstairs.  On the inside, there is a bedroom, living room and restroom!  You would never guess it was that big by looking at it from the outside.

This is the view from her palapa!  Wow!!

We walked three miles every morning.  It’s amazing what you do without tv, phones, or computers!

While we were there, there was a ring around the full moon…I forget what that’s called.

Downtown, Playa del Carmen, was about an hour north of where we were.

You can’t get away from America!!

The beaches there are covered in washed up trash and random things like this.

Cozumel is an island off the coast of Playa del Carmen.  The trash that they dump into the ocean washes, onto these beautiful beaches. I grew up on the beach and this makes you think about what happens to the trash that is dumped in the oceans or from boats.  It’s sad that this is allowed in any country!

Our last day…I miss it already.

Tips for choosing your photographer:

- Ask to see 2-4 entire weddings or shoots:  Anyone can throw a portfolio together of their best images!

- Get their references: I can’t stress this enough.  Our entire company is 85% referral based.  If brides and the other vendors love the photographer, you probably will too.

- Get to know the photographer:  The photographer/client relationship is very important, it hopefully lasts a lifetime.  You want to make sure that they have the technical and communication skills to shoot the wedding, and also the personality to make the day run smooth.  You will be working with them ordering prints, designing albums and all the other goodies that go along with wedding photography, so make sure you click.

- Equipment: They should have back ups for cameras, lenses, and lights.

With that being said, enjoy the video below! (click below)

Wedding Photography Gone Bad!

“River Church began with Todd and Lori Magouyrk. The couple felt a calling from God to start a new community of Christ-followers that would be rich in discipleship and a pure, Biblical pursuit of God. As they shared their vision with others, several families and young adults found themselves compelled to jump on board to help turn the vision into reality.

After a great deal of prayer and counsel, it became clear that the city of Charleston was the destination for this group of wanna-be world-changers.

Beginning in March of 2009, these families and young adults, all from the metro-Atlanta, Georgia area, began uprooting and moving to the West Ashley community.

By September, 2009, more than 15 adults and a dozen children had moved to town and found friendship with a few dozen Christ-followers who shared the vision. They began “doing life together,” meaning they encouraged one another, prayed for one another, shared meals together, dreamed together.

The intention is that River Church will cultivate a lifestyle where those who seek God will find him in the context of real friendships, intentional discipleship, and sincere, exciting worship.”

Check them out on the website for more information! www.RiverChurch.com

The Amazing River Church Staff!

This brings me to the “Wife” Hike of 2009!  We went during Thanksgiving and hiked about 21 miles of trails in the Smoky Mountains.  Parts of the hike were very intense, but the view made it all worth wild!  The second day was the hardest part.  We hiked 7 miles up-hill.  There was no time for long breaks, due to the fact that camp had to be set up before dark.  As elevation increased, the temperature dramatically decreased.  By the second night, the temperature dropped into the 20′s.

This was an unforgettable trip and I can’t wait for next year!… Well if this wasn’t a one time thing

Wait an amazing view, with the clouds above and below the mountains.

This is where we started.

Quickly trained a Bear to take a picture!

Hen Wallow Falls

Gotta love a good fire!

Caleb cooking pancakes and Starbucks Coffee for breakfast.

This was beside our tent the first camp sight; what an awesome sight to wake up to!

Accommodations for the second night!

Finally at the top…

On the way back down, we passed this cemetery in the middle of the woods!  What I found odd was that all of the people with actual head stones died in the late 1800′s-1918, except the one in the picture above.  Ella died in 1982 at the age of 88.  She was the last one to be buried there and was the only one that had a rock for her head stone!  Go Figure, maybe that’s what she wanted!

Click Here to view the SLIDESHOW

]]> http://carmenash.com/blog/2009/12/wife-hike-2009/feed/ 0 http://carmenash.com/blog/2009/12/carmen-ash-photography-heads-to-ny-for-a-wedding/ http://carmenash.com/blog/2009/12/carmen-ash-photography-heads-to-ny-for-a-wedding/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:18:07 +0000 admin http://carmenash.com/blog/?p=1382 Recently we shot a wedding in New York; with us were four photographers and two videographers. We were there for two days and had so much fun, the pictures from the wedding will be posted shortly, can’t wait for you to see them!!!  Below is a group picture of us in the photobooth!!!  Thanks for all your help guys!!

We also celebrated our 1 Year Wedding Anniversary, along with Caleb’s parents anniversary!

At our wedding Caleb’s family sang a song and I did not remember even hearing it, so they sang it again for us!!  I, of course, cried!  It was beautiful!  And by the way, wedding cake is good 1 year later!!

Here’s the Lehman GANG!  The top is the entire group and the bottom are the grand kids surrounding the woman who’s responsible for the whole thing!

And here she is…Elizabeth Lehman, “Grandma Liz”

I love this one, it shows each part of her personality!

And there’s my sexy pirate!

The top picture is the leader of this Lehman Mafia and below are his main negotiators.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from the short time I’ve been in this family, is there’s no messing around when it comes to beach volleyball!!  You better put your game face on and get ready to win!!  I love you guys!

See you next year…

A couple weeks ago we found a birds nest outside our studio, with three eggs in it.  Well good news…all three hatched last week.  They were too cute!