Dry Dock

Uncle Todd requested photos of the dry dock, and I’m not one to disappoint. Not that I’m that great of a thing photographer, but a big old ship out of water is a cool looking thing. They were working on the props when I took these so that’s why you can’t see any propellers in the back. If I get the chance, I’m going to go out again and shoot the back end with the propellers on.

Only a few days to go and we’ll be out to sea again. I’ve been working like crazy trying to get everything ready, I have no assistant at the moment and I just found out he won’t be joining until five days into the Christmas Cruise. It’s terrible to have to work alone on a ship at all, let alone over a Christmas cruise (they’re the worst.) You have a ship full of people who want the perfect family holiday served to them on a platter, and I don’t care how shiny the silver platter is, nothing is perfect.

Luckily I can stay out of the lime light for the most part. I’ll be busy, but I’m still going to make time to do the international choir, and I’m sure there will be a great dinner Christmas night. I’m going to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Years now because I probably won’t be able to in the middle of the holidays. Have a good time, eat, drink and be merry and I’ll talk to you again in the new year.

Katie

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Brisbane, Australia, where we are in dry dock, is North of Sydney. I have had the chance to get off a couple of times. One night I went out to get some supplies and have a few drinks in an Irish pub with some of the crew. Another time I went out for the day to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I got to hold a Koala Bear and I got up close and personal with wild lorikeets. The bird picture hasn’t been color enhanced, that’s how vibrant the lorikeets were.

The sanctuary has 130 koalas that are all kept in open enclosures with fresh eucalyptus leaves for them to munch on. Koalas are nocturnal so most of them were sleeping or looked very sleepy. They are a little freaky looking when they’re awake cuz their eyes are all red, but when they’re sleeping they’re sooo cute. They just sit on a branch and ball themselves up. They kind of remind me of Muppets. The sanctuary had lots of other animals including kangaroos you could feed.

Katie

Flashes of Hope Shoot

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) in North Carolina has been working with a non-profit orginization called Flashes of hope to go to hospitals and take potraits of kids with cancer and other life threatening illnesses. I went with Michael Mauney to one of these shoots.

The experience was draining and uplifting at the same time. They had people there to do hair and make-up for the kids and thier families. Michael and I took turns shooting, so that we had time to look at what we shot while the other was working, since most of the kids tired quickly.

One of the best smiles I got was of a little boy with his brother. The boy was grumpy and didn't want to smile or be touched by his brother. Michael asked the boy to stand off camera and makes faces at his brother, while Michael took pictures of his brother alone. This got the boy laughing and I managed to grab a shot of him mid-laugh away from the background. Of course the minute he stepped back up to stand with his brother he went serious again.

My favorite kid of the day was the one who didn't want his photo taken. He was a teenager who did motorcross and he was only there because his mom wanted a photo taken with him. I didn't shoot any pictures of him because I didn't want to subject him to any more photos than was nesicary, but I did manage to get a small smile or two out of him when I asked him about racing. This assignment was at times difficult, but above all rewarding.

Katie

Fashion Shoot with Jessica

So I have this new really cool antique sofa and I've been itching to shoot some fashion stuff with it. Since Jessica and I had a couple of hours to kill, we did a quick shoot with old cameras and a big blue dress. And then it was off to the airport for Jessica.

Soon it will be time for me to fly out as well. I have one more chronicle before I take my big flight to Australia on Friday. As usual I can only be reached via email. I will also be discontinuing service with my cell phone and I expect to go with a new cellular company when I return. So don't bother to call me on my cell after the 30th, it won't be my cell number anymore. When I'm back in May call me at home (828) 298-9878 and until then, send emails and keep me up to date with what you're doing.

Katie

Visting the Biltmore Estate with Jessica

Jessica had never been to the Biltmore Estate, so early the next morning we got up and went. Jessica and I did our best Diana statue pose while we waited to get into the house, it happened to be Biltmore's busiest day of the year. We toured the estate all morning and in the afternoon, just before she flew out we had a photo shoot coming up next…

Katie

Snow Skiing at Chataloochee

Jessica was only in town for three days so we had to make the most of our time. Right after Thanksgiving she, Rebecca and I went skiing at Chataloochee in Maggie Valley. We had a blast. We were only there for a half day, but even in that short time of non-stop skiing we were sufficiently tired out. It was Jessica's first time snow skiing, and Rebecca and I hadn't been in a long time. No one broke any legs, but I did get stuck on the ski lift for a chilly fifteen minutes.

Katie

Thanksgiving

We were lucky enough to have family come to our house this thanksgiving. My grandparents came down from Pennsylvania and my cousin Jessica flew up from Florida. We even had some friends from the school where mom and dad work come over for dinner. Jessica took the great table shot. Everyone was laughing because dad wouldn’t turn to face the camera, but I got a good shot of him later. Happy Thanksgiving!

Katie

Angel of Light

At long last I have finished the rough draft of my novel. "What novel?" you ask. Back in July of 2005 I mentioned applying to a masters program in creative writing at Warren Wilson College. Rebecca and I were each going to write our great American novel in the program and become famous authors, but neither of us got in. It was then that I started this novel because I needed the beginning of a manuscript for my submission. After finding out about my rejection, I decided to finish my novel without them. And so now finally I have.

Well, I haven't exactly finished. In a way I still feel like I'm just starting. I've finished the rough draft and it is just that: rough. So now I have to proof and edit it into something polished and spectacular. The editing process can be just as long and tedious, if not even longer than the writing process, so who knows when I will actually be done and ready to send it off to agents and publishers. Still, having passed this first hurtle and actually finishing the manuscript, I feel excited and fueled to press on.

The novel is about a woman named Elledriel, but she never uses her full name preferring Elle (pronounced like the French do and like the letter sounds "L" if anyone has a more Americanized spelling suggestion lay it on me, most Americans pronounce it Ellie.) Anyway, Elle is a successful businesswoman whose life gets turned around when she discovers she's half angel. Not only that, she has a coveted power that has been lost to the angels for ages and she winds up being hunted on both sides by the heavenly angels and the fallen.

I'm also in the market for a better title. Right now it's "Angel of Light" (they call her power "the light") I don't think that's quite as catchy as I'd like, so any suggestions are welcome. I've attached my little one page synopsis, which I am also revising, so please send me all your suggestions, critiques, and ideas to make it better.

Katie
Synopsis:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes of old, warriors of renown. Genesis 6:4 (NRSV)

Elledriel Peterson didn't know what an angel name was or why she had been given one, until the day she was shot in a robbery and brought back to life in a hospital waking to new angelic abilities. The angels, to whom she was born, call it simply "the light," but there is nothing simple about the power that arises in Elle after her resurrection. Though the nature of the light goes unexplained, Elle eventually discovers that she is the only being in possession of this coveted power that inspires fear in other angels.

Elle is a driven career woman. She has a penthouse apartment, designer clothes, and an athletic, successful fiancé with brains and ambition to match her own. Though raised Christian, Elle remained agnostic, a believer in the possibility of something greater than herself, but too busy to think about what that might actually have meant. Before she can fully grasp the situation, Elle is torn from the world she knew and thrown into the hidden realm of the angels. She must grope her way beyond the mysteries of her dead human mother and unknown angelic father to a safe haven where she can learn about her past, her parents, her power and why both sides want her so badly.

She is fortunate or perhaps cursed with the archangel Michael as her protector and guide. Even by human standards Michael is gruff and severe. Their reluctant partnership hangs on a tenuous thread of obligation and a lack of other options.

In the midst of swarms of fallen angels intent on capturing or killing Elle, one of the fallen stands out; the charismatic, black-winged, fallen angel Lucien, who saves her life more than once. Despite Michael's warnings not to trust any of the fallen, Elle is drawn to him and his promises to take her away into hiding and tutor her himself.

With little understanding of the powers that are beyond her, Elle is plunged headfirst into a fight for her life, if not her very soul. Will she make it safely to the sanctuary? Is she right to trust Lucien? Can Michael protect her from herself and her own choices? And what does her new found power mean for her future?

The Asheville Rejects Film Festival

What an exciting weekend I've had. I've been too busy to send a chronicle before, but now that it's Monday, I can get back to work and boy do I have a lot to take care of before I ship off at the end of the month. Last weekend we had the Asheville Film Festival and the Asheville Rejects Film Festival. I attended both.

I went to the education series lectures at the Asheville Film Festival and listened to filmmakers, distributors and actors talk about the industry. Our local star Andie McDowell (of Michael, Green Card, and 4 Weddings and a Funeral) came out for one panel. I snapped a fuzzy shot of her from my seat. I didn't want to be a weenie and use the flash. I think the distribution panel was my favorite. I learned a lot and made some great contacts.

A week before the Asheville Rejects Festival there was an article in the paper about it. One of the festival organizers had this to say about our movie: "My personal pick for Best of Show is a film called 'Stiff,' locally done, a fantastic film. The quality of cinematography is great, the story too. Why it wasn't selected by the Asheville Film Festival I'm not sure." STIFF opened at the Asheville Rejects Film Festival on Saturday night to a large audience. I was pretty stoked at the end of our screening, everyone laughed when they were supposed to and clapped at the end, you can't ask for more than that. I've attached some photos that our camera assistant from the shoot, Paul Choi, took on the night of the festival.

If all that wasn't enough, STIFF won the Best in Show Award! That's right, we've got an award winning film on our hands. I wasn't able to go to the awards ceremony, but Nelson, the director was there to accept.

So "what now?" you ask. It's time to keep plugging. Now that we're done, we've got to make and mail copies to everyone that worked on the movie. We'll send STIFF off to more festivals, and I'm going to send a copy to those independent distributor guys I met and we'll see what happens. I'm really excited to see where it goes. We never could have made this movie without the fantastic cast and crew who worked long hard hours to get the movie made. Thanks everyone who came out to the screening, we really appreciated your support.

Katie

STIFF playing at the Joli Rouge

Any one in the Asheville area next weekend, come out and see STIFF playing at the Joli Rouge (130 College Street) east side of Pack Square on Saturday November 10th at 8:00pm sharp. Our film is kicking off the official "Rejects" selection for the Asheville Rejects Film Festival so don't be late. Admission is $5.

Katie

Stiff to play at Asheville Rejects Film Festival

I bring the latest and greatest news on the short film I produced, "Stiff." The film was rejected from the Asheville Film Festival, which was a bumper, but also a highly competitive festival with over 400 entries, only 80 of which got in. Film is subjective anyway so you can't take a rejection personally.

The good news is "Stiff" got into the Asheville Rejects Film Festival. So we'll be playing at a local venue after all. If you live in the area, skip the Asheville Film Fest with their 80 stellar films and come to the Asheville Rejects Festival, where all the really cool misunderstood films will be. For more information go to:

http://www.theagentheadquarters.com/rejects.html

Katie

P.S. – the photo I attached was something I shot when we were still location scouting. Nelson, the director, is being the dead body. I walked around him and took 360 degrees of photos of the location. I merged a few together to get this funky panoramic.

Old photo booths

Remember those old photo booths they used to have at malls and fairs, where you'd jump in with a bunch of people and take silly pictures and they'd come out in a strip? Don't you miss those? I was at a wedding recently where they rented a booth and had it set up for guests to get their photos taken in. It wasn't one of the newer digital ones either; it was the old fashioned kind. I thought it was such a great idea. Everyone at the wedding enjoyed it, including me.

Katie

ASMP show River Arts District of Asheville

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) in Asheville is having a show to promote artists in the River Arts District of Asheville. I went around one day and snapped a few photos of artists at work. My idea was to shoot portraits of artists without really focusing on their faces. Of the ones I submitted for judging, these four made it past the first round.

Katie

Graveyard Pie

A while back Mom, Becca and I went out picking wild berries near Mt. Pisgah. There's a place off the Blue Ridge parkway called Graveyard Fields. The place has nothing to do with graves though. In the early 1900s the mountains were heavily logged for timber. In this one valley near Mt. Pisgah they cut a very large section of the woods down and left a bunch of tall stumps in the wake. Eventually the stumps degraded to the point where they looked like tombstones, hence the name. The stumps are gone, but the name remains. Now there are wild blackberries and huckleberries (wild blueberries) growing all over the place and folks who live in the area go out to pick and camp and whatnot.

Mom made the best pie from what we picked and dubbed it "Graveyard Pie." Half the pie was already eaten before I could get a shot off with the camera. There were enough berries left to make some jam. It's been decided that there isn't enough jam to be given away, however, anyone who comes to the house to visit will have the opportunity to sample some "Graveyard Jam" if they ask and man oh man is it good!

Katie

8 things you don't know about me

Okay, so I got tagged by Brian and Gry at Woodward + Rick Photographers to do 8 things you don’t know about me on my blog. So here goes:

1. I’ve shot full frontal nude photos of myself…when you can’t get a model, what’re you gonna do? The great thing about owning the photos is I can control who sees them and no, you can’t.

2. I worked for the New York Film Academy for 3 years, I didn’t go to school there, it’s actually not a school, but a series of workshops. The workshops I did were in Disney/MGM Orlando and I lived on Disney property the whole time I worked there. It killed the magic for me.

3. I currently own a fish, that’s about all the responsibility I can handle and I’m about to give it away because it’s just too much. Anyone want a beta fish, bowl’s included?

4. I was drum major of my high school marching band. I wasn’t just a geek, I was the head geek.

5. I’ve never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission.

6. My middle name is not trustworthy, it’s tekhla.

7. I’m writing a novel.

8. I hate snakes.

Mine

This is a series entitled "Mine." The idea was inspired by characters done by Edward Gorey. The plan was to have the models murder each other in twisted ways over a lollypop. They were to act out the murders behaving like siblings fighting over a toy. I absolutely love the performances in this series. Everyone did such a fabulous job. I think we all had great fun shooting this.

Katie

Group Fashion Shoot

Meet Zach, Ariel, and Satori (who you already know from the first of my cool fashion series shoots). I had the fortuitous opportunity to shoot all three of these models together…well they aren't models by profession, but for a day they were models for me. Ariel is a friend of Satoris' and Zach owns Drinkin Beanz Coffee shop where some of my photography will be displayed. We spent a very long afternoon and evening shooting a few different set ups. I had a mind to do some casual sophisticated fashion shots and another set of darker less traditional shots. Look for that darker series of shots I'm calling "Mine" in the next Chronicle.

Katie

Male Model Shoot

In continuing with my self assigned photo shoots, I shot a sports manager who wanted a headshot. In trade, he gave me his body as a model. I made him chop wood. No he wasn't just posing with an axe, I had him split a few logs, and dad didn’t seem to think we had the shot right and kept suggesting we do more. That's not his real sweat though. I had Crystal, the same make-up artist that did our movie STIFF, come out and do make-up for the shoot.

We walked down to the river and played in the water and I had the poor guy twist this way and that and made him do pushups, he was a good sport. My favorite shot is the one with the clock. I wanted to do something reminiscent of the old dreamy silent films the Lumiere brothers did. This shoot was defiantly fun to do.

Katie

Fashion Photo Shoot

Today I had a fashion photo shoot just for fun. I've come a long way from the "glamour shots" I used to do with Rebecca and Jessica when we were kids, but this shoot still held the same playful atmosphere of those days long ago. Come to think of it, those days haven't been so long ago since I still use Jessica as a model whenever she's around.

Featured in the photos is my friend Satori. She was both model and make-up artist. I met her when we were looking for a make-up artist for the short film. She wasn't able to do the movie because of her schedule, but we made plans to one day get together and do some work…play…well both I guess. I wanted some really fun dramatic fashion photos and some dark creepy portraits and Satori wanted some photos for her portfolio so we were both able to help each other out. And the location outside couldn't have been better. I got the creeps just standing outside the place. It was awesome.

Katie