Selfportraits

I finally have some self portaits that I like. I put the first one on my account in the Internet Movie Database. The last one I already have on my web site in my biography. I don't know why I look so mischevious in that last shot. I don't think I usually look like that....


Katie

Asheville Wedding

I just shot my first wedding in Asheville all by myself. It went really well, I got some great shots. I'm a big girl now!

Katie

HGTV at Biltmore

The day before HGTV gave away the dream home, they had a really nice dinner at the Biltmore Estate for all their executives and sponsors. First they had horse drawn carriages take everyone to the house. Then they all had a private tour followed by cocktails on the terrace with a beautiful sunset. They had a five-course dinner near the stables and for a grand finale they had a huge private fireworks show. It was a fantastic evening.

Katie

HGTV shoot

I just got off a two-day shoot for Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV among other things. The first day we were out at Biltmore documenting an awesome private dinner party they had. I’ll send those photos later.

The next day I went to the live shoot where they gave away the dream home and documented all that. And though I tried to stay out of the way (and you have no idea how difficult that was on such a busy set) I got in the background of one of the shots during the middle of the show. If anyone watched it, I was the photographer in all black in the shot where one of the hosts sat on the interior designer’s lap.

Anyway I have attached a picture of the set with the house in the background, a shot of the view of Lake Lure from the house (oh yea and there's a guy on a crane with a giant sun gun, there were lights everywhere) my favorite room in the house, the winner in an emotional moment during the middle of the show (they managed to make all the contestants cry) and a shot of the host Mark Walberg...the other Mark Walberg.

Katie

Show at the Biltmore Estate

Two of my three submissions for the “Flowers, Farms, and Forests” show at the Biltmore Estate have been accepted. Anyone who happens to be going to Biltmore this June or July, go check out my work. They will be in the gallery at Deer Park. The farm picture is the one that didn’t get in. The waterfall and sunflower made it. Now I have to put a price on these. They are 16 by 20 inch prints that I’m going to mat and put in a nice frame. So how much do you think I should charge?

Katie

Doggie Cuteness

Here are some pictures of our dogs I’ve been taking with my new digital camera. These are in no particular order of doggie cuteness.

Katie

New Gig with HDTV

I have a gig coming up to shoot stills for the HGTV dream house giveaway. This year the house that they are giving out is at Lake Lure, which isn’t too far from Asheville. My photographer friend Ryan got me the gig for next Friday and Saturday. It’ll be nice to be on a real set again. So more on that later.

I also got a new digital camera. It’s a Nikon D200 and it’s really sweet. I’m having fun playing with it. I’m not abandoning film. I’m still keeping all my old gear. I am still a film snob at heart, but now instead of burning film whenever I have a whim, I will save it for special occasions. Plus digital is so much better for work. It’ll pay for itself in the long run.

I attached a picture of a ladybug just because.

Katie

Film Reviews

A friend of mine was surfacing the web and looked up my name to see what would pop up. He came across these reviews for movies that I’ve made that I didn’t even know where there. Here are some excepts:

Katie

Nolan's Pop Culture Review

By: Nolan B. Canova

...excerpt...

Just Due [Katie Damien] played at the 4th Renegade Film Festival (Saints & Sinners), but I missed it there due to hobnobbing in the lobby too long. The setting is the old west and two gun-slinging sisters are talking about how they're going to handle some tough business that day. Suddenly, a shout from an abusive landlord/boss awakens them...and us...to the fact that this just is a daydream. The two sisters are charwomen, scrubbing floors on their hands and knees for a drunken, redneck jerk. They escape this harsh reality by whispering little bits of their wild west fantasy to each other. As the abuse grows and tolerances are tested, the fantasy threatens to become reality. Highly recommended. (RT: about 10 minutes)

Vanity Mirror [Katie Damien] also played at S&SIV, but I only saw a part of it. This was a little bit more of an abstract experience for me, but still intriguing. A woman, seemingly haunted by visions of stalkers and self-mutilation, finally acts out some self-destruction via her broken mirror. Hard to follow in what can be the occasionally noisey atmosphere of the coffeehouse, so I'm afraid that's about all I got out of it, but still worth a study! (RT: about 10-15 minutes)

Coffeehouse Film Review for May

By: Nolan B. Canova

...excerpt...

The Mime Series by Katie Damien: Destiny and Marco won’t quit. No matter what situation they find themselves in, they refuse to speak. Three short chapters, end-to-end, all very funny. Leave it to Katie Damien to make mimes in movies a workable format! I love her work and have yet to find a Katie Damien piece I don't like. I don't recall ever meeting her, but I'd sure like to. Her other movies "Just Due" and "Vanity Mirror" left lasting impressions.

The Beauty of Western North Carolina

In Asheville there is such beautiful countryside all around you don’t have to go far to find these kind of marvelous sights. I took the shot of the waterfall at Chimney Rock State Park. It’s the bottom of the falls that is featured in the last scene of Last of the Mohicans.

The other shot I took at the top of Mt. Mitchell and I was so disappointed at the cloudy weather we encountered at the top. There was never a break so you couldn’t see the marvelous view of the surrounding mountains. Little did I know I would come across such a cool shot as the clouds almost cleared to reveal a lovely orange sun through the silhouette of the trees. Maybe next time I go back I will be disappointed that there are no clouds.

Katie

New Website

I’ve spent weeks working on redoing my website and finally after scraping everything and starting over a couple times, I’ve finished. Check out my new and improved website all pimped up with flash. Let me know if you have any problems with it or have any suggestions for making it any better.

www.katiedamien.com

Katie

Snowing in spring!

It’s snowing in spring! I can’t believe it. Here I thought that I was getting away from the cold and coming back just in time for the lovely warm weather. No, it’s snowing all the time now. It doesn’t stick, but it comes down in icy flurries. I braved the cold to go take some pictures as proof. Our outside dog, Honey, doesn’t mind the snow, in fact I think she likes it. Our two insides dogs stick close to the fire. That’s right we have another new dog. Rebecca got a little pug puppy named Silvia. She’s sweet and cute and full of energy. The only time I can get a decent picture of her is when she’s sleeping. I can’t wait for warm weather.

Katie

Self Portraits

The last self portrait I did was too somber for my tastes. I’m trying to get a new happier picture of me, so one afternoon I went out during magic hour and shot all these pictures on a hill at the end of the road I live on. Tell me which one you like the best.

Katie

The Oscar party

The Oscar party was a smashing success. I wasn’t able to include everyone’s photo, but here are some of my favorites. There was me posing as the official Oscar poster for this year. Dad was a gay cowboy from Brokeback Mountain. Mom was a Geisha from Memoirs of a Geisha. Tricia came as Rita Skeeter, the journalist from Harry Potter. We had a pair for smooching Penguins from March of the Penguins. And last but certainly not least Rebecca made an appearance as Dolly Parton. It was a great night, there was good food, good drinks, good friends, and good times.

Katie

Goodbye to the Zudierdam

My uniform with Holland America was great. It was just black pants and a black shirt. I took a picture of myself on the ship in St. Thomas so you could see. There's also a shot of the very back of the ship at sea. And a shot of the Zuiderdam docked in St. Thomas.

After a short flight, I find myself safely at home again in Asheville. This contract just flew by. Four months was perfect, I wasn’t tired of working on ships, but I’m glad to be home. The only thing I miss is Igor…I might miss the chocolate cake they served too, and having someone clean my room for me, and scuba diving, and midnight margarita parties…well the point is I miss Igor and the rest of my friends on the Zuiderdam most of all. Still it’s nice to be back on dry land and to see all my family and friends again. I still have a few more chronicles from stuff I did on the ship so I’m going to send them all now so that you’ll be caught up for the Oscar Party Chronicle which is happening tonight.

Katie

Flaming Spanish Coffee

Flaming Spanish Coffee, it sounds exciting and it is exciting. I saw that they were serving this drink in one of the lounges one evening on the Zuiderdam. I called a few crew to go try it with me. They all said, ‘that sounds great, but what is it?’ And I told them, ‘I have no idea, but if it doesn’t involve fire, I’ll be really disappointed.’

Well I wasn’t disappointed. It was so neat to watch the bartender make it. I decided I had to learn how. I asked the bartender all kinds of questions about what he was doing and what the ingredients were. So on Saturday in Ft. Lauderdale when I got to be the first one to see Aunt Janny’s new townhouse, I made her and Jessica Flaming Spanish Coffee.

I had to smuggle a bottle of 120 proof rum off to do it so Aunt Janny started calling me Katie the Rum Runner. Jessica took these cool pictures of me making the coffees. Aunt Janny didn’t want her picture taken, but she was a hand model holding one the finished drinks. I’m taking the bottle of rum home with me so anyone who would like to have Flaming Spanish Coffee served to them at the Oscar Party, just ask me and I will be happy to make it for you too.

Katie

Last Week Onboard

Only one week to go and still so much to do. For whatever reason the office sent my replacement two weeks early. Usually a handover lasts only a few days. This last week was like a vacation for me. I’ve already done most of my training and handover so this week will be even more relaxed.

Last week I went to the beach in St. Marrten with Igor and the other photographers. Then in Nassau we went to a European style café. They all has these little really strong coffees and I thought they looked so funny with the tiny cups so I made them hold out their pinkies for a picture.

Janelle was having so much fun she stayed on one extra week. Tim and Lisa left on Saturday to go to a different ship, but before they all went we got a picture together with Carsten, Janelle’s boyfriend, who also worked on the Century and Igor. It was a fantastic week.

Katie

Snorkeling with Sharks in Nassau

When we were in Nassau in the Bahamas last, it was a chilly day. Some people canceled their snorkeling tour so they had some extra room. Though most of you know how I abhor cold weather, I just couldn’t let that stop me from getting the chance to snorkel with sharks again. This time I went with Nyron the shore excursions manager.

We had such a good day. The water was incredibly clear and we went to even better reefs than we did the last time I went, plus there was a smaller group since most people had canceled. The place we went to offered us wetsuits, but I didn’t want to be a wimp. So I didn’t get one. Of course after I was sitting on the boat in the wind with my wet body huddled under a towel with my teeth chattering, I kind of wished I had wimped out and gotten one. Still the day was great and at one point one of the sharks got curious and came really close to the group, maybe only 6 feet away, and the shark must have been at least 6 feet long. I got a shot as it was swimming away. It was a very exciting day.

Katie

Josiah’s Bay, Tortola

Janelle was a dancer on my first ship, the Century. She was also an actress in one of the mime series movies. Her boyfriend, Carsten, is working on the Zuiderdam with me and she came on for a couple of cruises to visit him. Carsten wasn’t able to get off in Tortola, but Janelle, Igor and I were able to get out to the beach together. We went to Josiah’s Bay, which is the same place that I went surfing before. We had a great time playing in the surf and on the beach.

Now I know I have had plenty of pictures with various great looking guys who have always been just friends, I find it’s best to keep it that way when you’re on ships, but I just couldn’t help myself with Igor. Yes, we are dating.

He’s a Cinematographer and he worked as an assistant camera operator in broadcasting during the war in Bosnia, hence the exciting war stories. He had some really bad experiences during some recent productions so he went to work on ships as a photographer to get away from it all and see some of the world. And just for you, Rebecca, his birthday is May 17th. He’s only just starting his first contract and I am about to end mine. He’s from Bosnia, I’m from the US. I don’t know what will happen when I go. I don’t know when I’ll see him again. I only know that I want to.

Katie

Biking Ft. Lauderdale

Last Ft. Lauderdale I was able to get off and go biking with my cousins Jessica and Albert and his wife Corey (I guess that makes her a cousin in-law.) We biked along Ft. Lauderdale beach and went to the photo lab so I could take care of my pictures. Then we had lunch together and biked back to the ship. It was so nice to see some family and get away, even if it was only for a few hours.

Katie

Road Trip Tortola

On a dark and rainy day I went out in Tortola with the ship’s photographers. We rented a car and drove around the island stopping where we wanted. We went to Pusser’s landing and got some food then went to a beautiful beach and had a little pick nick in the car while we waited out the rain. When it stopped we went body surfing and enjoyed having the beach all to ourselves. So even though the weather wasn’t the best, it turned out to be a nice day. Igor, the Bosnian photographer and videographer, is featured in most of these photos. He has great eyes and he tells very exciting war stories.

Katie