Principle Photography Wrapped on New Feature Film

Jaime Byrd, Katie Damien, Coco Adams (DP, Director and AD) photo by: Lexi Rufty

I've just wrapped principle photography for my upcoming comedy feature Angel Demon, Stab Stab Stab (working title, it was Touched by Angels.)  The shoot was grueling and glorious.  We did 17 days, with only one day off, working 12 to 14 hours each day.  The movie looks better than I could have hoped for thanks to our amazing cast and crew.  We had great actors all around, crew members that really stepped up and did much more than was asked of them.  I'm really excited about where this movie will go.

We'll be doing a completion fund raising campaign soon, so stay tuned.  This photo is all I have to share at the moment and I have no idea what I'm directing people to do, I obviously had plenty of coffee that morning.

Katie

YWCA shoot for PSA

My next epic PSA for the YWCA of Asheville will be coming out soon... I hope. This one involves some major special effects with breaking glass, which I'm told is one of the most difficult things to animate. I have everything shot for the PSA and it's pretty much together, but getting the FX work done is proving challenging. I've had some great actors and locations to work with, even the gang of middle school kids really impressed me with their performances and enthusiasm. When it's done, it's going to be awesome!

Katie

Model Shoot

I’ve gotten myself a real job. Not that any of the other jobs I’ve had weren’t real, but they didn’t have benefits, or a regular schedule, or consistent pay. I’m starting work tomorrow as a video editor for a local news station. I’ve decided I’m done working on ships for the time being. I’m sure I’ll still travel, but I might actually be able to take a real vacation, where I can see a place…and just see the place and not have to work. So for the next year or so, I’ll be at home with weekends off, working my real job. I couldn’t stand a 9 to 5, that would just be too much, my hours are 3 to midnight. Any one who knows me, knows I abhor waking before 11am.

In the mean time, I’m still freelancing as a photographer. My fabulous photo editing friend Sam and I are working on a series of demigods of Greek mythology. I’m shooting, Sam’s editing. These photos are from a model we shot to be a siren. I’ll post more from out shoots as we do them, with the finished products last. These were just some fun shots we did with the model.

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 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

Magazine (Rally to Rescue) Cover Shoot

A while back I did my first magazine cover shoot. The assignment was to shoot a man and all the cats that he'd rescued in a cattery he built here in North Carolina. The magazine is called Rally to Rescue. It's put out by Purina and it's all about animals that have been saved in one way or another and the people that rescue them. I shot for the cover and the featured article.

Cats are not the easiest animals to shoot, especially rescued cats. You can pet them and call them and wave toys at them and it's all for nothing. They will either look your way or they won't. My technique was to just keep shooting until I got something. I had hundreds of photos by the end of the shoot, but all the work paid off in the end. I had some great shots for them to use in the magazine. Attached are the pages from the article.

Katie