More Chicago

Day two in Chicago was the day of the cancelled shoot, we still had another shoot to do, but it wasn't until later in the afternoon. So Michael dropped me downtown to go touring while he took care of some business. I walked around and saw some more of the awesome architecture. I spent most of my day at the Chicago Art Institute. They had some fabulous works, including an extensive collection of Rembrandt and Monet. All in all it was a great trip. Chicago is a big city with lots to do. It was a fun place visit, but it might not be so fun to live in.

Katie

Chicago

I just got back from a four day trip to Chicago. I was working as a photography assistant to Michael Mauney, a local commercial photographer and the same one that I worked with on the trip to New Mexico. This trip went pretty well, we got all the photos we were set up to shoot except one where the subject cancelled at the last minute, but because of the cancellation I had more time to explore the city.

I've had to divide this trip into two chronicles. This first one is from the first day we were there. The weather was great. The blistering heat wave that everyone had been suffering through just the week before was over and we had comfortable if not cool weather.

Michael and I did the tourist thing and walked around the city. We went to a park and saw a giant bean. I'm not kidding there is a large metal sculpture in the middle of the park that's shaped like a kidney bean. I took a picture of my reflection in it with the city in the background then I found it was even more interesting underneath and I got a really cool shot of all the weird reflections there. Being a photographer, Michael prefers being behind the camera, but I managed to get a quick shot of him working. More to come, with day two.

Katie

Sunflower

Dad picked me a beautiful sunflower from the garden the other day, so of course I had to sit down and photograph it. This email goes out in particular to my good friend Jacob. Here I have attached not only the shots I got, but also the set up. A rocking chair, a peice of black velvet, and some sunlight, that's all you need. Well maybe a chair that doesn't rock would have been a better choice, this one was just convienient.

Katie

My Birthday

Mom and I had a joint birthday party yesterday since our birthdays are just two days apart. We celebrated on the day in between. We wanted a small dinner party, so mom invited a few of her concierge friends and I invited my photographer friends. In one of the photos mom is holding a big bundle all in bubble wrap. This was brought by Brian and Gry my photographer friends. It was bubble wrapped as a joke because the last time they came to the house was for the Oscar party and Brian brought a bottle of wine, but when I went to give him a hug, I knocked the bottle out of his hand and it smashed all over the floor. This time the bottle made it safely. We had some great Bar-B-Q and everyone had a good time.

Katie

New Mexico

I just returned from a shoot in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was working as a photographer's assistant on a commercial shoot. It was my first visit to New Mexico, and I have to say it reminds me of old Mexico. I tried both red and green chile, not to be confused with chili (the latter is like a stew and the former is more like a sauce) I went inside an old pueblo house and even wandered through an Indian reservation.

I was out there for two full days and after we wrapped the shooting, we still had a little time on the last day so I went to the Petroglyph National Monument where you can see all the neat whitish figures in the black stones (though they look like they're painted on, they are actually chipped on the surface by the ancient pueblo Indians to reveal the white underneath.) They were allover the side of the mountains, but you really had to search to find them. Then we all took a tram to the top of the Sandia Mountains and watched the sunset. New Mexico is dry, dusty, bright and beautiful and the people are all very friendly. It was a fun place to visit.

Katie

4th of July

For the Fourth of July, mom, dad and I went to Black Mountain (a small town near Asheville) to see fire works. They were great until we got rained out in the end. There was a huge grand finale as they set off everything left at once. I managed to get a few good shots before the rain started.

Katie

Commercial Contest

I finished both my commercial entries to the "any way you like it" video contest to promote tourism in Asheville. You can see them both on you-tube.com just follow the links below.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Va5irZfuc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Rc0T0ieH8

Katie
P.S. - Don't forget to give them a rating and tell me which one you like best.

Looking Glass Falls

For dad's birthday my family went to sliding rock and looking glass falls. It was only like an hour drive from home, but it rained pretty much the whole time. They wouldn't let anyone swim (or slide) at sliding rock because the water level was too high, so we walked around and put our feet in the water and were very tempted to "fall in." At looking glass falls there isn't anyone there to tell you not to go in the water, so me, mom and Rebecca went for a dip then I set up the camera and got a shot of us all standing by the falls. Despite the rain, we had a blast and I'm sure we'll be going back a few more times before summer is over.

Katie

Mystery Dinner Train

A while back I went with my family and Jack and Vickie on a Mystery Dinner Train outing. There's a place in Tennessee (Asheville is close to the state border) where they have an old steam train that does dinners in each of the cars that are served while the train makes its way through the near by towns and countryside. While you're having dinner and enjoying the ride, there is a troupe of actors dressed in 1930s style costumes that come and go through the train and act out a murder mystery at the end of which you have to guess who did it. Rebecca and I got all dolled up in vintage dresses and created quite a stir. The actors took a liking to Jack and got our table really involved in the drama. It was a lot of fun and a fantastic evening out.

Katie

Commercial for Asheville

I'm working on a commercial for a local contest. Follow the link below and tell me what you think of it so far. There is no sound yet, I plan on putting it to music.

Katie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUtUTahxNak

Dinner Party

We recently had Jack and Vickie Kitts-Turner over for a dinner party with our neighbors, the Robertsons. Jack was Rebecca's bassoon instructor from Florida and thus began a lifelong friendship between our two families. Jack is a fabulous bassoonist and together he and Vickie make a marvelous musical team.

It seems that each time we get together, where inevitably Jack, Vickie, Rebecca and I all play in an impromptu woodwind ensemble, the thing that is in greatest demand is not just the live performance, but Jack playing a recorder out of his nose. He obliged me and let me take a picture. I wish you could hear it as well, he's quite funny. The evening was a complete success and if there are any more musicians out there who would like to come over for dinner, you are very welcome, but be warned, you will have to play for your supper.

Katie

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