In Memory

Just found out today that Joseph Guilbeau passed away last Tuesday. I had the privilege of photographing Joseph on two separate occasions: last August at a performance he gave for National Night Out in his neighborhood, and then this past March at his home. I will miss his grocery store serenades. I will miss his thick Cajun accent. Mostly I will miss seeing how life radiated from him when he talked about music.

Self-Employment - I AM THE BEST BOSS EVAR.

This past Friday was my last day at work, and I am settling into the weird routine of being self-employed. First, my new boss was all "You really need to make sure you are getting enough exercise." And then she was all, "Make sure to surf the web so you can keep up to date on all then new photography stuff posted today." Then finally she said, "Talk to your fellow photographers online a LOT today- it is SO important to stay connected."

She didn't chase me around the desk or anything- it was AWESOME.

So today I am settling in to finish up one of my three outstanding clients, and will start with orders on Thursday or Friday this week. Thanks to everyone for being so understanding with all this, and I will be in touch with you in the next few days.

That is, IF my boss doesn't make me go to the beach or something.

Neener Neener!

Things have been insane with the whole "We're Moving To The Netherlands" thing going on at our house, so I have very little fun news on the photography front. If you are a client waiting on photos, I SWEAR that I will be back in touch next week. This is my last week at the job that pays for my photography business, and I am working like a fiend to make sure I leave no loose ends over here.

You should be jealous, however, because I am going to have breakfast with none other than the gut-wrenchingly hilarious The Bloggess tomorrow!

I KNOW!

So I will be up late tonight, trying to decide what to wear and preparing the 5-inch tall stack of blue notecards so that I may interview her in a manner appropriate to her awesomeness. I hope I don't totally bore her to death. I have a picture of her daughter from Trash The Dress, Part Deux that I did last October in Galveston that I'm thinking of making a t-shirt with so that I seem more stalker-ish. Stalkers are interesting, right?

What I really need is to figure out a classy way to showcase the tattoo of her likeness on my right butt cheek... I KNOW there is a way, I just know it!

The Start of Something Good

I'm moving to the Netherlands this summer, in case you don't know. Part of the fun of getting ready to leave the country is all the paperwork and scrambling for birth certificates and marriage licenses and, "Hey, where is my Social Security Card?" and all that. I had to fill out a passport renewal form, and had two response values on the form that made me giggle with glee:



Update:
I really should read my posts after I publish them. The fields outlined in red are as follows-
Hair Color: Red (I know it's red because that's what color the box tells me it is.)
Occupation: Photographer

Nekked Nekkedness

Ok, so why am I totally exhausted, going on about 5 hours of sleep, and still awake editing photos?

Because I had my boudoir marathon this weekend, that's why! So, keep yourself tuned in to my Flickr stream over the next few days... there will be some very sultry and awesome stuff showing up!

<--This is me, exhausted from all the shooting and editing.

Heh, I wish.

Bring In The Funk

A few weekends back I had the exciting opportunity to photograph Houston's own Primal Funk at a gig they had at Sullivan's in Highland Village. The original bass player was unable to make it that night, and so they guys had a heavy-hitter as a fill in. Kevin Needham, the lead singer and sax player, is a family friend and such fun to watch on stage.



I do have to say this - the lighting was HORRIBLE. I was using the 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS, and shooting at 1/60 in ISO 1600 and I NEVER got a shot of the drummer because he was basically in a black hole, and I was plagued with motion blur in a lot of my shots so the only real keepers were of the guys in front. I kept trying to switch to my 50 1.8, but I couldn't get close enough for that lens to make sense. It was frustrating to work around, but I think I got a hand full of shots they will be pleased with.

So, In light of that set-back, I am looking into what lens to purchase next. I am leaning towards the 100mm macro, just for it's versatility and reputation for being razor sharp. If I could rob a bank I'd probably get the 70-200 2.8L with IS, but it is so freaking heavy I'm afraid I wouldn't use it as much as lighter options. I've had money in my business account since January that I have been in limbo over how to spend, and with the move I have decided I will sink it into lenses- if I buy strobes I will either have to wait 2 years to use them if I get US plugs, or use them for 2 years and then sell them if I get NE plugs.

Of course, please let me know what you think. I am such a peer pressure dork.

Feelin' Sexy?

Since this is a "Photo Blog" (and you bet your sweet arse I did the air-quotes when I typed that) I thought I'd give everyone a quick update as to what is going on with good old Kari Noser Photography as of late:

1) I'm moving to Amsterdam.

Yeah, pick your jaw up off the floor, we found out Friday from Kip's boss that we're headed to the Netherlands, as soon as June 1st of this year. Yes, I am panicked. No, I am not packed. Because of this, sadly, I am not taking any more new bookings in the US. Now, if I said, "Oh my god I want to take pictures of your baby!" or whatever then email me and I will see what I can do for you.


2) Before I go, I'm building up my Boudoir portfolio!

So, if you want to take your clothes off for me, and you're female, drop me a line. If you want to take your clothes off for me, and you're male... thanks.

Seriously, though, I have just a few weekends left, so if you want to arrange a session at your home or if you have a few friends that want to split an awesome hotel room for a weekend, please let me know soon. I will have a few more samples of work available after this weekend, and if you're available this weekend, you could be one of them!


3) I need to get rid of a lot of crap.

None of it related to photography. We have a bedroom set, a storage unit full of crap, and gobs of paper that just needs to go. So, once I wrap up the month of April (which includes my birthday, so please plan accordingly) I am going to be a lean, mean, yard-sellin' machine. And I will probably be on a first-name basis with the folks at Sand Dollar and Value Village, too.

So, that's what's going on here. If you want to just hear me rant about packing, customs, passports and all other things Amsterdam-related, go here:

http://amsterdamnosers.blogspot.com/

I will attempt to keep the Photography News separated from the Netherlands Goings-On.