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.

Assisting Corron

One of my friends is a local sports photographer, and he has been talking for MONTHS about getting a Robert Seale style shot of one of the Rice football players, Jarett Dillard. Well, this morning at 5:45 I was there to help him out, and he did it. Sure, there were technical glitches (who on earth knows how to set a pocket wizard to fire on second curtain?), sure it was freaking cold, sure I had to run up and down a hill in the freezing weather lugging equipment (and I'm still coughing because of it), and sure it was so ridiculously early that I swore when my alarm went off that it had to be a joke. But it was 100% worth it. The skyline was PERFECT. The wind was still. There were even a few stars out when we started. There is just something about watching sunrise over downtown, the way the sky warms into an orange glow around the buildings...

The set-up was two 4x6 soft-boxes, one behind and to the left of JD, the other in front and slightly to the left of him, and one bare flash head behind and to the right of him for some awesome helmet glare. The trainer that came with JD had brought a mini-tramp and a crash mat, and JD got his morning workout catching a football and hitting the crash pad (which he said was NOTHING, because he's used to hitting the turf normally).

In the end, though, Scott pulled it off, and I was totally impressed. I can't wait to see the final images- he's shooting for a billboard, and I think he may have done it!

Struggling to Drown

For the three of you that read this blog regularly, I thank you. I feel like Flight of the Conchords with such an enormous fan base- please, Mel, don't ever leave me.

If you have just happened across this, or if I later become a world-famous blogger and you are just diving DEEP into the archives for more stuff to read after being left hungry for more whining about my god-forsaken hair, how much Megan despises me now that she is a teenager, or my seemingly endless griping about how I've ruined yet ANOTHER roll of 120 film by trying to shoot with it, then I welcome you, and just know that this post may make NO sense to you whatsoever.

There is the potential for a HUGE life change for me and my family. On the Richter scale, it's a 16. One of the difficulties of this giant change is that it is 99.999% out of our control. We have been braced, and waiting for the final YES or NO on this change since about July of 2007. The phrase "I promise you will have an answer in two weeks" has been delivered at least four times to us, and every time the two weeks pass and we sit with no answer.

Sounds frustrating, right? You have no idea.

Stupid, seemingly mundane decisions (like, should we buy a Wii?) are on hold. Larger decisions (like, should we buy a new car?) are on hold. Major life decisions (like, do I go into business with another photographer and start doing all of this FOR REAL and FOR MONEY?) are on hold. To make matters worse, I am one of those kinds of people who feel better AFTER a decision is made, I don't normally suffer from loads of post-decision remorse, and I really don't like to have many things in limbo. Decide. Boom. Done. Procrastinate on acting. That's my MO, baybee.

So, to try and cope with this giant and menacing beast, I am putting structure (I know, GASP! What? Structure in Kari's life?) in places where I wouldn't normally, girders to hold up the parts of my life that are normally so fancy-free and flexible. I am throwing myself into photography projects and booking sessions to fill the hours I would normally sit, watching television and nurturing the beast that asks "When will we know? I mean, REALLY know? A solid YES or NO answer so we can really start worrying and celebrating and planning?" I am counting calories and charting my meals to keep my eating habits, which normally are healthy but have deteriorated to a terrible soothing habit lately, under control.

I have made at least one decision that I don't know will improve my overall life situation, but it seems like a quick fix for smaller pains I am suffering- I have taken a new job at the hospital which has a more flexible schedule, access to better benefits, and some nerdy luxuries my current post lacks. Am I going to really like this job? Who knows. Will I like it more than I do my current job? Absolutely- I have little esteem for my current position, so that's not a huge hurdle. If it doesn't seem so bad, why on earth am I stressing about it? Because I have all this completely unfocused stress that has NO PLACE to go, so why not aim it at this?

Good lord. I need to take up boxing or something. According to the calorie website, blogging doesn't burn enough to cancel out the giant cupcake I ate at lunch.

Brush With Brush With Fame...

Man I had a WEEEIRD week (right before I got sick as a dog four weeks ago). I went to my local photography rental folks on Friday to pick up a flash for a photoshoot I had that weekend, and bumped into a guy who was going to be ASSISTING FOR ANNIE LEIBOVITZ in Houston the next weekend. Needless to say I made sure he had my card and a deep understanding of how he could call me to get him coffee, danishes, or hookers or WHATEVER he needed that day and I would auction my child on ebay if it was necessary. He didn't run away or act scared, and fortunately he didn't call as I was on 2 shoots that weekend myself, but STILL!

Then, on Monday when I was returning my rental, I ended up couriering 8 sheets of foamcore and a boom to the Woodlands, and I have the phone number of the FIRST ASSISTANT TO ANNIE LIEBOVITZ programmed in MY phone! Mine! I only called him 11 times. I only hung up right away on 9 of them. I did, however, slip a fist-full of business cards into the foamcore I delivered.

I mean Annie FREAKING Liebovitz, man! How often does that happen?

Medium Format. Yeah, that's right.

For Christmas, one of my friends bought me a Mamiya c220 medium format camera.

Yep. That's right- a FILM camera. Medium format film, to be exact. It takes 120 and 220. (Notice how I say that like I know the difference.)

So, I went today and bought my very first rolls of 120 film (Kodak, one color and one b&w, both 400 iso) and I loaded the color. Then I realized that I was going to have to take a complete stab in the dark about camera settings, as I had NO light meter and my digital was out in the car. Needless to say, I shot two exposures then chickened out until I could do more research and/or get the ancient light meter that my dad gave me to work.

BUT, I also am going to make a coffee table book, but I'm not tellin' you about it because if you know me, you already know what it's going to be about, and I don't want anyone stealing my ideas, yo.

Random Question Archive #6

Your superpower is that you smell like dandelions whenever someone lies. How will you maintain your secret identity?

I will hide in a patch of dandelions? I am starting to regret my interest in the random question generator.

Random Question Archive #5

How tall would you be if you had never cut your fingernails?

Honestly, who comes up with these questions?