This guys is rad.

Tags

Awesome photo, Film, Polaroid 600SE, Vintage Polaroid

Welcome to adorable-ville.

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Adorable, Baby, baby photography, Indianapolis Photographer, newborn, Squishy

So. These are WAYYYYYYY overdue, but better late than never right? Asher (we call him Ash) was born last year (maybe in the summer…) and is basically a bundle of squishy happiness with blue eyes. I’ve known his older bro since he was four months old and he just turned four. One of the great things about my job is getting to stick around and do photographs with families for years. Asher was asleep for about half of this session, so I was able to get some mega-adorable photos of him getting his handsome-rest. Have a look!

Absolutely Beautiful… AND fabulous.

Tags

barbie ken, burmese refugees, coming to a party, Elegant, happy years, Indianapolis Wedding Photography, Modern Wedding Photography, New Years Wedding, Union Station Indianapolis Wedding, Urban Wedding Photography

I have known Matt and Lindsay for quite a while and when they asked me to do photos at their wedding, I was SUPER PUMPED. I mean, hello, look at them, they look like J-Crew Models or a modern version of Barbie + Ken.  Anyway, the best part is that they have become friends of mine over the years and more so through this process – I really am so honored that I got to be part of their big day.

In addition to being ridiculously good-looking and fabulous, they are just incredible people to top it off. They have been amazing friends – coming to a party I had before a big adventure a few years back, and always supporting humanitarian initiatives (even driving down from the North side of town to attend an art opening with a focus on Burmese Refugees). That’s love.

Matt and Lindsay, I wish you two many happy years and had a complete blast at your wedding. It was gorgeous!

I have the best job in the world.

I may have to start a hall of fame. Over the years that I’ve been doing photography, I’ve met some pretty great people. People that have actually become great friends of mine – like the kind that come to art shows and have invested in personal humanitarian efforts of mine. People that will call me when they’re in town to grab coffee and chat about life and send me emails when their children are born (or want me to photograph said children). People that care about refugee integration, human trafficking, and the global water crisis. They’ve made the cross over from client to friend. And I’ve actually accumulated quite a few.

Among the awesome people hall of fame that I get to work with are these two: Alayna and Blake. They got married recently, and were so easy going and fun to work with. Braving the cold weather in the name of photos is how we do. But these two were pretty much up for anything. Tramping across a soggy field. Cool. Crossing the street in heels. No problem. Walking on gravel in heels. Again. No problem. Strapless dress in sub-zero temps. Makin’ it happen.

Here are a few photos from their day.

See more images from this day here.

When ideas come to life.

For those of you who don’t know, my blog absence can [sort of] be attributed to a new project that myself and a few other brave souls have decided to undertake. We’ve decided to create the biggest fuss possible about how Burma is a total crap-shoot country right now and needs to change; also, we’ve decided that we want to tell the stories of a few of the 6,000 Burmese refugees living in Indianapolis. So, it’s been a pretty wild past few months with INDYrefugee (said project). Everything from interviews and trips to Malaysia to seeing the faces of Biak and Suiming (our Indianapolis friends that came to the states 6 months ago after spending more than 3 years as refugees in Malaysia) after giving them gifts from their family (from Malaysia), to administration, to planning a refugee night at the Harrison Center [Dec 2, you should come]. It’s been busy to say the least. But the best part, by far, has been seeing the ideas for telling the stories of Burmese refugees come to life. Seeing the response of the local Burmese community here in Indy that has been overwhelmingly gracious – they are so happy that a small group of artists have decided that everyone in Indy needs to know about what’s happening in Burma and gain a deeper understanding of the lives of Burmese refugees – that has been the most rewarding part of this journey. Anyway, without further ado, here is a favorite image from the project thus far. There are many more to come, but check this lady out. She will be premiering on Dec 2 at the Harrison Center event in all her cuteness.

(photo by Katie, stellar illustration by Joel Rockey)

Her name is Ciang Kok Dob and she is one of the most adorable people ever. I met her at the community centre in Kuala Lumpur. We had waved and said hi in passing quite a lot, but one day I decided that I needed to hang out with her.

As Sang Bawi (one of our translators) and I climbed over rails and the 2 foot wide gap to get to our her building from ours – she laughed at how crazy we were. I was wearing a skirt and had cameras strapped on my back – it was definitely against my better judgement to think I was Tarzan. Next time, we decided, we would take the stairs, go around the building, go back up the stairs, and properly get to the other side of the 6th floor where she lived.

Anyway, as I began talking with her, I quickly realized that she was one of the sassiest women I’d met in Malaysia. I started asking her about her childhood and school, that’s when she told me about beating up boys and getting in trouble for talking. Then, I began to wonder if we were the same person… Anyway, we she allowed me to photograph her and we laughed and laughed. My favorite part was that she wanted to be photographed holding her Bible. Seriously, what a precious lady.

Chelsea + Jay: Engaged

Before winter + frosty windshields swooped into our city, I got to fit in a few last photo sessions which I was really happy about. I am not quite ready for winter, but Mike Dunn and I decided the other night that no matter what, we are going to make this winter awesome. Anyway here are a few photos from my time with Chelsea and Jay this past, past, past weekend. They are just really great folks.

10 Reasons I love Indianapolis.

Tags

Calvin Fletcher Coffee Shop, Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc, Indianapolis, Know No Stranger, La Parada, Neighbor, Outreach Inc., Provocate, Thirst Project

Two weeks ago I returned from an epic photography related adventure/excursion that took me all over Africa, India, and to Malaysia and Thailand (www.thirstproject.org)  So, needless to say, I really wasn’t in all that much of a hurry to get back to Indy where I knew that I had a zillion things to do (the tasks NEVER END!!!!!), people to see and talk to and projects and laundry and bills and what have you. Then I remembered that I was going to be going back to Indy which really is a great city with loads of great things going on and awesome people and shows and parties and camp-fires and s’mores and art shows and coffee and friends and I was reminded that though we may not have the ocean or 70 degree weather year round, that I really love this city – that there are some really amazing and creative and alive people who reside here – then I got super happy and couldn’t wait to get off the plane and see everyone and my family and tell stories and get back into life.

I was in Fountain Square yesterday waiting to meet up with some clients for a photo session and met these two random traveling musicians and struck up a conversation because a. they had an accordion b. they had really neat suitcases they had spread all over the sidewalk and because I get easily distracted by shiny things I couldn’t stop myself from talking with them. They told me that they played a show at Chick-fil-A, which I thought was really weird because, really, who does that? They also told me that they were from PA and were just traveling through and heard that Fountain Square was great so just turned up and I decided to take their picture. >> HERE

It was such a random and great interaction and I just kept looking around and thinking about how much I really do like living in Indianapolis, and here’s a few reasons why (in NO particular order).

10. There is this coffee shop in Fountain Square that I call the “Cheers” of coffee shops because everyone that goes there and works there knows each other and not just like, ‘Hey how’s it going, let me get your coffee’ type of deal, but everyone is friends and hangs out and talks about life and high fives each other and cares about each other and holds each other’s babies and it’s such a great place that me and Courtney often wonder how we ever lived without it. >> you can find them here: www.cfcoffeecompany.com

9. This past Friday I got to chat with an awesome mover and shaker here in Indy named John Clark. He is a dreamer and doer and rallys people and can be found here: www.provocate.org. I got to talk with him about how he is in the process of gathering people here in Indy engage possibilities and plans of reshaping the social consciousness of Indy so that it’s known as a place that has strong involvement in the international community and pushes for social change… he is having a summit in December and inviting everyone in Indianapolis that is currently working on international clean water initiatives to gather and connect and discuss ways to engage our community with the water crisis. I like this. A lot.

8. Then there’s the Harrison Center for the Arts. It’s a collection of artists that reside at 16th and Delaware and it’s such a great place. The HCA artists and staff love the community and care about it and care about people and each other and they use art to bring people together and do great socially minded things all over the place. It’s such a great place, that though they won’t tell you, people come from all over (including other countries) to visit and learn how to use the HCA as a model for non-profit art/community involvement. I have a studio space at the HCA and aside from the fact that they are totally cool with me spray painting the floor hot pink, they genuinely have taken interest in each artist that creates there. And for some reason, that means more than anything to me. www.harrisoncenter.org

7. There is this crazy group of creative people who have banded together and started to convince even the most jaded Indianapolis resident that living here is the best thing there ever was. They are hilarious and brilliant and did I mention hilarious? They have the most amazing logo I’ve ever seen and have variety shows and basically channel their inner seven-year-old selves and make you think that all of life should just be lived as one big party. Check them out: www.knownostranger.com

6. I have a really awesome neighbor who is really good at having fun and making mixed drinks and telling stories and porch sitting and fixing anything that could ever be broken and has a great DVD collection that he likes to share and always has sidewalk chalk on hand. He also comes up with really great ideas like having water balloon fights and going to the taco truck and listening to great tunes and loves old, good, country-music. He even shared his tomatoes with us all summer. He doesn’t have a website or anything, but if you ever come over, you have to meet him. He is the absolute best.

5. There is this amazing Mexican restaurant called La Parada on New York that is one of the best places in the city and has mind blowing guacamole. The couple that owns it are obviously from Mexico and are so happy and friendly that I sort of wish that I worked there. They have a little baby named Alejandro that has the longest eye lashes and is so happy all the time and just hangs out behind (actually under) the front counter in his crib and plays. Now that he’s bigger, he just wonders around the restaurant (that has about 9 tables). I remember this one time when he was really little and his dad walked over and handed him to me because he needed to sweep the floor and I loved that Alejandro’s dad didn’t ask if I wanted to hold the baby, he just gave him to me. I really don’t know why more places aren’t like that. They don’t have a website, but are located at New York and State and you can/should google them.

4. There is an organization called Outreach Inc., and it’s ran by a guy named Eric who is a total rock star and loves his family and staff and other people. They work with young homeless youth here in Indy and have been around for a while. What amazes me is that they somehow have managed to find that perfect balance of constantly moving forward and impacting kids while doing gritty, emotionally intense work – without becoming tired, run-down, or jaded. I like them so much. www.outreachinc.org

3. Heartland Film Festival is SO AWESOME. A few months back I sat with the founder (who happens to be my BFF’s dad) over hookah and I got to hear the entire back story of how Heartland came to life and it was absolutely mind-blowing. It’s so great to know that there is a film festival that has committed itself to seeking out inspiring and positive films and giving out awards for it. They put on a pretty fabulous gala as well. www.trulymovingpictures.org

2. I’ve become obsessed with refugees from Burma lately and the idea of Burma changing politically and the government not sucking and being douche-bags and committing genocide and other ridiculous human-rights offences on the regular (see www.indyrefugee.com). There is a great org. here in Indy called Exodus Refugee Inc. that works with refugees that move here from places all over the world. They have a big and tough job and I can’t imagine all the hurdles they have with cross-cultural transitioning and emotional trauma with refugees. They have been really helpful with the project I’ve been working on to tell the stories of Burmese refugees. They connected me with a family that had just moved to Indy from Burma (via Malaysia) and even connected me with some of their friends that live in Malaysia and work with refugees so I could go there and do more interviews to further the project. They can be found here: www.exodusrefugee.org

1. This may not qualify for a reason that I love Indianapolis, but may be more like just a bonus of living in the city, but I love that I live exactly 22 minutes from the airport. This means that I don’t even have to pre-arrange airport pick-ups and drop-offs. I can just get off the plane and call someone to come and get me. By the time I get my suitcases and get outside, there is no wait. This also works out well as I usually don’t pack for trips less than 3 hours before departure.

Super-fun-awesome gathering of happiness.

The other day

The other day I told Natalie “Sometimes in life it’s just better to NOT know what I’m getting myself into, because then I probably wouldn’t a lot of things.” There is a lot of comfort in not knowing the future. I’m certain that if I had one of those 8-ball things and knew what the future held, I’d curl into the fetal position and never leave my house. I think God was smart to not allow us to know the future.

After Natalie and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur a little over a week and a half ago (after traveling through east Africa and India) with a list of Burmese Refugee’s phone numbers and a suitcase full of cameras, I quickly realized that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and that was really good. It ended up being one of the most challenging weeks I’ve had in my life, or maybe just in a long, long time. It wasn’t the constant heat, severe lack of sleep, or even stress of making sure that the photography job got done well, but it was the people who were overwhelming – in the best way possible.

The first three people we met were named: Sang Hre, Sang Bawi, and Tin Bang Shwe. They are three of the top guys that work at the Centre for Chin Refugees and have such relentless work ethics, a fiery passion to see Burma operate under democracy, strategy and intelligence, organization, determination, and out-of-this-world humor, that our time was split between laughing so hard we were crying, and the other part was actually spent crying. They were so overwhelmingly welcoming, hospitable, and helpful that we simply did not know what to do with ourselves. It’s one thing to have the honor of dealing with pleasant co-workers, but it takes it to an entirely new level when you become such good friends that you can’t imagine how you actually got this far in life without them. They became some of our absolute best friends. Aside from the fact that they can karaoke like NOBODY’S business, throw a birthday party like a champion, know 6 languages, and never sleep, they kept us laughing until we cried. We really didn’t expect to leave Kuala Lumpur having made such great friends. Not to be all dramatic and stuff, but it made it much more difficult to leave knowing we may not see them again.

More than that, the interviews with the refugees. THE INTERVIEWS. Learning about the life is a refugee is not for the faint of heart. Stories of having to flee from the Burmese army at the risk of doing forced labor; bring wrongfully arrested and tortured for two months in the dark re: water boarding, being electrocuted, beaten, and starved; waiting 9 years in limbo to be resettled; and living in the country illegally working all day every day on a farm. In all of the stories that we sat and listened to and all of the faces that we photographed, one couldn’t help but notice that the Burmese refugees all stand in solidarity fighting for their country’s freedom, all have relentless hope, deep resiliency, and have never once complained about having a crappy life. I almost couldn’t handle it.

These past few days off have been great. It’s been good to take the time to think things through and realize that the only way to be is filled with gratitude for having met such amazing people and resolve that I will not stop until their stories are told. Here are a few photos from the recent photo INDYrefugee project endeavor.

Meet Zipporah

It isn’t the first time we’ve been called crazy and it certainly won’t be the last. The past three weeks have been nothing short of absolutely mind blowing. Our team of 9 landed in Uganda three weeks ago with four countries slated in a three week span. WE TOTALLY owned it. Outside of being part of a freaking phenomenal organization: Hello, Thirst Project, I can’t accurately describe the joy that I get from hanging out with absolutely resilient and amazing people around the world, hearing their stories, and having the honor of photographing them. I’ve officially decided that the day I am just snapping photos to snap them and forget that there are fabulous people on the other side of my lens that have beautiful stories to tell, please come and take my camera and hit me over the head with it.

So, yeah, anyway, upon arriving a day later to Uganda than the rest of the team (thank you DELTA for the 5 hour delay that made us miss our connection in Amsterdam… NOT), Natalie (my photo partner in crime/buddy/co-adventurer) and I had to hit the ground running. Somehow we’ve become mildly immune to jet lag and got things rolling pretty quickly. We got into our hotel and early the next morning headed out to a village where the Thirst Project put in a hand pump. That’s where I met Zipporah. Among all the craziness she was just standing with her friends in her freaking awesome green dress grinning from ear to ear and had this “I’m super old and also super awesome and couldn’t be happier that I have clean water” look on her face.  As we got to hear more about her life and story, I was overwhelmed by her resilience. She had 12 children that had died as well as her husband. She also told us that this was the first time in her life that she had clean water. FIRST TIME. I water my flowers with water that I could drink and this was the first time in her life that she didn’t have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn and carry absurd amounts of water from the nearest water source. The phrase “water is life” is becoming more and more real to me these days.

Check facebook for more pix.

And, btw, I probably won’t be posting again for a while, we’re posted up in Kuala Lumpur for the time bring working on www.indyrefugee.com (project on Burmese refugees in Malaysia. HOLLA.