Early late night

Together with my partner in crime, Ben Young, we threw a 'winter blues' party and used the studio as the venue. It was a great mix as ben invited all of his artistic friends, and I invited all of my burning man friends, and we set up the photo booth. The party was so successful that the cops came twice before 8:30. It was nice to go to a party in our tiny hamlet of Ketchum where you didn't know everybody.

Our theme for the party was inspite of everything, yes! bring food, bring drink, bring inspiration. We coined it the "bring bring" party. I brought my hats from world travels and let people get crazy in the photo booth.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's all about hanging out with friends and being grateful. It's also a good reminder to stop looking at the things that we don't have, and take stock and be happy with what we do have. By the way, have you seen the movie, The Secret?

I spent this past Thanksgiving at my friends Rob and ML's house. I've known them for a long time, and Rob is a fellow photographer so it's nice to talk shop with someone in town. Rob spent all day cooking and drinking, and ML made hats for us to choose whether we were a Pilgrim or an Indian. I was a pilgrim and I'm not sure if they drank Cosmopolitans back then, but we certainly did. Oh and we had prime rib, too, and home made apple pie.

a Mac Daddy Apple Pie

Halloween in Seattle

Once again I found myself with Shanti, visiting friends Brad and Nancy (The Royal Tenenbaums) who were hosts to a big urban Halloween party with Ouchmyeye Productions in Seattle. We weren't sure what to expect, but we knew we were in for a good time. We arrived the day before to help set up the party, which was fun because we felt like it was our party too (the free entrance for being coat check girls wasn't so bad either)

We even managed to squeeze in a protest march all through Korea town to Pioneer Square. It was actually one of the Buried Life's 100 things on their list, but where are they?

The Royal Tenenbaums aka Brad & Nancy

Just a few weeks after their stint in Ketchum, The Buried Life boys were wrapping up their tour and joined us at the party. It was fun to have four young chaperones to ward off the urban freaks that took my naughty schoolgirl outfit seriously. The boys came as a boy band and even perfected a dance routine and Jonny got down in a dance-off with "Prince".

Photo Plus Expo in NYC

New York is an amazing place; I could never live there, but I will say that Giuliani did a good job of cleaning it up. Although there are thousands of things to do there, my main purpose of going to New York was for the Photo Plus Expo. And I had miles.

The trade show is basically three days of geeking out with seminars, new products, and learning about all the new develpments in photography. I went to seminars and soaked up information from Denis Reggie, Bambi Cantrell, David Jay, Joe Buissink, and Kevin Kubota. Found a great company that can print coffee table books one at a time, and use those now for my wedding albums. Brides are flipping over them! Oh yeah, and my other purpose to come to New York, was a "What Not To Wear" style makeover as per my friend Shanti. So I also hit 5th ave, and dropped some coin on some threads.

After doing a quick switcheroo in the bathroom after the trade show friday (had an evening top and earings -thanks Shanti) went to the after parties and met great people, and hopped in a cab with them and ended up at the Digital Railroad party in Tribeca. Felt totally safe to leave whenever I wanted and walk to the subway. But those fancy heals don't last 15 hours! 

Love the subways! It's like a pinball machine. You go down, and you can pop up anywhere! Then go down, and pop up somewhere else again! And I love the street musicians! I saw everything from a 12- piece horn band, to a one-man show banging on plastic buckets.

After popping up in Central Park, I rented rollerblades and cruised around to all the above ground street musicians. Loved the jazz trio.

I even found myself singing (a talent usually reserved for strickly inside the comfort of my own shower) all these songs that came to mind like "On Broadway" "42nd Street", whenever the subway would come to, say, Broadway or 42nd Street.

Luckily the stage was saved for my friend Erin who performs her comedy cello act all around Manhattan. We saw her at the Bleeker St. Theater, and wow, can she sing! She's great and is definately going to be famous one day. Check her out at erinandhercello.com

A big thanks to friends Steve and Erica for letting me stay on their couch, in their very small apartment in South Chelsea. 

The Buried Life Boys visit Ketchum

So, Shanti, who knows everybody it seems, helps manage a group of four fine young Canadian lads named Dave, Ben, Duncan, and Jonny, who have a list of 100 things to do before they die; they call themselves "The Buried Life" - an antithesis to all the dreams that seem to get buried along the way. Kind of the opposite of "Jackass".

And what would a group of guys trying to conquer the world be without their huge purple bus to take them from place to place in pursuit of accoumplishing each task?, (along with a film crew entourage of course for their tv show) 

Among the 100 things to do, was to catch something and eat it. So we accompanied them on their fishing lesson and hung out with the film crew. This was Dave's task in particular, and as a practical joke, the other three guys rigged Dave's hook so it was impossible to catch anything. They didn't spill the beans until after everyone else had caught one, and although Dave was pretty frustrated, it was great entertainment for the rest of us. 

Kathy (a fellow paraglider!! yeahy) listens in on the joke

My next venture with the boys was to go along with them as they practiced on a mechanical bull in preparation for Dave's other wish, to ride a real bull! I gave it a whirl, but after that episode, I think I'll leave the mechanical bulls to the next lifetime. ug. 

Summer Wrap-Up

This summer was full of workshops, weddings, fires, and interns. Jonathan Kingston traveled from Bend, Oregon and taught some Photoshop classes in the gallery/studio. About 8 people attented it as an intensive workshop over the weekend.

Brooks intern Brandon Hauser assisted as second shooter and was on hold for tech-support whenever I needed him. A nature boy at heart, he loved climbing mountains and shooting the fires (see photo below). He was also great at lifting heavy objects and turning heads at weddings. My relationship with Brandon was part boss, part mentor, part friend, and part mom. Brandon is now graduated and just got a job in Alaska. Good luck Brandon!

For those of you who didn't hear, Ketchum was under siege for 2 weeks, as forest fires forced 3,000 people to evacuate their homes and businesses. The town had 1,700 firefighters camped out a the base of the mountains, and thanks to them not a single life or structure was lost. Thanks firefighters!!

Finally, the biggest wedding of the summer was downsized from 400 people to just 40 close friends and family at the parents' house because of the fires, and the family donated all the food from the reception to the firefighters. They were served filet mignon and vishyssoise, and they said they loved the steak, but why was the soup cold?

Birthday in Bali

In early May, I went to Bali for my 41st birthday, and was accompanied by my friend Shanti and her friend Maria, who is the Fashion Editor for Women’s Health Magazine. 

Shanti, Maria, & me

We spent part of the time with friends Christina, Brad, and their new baby Charlie, and then stayed a week out at Mick's Place, a resort that's recognized as the perfect Balinese getaway for weddings, surfing, and yoga. I couldn't leave the infinity pool. 

this was actually shot FROM the infinity pool!

we hit the clubs for my birthday after pizza and chocolate cake!

I faded early at 4 am - couldn't hang with the professionals

the rice terraces near Ubud

body washing before cremation ceremony

Shanti went to high school with a girl named Tara who, fortunately for us, happened to marry the Prince of Ubud. Ubud is a town in the center of Bali, known for its scenic fields, small villages, and ancient temples. Because of this connection, we spent time with the royal family and even got to experience a cremation ceremony and a purification ceremony that came complete with a body washing.

Some people mourned openly during the cremation ceremony and overall, it seemed like a very healthy tradition to take part in. The mood was surprisingly light, with people taking time to eat, drink, talk on their cell phones, and of course show of their new clothes, which made it seem like more of a social gathering than anything. You’ve got to love a country that prides itself on men wearing skirts and flowers in their hair.

For more photos check out thiakonig.com/bali
Click here for pictures of Tara’s house (which she rents out for weddings)

Vegas, Baby!

This past March, I was flown to Las Vegas to help out as a second shooter with my photog friend Michelle, who shoots large VIP events. While she was busy getting the VIP "grip and grins", I had the freedom to be more artistic and "behind the scenes" with my shots - just up my alley!

We stayed in the center of the action (at least for the Champ Car races - which made a loop around old downtown) at the Golden Nugget Hotel, which had a shark tank in the middle of the pool, with - get this - a water slide running through the middle of the shark tank! Only in Vegas, baby!

Big and Rich - now a huge fan!

We shot everything from galas, street concerts, celebrity poker games, to motorcycle stunts, and champ car races. The champ car races were the noisiest and smelliest experience to date. Uh, does anybody have any earplugs?

We were given backstage passes to a Big and Rich concert leading us to the front row where all the action was ( I am now officially a huge fan). Unfortunately I didn't have the same access to the champ car races, which forced be to sneak into the pit and play clueless when an official kicked me out. I snuck in 3 times, so good thing they were all different officials, or my act wouldn't have worked.

Downtown on Freemont St is a 3 block long canopy/video screen, that hosted the most amazing "slide show" I've ever seen.....

The incredible thing about photography is that you can dive into a scene and immerse yourself in it; the challenge is always to capture something people haven't seen before. It's almost like a game I really get a buzz off of. Click here for more pics of Vegas!

Vegas: 4 days of shooting, 3 pairs of earplugs, 2 tickets to "O", and one $50 bill lost on 21.

Studio Opening

Photos Do Not Bend is a unique combination of a fine art gallery and a full-service studio. As a gallery, we specialize in traditional silver gelatin prints (the kind that are printed by hand in an actual darkroom from film) and alternative processes of photography (such as infrared film and manipulated Polaroids). Come by for gallery walk 6-9 pm on seleted evenings.

In addition to shooting special events and portraiture on location, custom framing is available for both the fine art on the walls, and the assignment work that is created for you.



Photos Do Not Bend opened seven years ago as a gallery, but as time went on, I realized it had the potential to be more. In January of 2007, I started to rock the space as both a gallery and a studio. In order to have the ability to switch back and forth, I designed some equipment that would make it an effortless reality.

I designed a piece of furniture on wheels that is a print bin for the gallery on one side, and holds studio equipment on the other.  With the pull-down paper, and this print bin on wheels, I'm able to switch back and forth from gallery to studio, and back again in ten minutes. 

As a gallery, it’s a showcase for my personal work as well as for other guest artists that I host from time to time. As a studio, no matter what the weather is doing outside, we can shoot. We specialize in small precious objects, such as babies and children.

What I love about this gallery/studio is that it’s a place where I can hold court; it’s a home for my work. Even if no one buys a print, my hope has always been that it’s a place where I can inspire people.



Photos Do Not Bend is a versatile place, a forum for ideas where we often host workshops, and even some late night parties where we bring the community's artistic minds together. Come in and buy some photographic art that speaks to you, or get inspired to go off and shoot your own work.