Filming: "Picture Hope"

I'm in the middle of a film project that I'm BEYOND excited about.  It's the second film that I have written the screenplay for, directed, and filmed with my Canon 5D Mark II.  Actually, my Kevin helped me film "Second Sense" (I'll post the video and some pics later) and the fabulous Shaun Labrecque helped me out with this project; in particular, the crucial closing shot that will hopefully cause the audience roll up in the fetal position and cry.  

So I'll be posting the finished film after the competition, but until then I wanted to share some stills from the shoot and explain what it's all about.  The competition is benefiting Dixie Care and Share which is the only homeless shelter in our area.  The shelter has come close to closing its doors because of a lack of operational funding, which is truly terrible and scary.  My film will highlight this problem by giving information about the shelter and statistics on homelessness in our area, while hopefully touching people's hearts through a nice little visual story and beautiful music.  My cast includes my daughter Lux, my niece and nephew Eva and Jordan, and my little sister Aubrie.  

I can't wait to share it with you!

Aubrie and Lux

Beautiful Sun flare that night.

Shaun and our scrappy rigging :)

Finished!

Stay posted for the finished film and come to the Westates competition!

Nectar in a Sieve: Photography Art Project

I mentioned in my previous post the large-scale photography project I'm working on.  Two days ago I completed another character shoot: Rukmani from the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya.

Reasons for choosing Nectar in a Sieve

I was introduced to this novel in a world literature class at Dixie State College.  Knowing nothing before reading it, I didn't have any expectations.  But what I really didn't expect was a broken heart and new love of and appreciation for Indian literature.  It's one of those books that breaks your heart two ways: It shatters it with grief and opens it wide with understanding.  Because of my emotional reaction to this story I wanted to know more about the world situation of the characters and other similar stories.  I ordered more of Markandaya's novels, along with other Indian authors (all of which are unintentionally female) and found a new genre of literature I can't seem to get enough of!  My favorites are Markandaya and Jhumpa Lahiri.

Anyway, I chose this novel because it has wedged its way into the deepest cavities of my heart and is, I think, permanently stuck there.  I wanted to photograph Rukmani because of her undeniably heroic characteristics, their simple qualities making them that much more wonderful.

I also chose this novel because the components were very exciting to me: Indian model, clothing, and accessories (bangles, saris, bindis!), and the outdoor location I had to find that represented visually what the novel related textually.  That meant finding a "green India" juxtaposed with  "Western industry" or something like it.

 Pre Photo Shoot

--Consideration #1: Finding a model.  I had a very hard time, in this land of diversity (sarcasm, hahaha) finding Indian women on my college campus who were available and willing to model.  Basically, I didn't find one.  My model is not Indian, but her skin and hair tones are going to work beautifully.  And I have Photoshop :)

--Consideration #2: The location.  UGGH.  I settled for Staheli Farms in Washington Fields because the remnants of alfalfa are still green in the foreground while we have a bunch of industrial junk in the background.  However, it took me days to receive permission.  Basically, I have a big Photoshop job ahead of me, making the background look like an Indian Village, rather than red-rocky St. George.

--Consideration #3: Props.  Sari, makeup for bindi and vermillion, bangles, sandals, undershirt for sari, and a variety of "growing things."  I found most of these items with help (thanks Myrianne!) but some will have to be manipulated in Photoshop.  For example, I need more vines around my squashes, etc. 

--Problem #1: Lighting equipment not functioning properly during photo shoot.  I had been telling Kevin earlier that day that I have yet to do a photo shoot where the lighting equipment works.  It's so infuriating!!!

Post Photo Shoot

I'm very happy with how everything turned out.  I have one image in particular that is stunning; that I'm over the moon about.  It will be the one I use in the art show and calendar.  The Photoshop work is what will really make these particular images authentic and beautiful, especially additions of more visual symbolism from the novel.  In the meantime, I'm excited to share a few outtakes from the shoot.  Danielle Wolverton came and assisted (thank you!) and the lovely and expressive Falon Victorian was my young Rukmani model.  

Danielle prepping the scene

Trying to get Falon's hair to cooperate

Danielle trying to make the sari and the wind get along

She was seriously a great assistant!

I hoped that the rows of alfalfa would eventually translate to rows of vegetables.

I wanted red chilies but couldn't find any.  I will probably color correct later.

Rice is a major character in the novel and it was important to me to have it in the shot.

Finished!

Thanks to these two wonderful women for their fantastic modeling/assisting!

  I'm SO excited to share the "money shot" with you when everything is said and done.  This project is truly a collaborative effort that has already involved so many wonderful people.  I'm so thankful for what we're creating together!

Photography Art Project: Female Literary Characters

So.

I'm a very involved member of Sigma Tau Delta (National English Honor Society) on Dixie State campus.  Yes, our acronym is STD.  We have STDs on campus.  I am actually wearing a STD t-shirt right now.  Sometimes, I go to STD meetings and drink STD drinks and eat STD snacks.  Awesome.

Anyway, I had this idea last year to do a large-scale fundraiser for our club (our conference is in New Orleans this year--very expensive for us all to go).  I thought it would be cool to photograph students and faculty of the English department as female literary characters and sell the images in a calendar around campus and town.

Since last year, this project has grown wings and has become something much larger than a little calendar.  I've only recently begun the actual shoots and am loving it.  My new idea is to present the images as an art show, much like my mentor and hero Alexia Sinclair does with her collections of photography.  She's actually the one who inspired the idea in the first place.  You really must check out her Regal Twelve and Royal Dozen masterpieces.

I'm going to write about the shoots I'm doing for this project as they happen.  So far, I've photographed three models for my Nancy Drew photo shoot and one model for my Persepolis shoot.  The list of characters I'll be doing is as follows:

Claudia: Interview With a Vampire

Rebecca, Mrs. Danvers, Unnamed Protagonist: Rebecca

Lizzie Bennett: Pride & Prejudice

The Lady of Shalott: The Lady of Shalott

Rukmani: Nectar in a Sieve

Nancy Drew, Bess, George: Nancy Drew Series

Kamala: Siddhartha

Portia: The Merchant of Venice

Hester Prynn: The Scarlett Letter

Celie: The Color Purple

Helen Hirsh: Shindler's List

Marjane: Persepolis

 I chose these characters based on: a) Love of the story b) Strong characters I admire c) Fun, colorful types of characters that would be challenging and interesting to represent through photography.


Here are a couple of outtakes with the beautiful Trisha representing Marjane Satrapi.  The finishing on all the images is what will make or break them, but Persepolis in particular because it is a graphic novel.  I'm still working on the perfect formula for the post-processing on all of these images.  Anyway, here is Trisha:

And then I have Marissa, Haley, and Lindsay representing George, Bess, and Nancy Drew:

I'm excited to present the finished images (these are NOT the finished images) as an art show, later next year when all twelve are completed.  This Friday is the Rukmani shoot and I'm really excited.  She's one of my favorite literary characters on the list and I can't wait to get her juuuuuuuuust right.

Can't wait to share them all when they're done!

Prisms

I decided I wanted a blog.  We'll see how long it lasts.  There are times I want to tell everyone about things I find awesome, or awesome things I find.  There are times I tell them to myself in the mirror.  Which means that this blog may be another reflection of my own voice, to myself.  Hopefully it will bounce off other spaces on its way back to me. 

It's nice being heard either way and I think recognizing my own voice, even if it's a reflection, will be a step in the right direction.

 Today, I did these things:

-Made a vegan meal of acorn squash, brown rice, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
-Created 10 Christmas card templates for K Hulett Photography.
-Created a blog.
-Danced around the house with Haze.
-Made a play dough bust with pink braided hair, while my daughter Lux made pooping butt cheeks out of hers (talk about creativity).

I found this picture of myself while looking for a background image:

 I'm cooking blueberry granola pancakes in Truchas, New Mexico.  I loved this day, this dress, and these delicious pancakes.

This image expresses what I want to do with my blog: make pancakes and share them with people, hopefully wearing a tourquoise dress with a braid in my hair.


I'd love to make them for you sometime :)