Friday, November 16, 2007

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Something Else I've Been Doing

An African-American Museum is opening just down the street from our place and a large, one block mural by the artist Eddie Walker is going up. I'm documenting some of the local residents who the artist wants to include on the page. Check out Ms. Frankie, my neighbor. She's in her 80s and has been in the hood for at least 60 years.

http://communitymuralprojects.blogspot.com/

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Christina Mallet Photography

Christina Mallet Photography is trying to get the web page reindexed to show recent updates. Dear webbot, please go to www.christinamallet.com

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Ritual Balance

Now that I'm keeping pretty busy with a steady flow of shoots, on the order of 5-6 a week concentrated into 3 days, I'm finding work life balance is a lot harder than I expected.
Even with SuperNanny here twice a week and the grandma one day a week, I can't get all my work done, entertain boyboy, vacuum in pumps and have dinner waiting when Alex gets home. The house stuff, well that's just a fact of life--I'm never going to be June Cleaver. But my boyboy, well he's my boyboy and so the guilt I'm feeling about not always being mentally or physically present is probably something I best act on.
I'm thinking getting out of the house and letting everything fall to the side 2 days a week might be the way to go. Sorry Alex.
I've been brainstorming ideas for rituals that boyboy and I could do together, rituals that are mutually entertaining and get us out of the house.
I really want Xander to have a sense that this city is his--that he knows it as a local and not a tourist, which is why I thought it might be cool to take the bus (a 5 minute ride from home) to Pike Place once a week to do a bit of grocery shopping.
I loved the fact that as a child we went to the market often--fond memories indeed.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Katrinka's Secret--Boudoir Photography, Seattle


Katrinka's been pretty busy lately, in fact more so than Christina.

This is cool, very cool, because Katrinka has helped Christina find her niche in a city full of photographers, many of them fighting for kids, families and preggo ladies. Don't get me wrong, Christina loves photographing these sorts but if she wants to differentiate herself, she needs to do something that no one else is doing.

So... if you want to some liberating fine art shots, either for yourself or your significant other, come see Katrinka and help her donate to a good cause. For the month of October, she's donating 25% of boudoir sales to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Katrinka's Secret, Boudoir Photography, Seattle.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

My Husband, My PR Agent

Alex has a blog post about the latest photog stuff I did. Check it out HERE.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Xander does Urban




Crazy Color



HDR is my new "I wish I could spend more time learning about that" thing. You take multiple exposures of a scene and then merge it all into one file, creating crazy out of this world color.

This is my first go at it, it's a bit rough, and as you can see, I have yet buy the software required.

This is the view from our bedroom balcony.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Amazon.com's Support of Animal Fighting

My love of Amazon has gone cold.

Did you know Amazon sells animal fighting magazines? See here for the full story: http://www.hsus.org/

Let's do our part, being the web savvy people we are, and send Jeff Bezos an email telling him to stop selling magazines that support illegal and cruel practices.

Use the below link to send your mail to him

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_amazon_fighting3/

Friday, August 24, 2007

Interesting Upcomings

Work has been coming in at a steady pace, to the point where finding a nanny a few days a week is about to become urgent.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a record 6 shoots in one week. A few nudes via my other 'secret' site www.katrinkas-secret.com, a maternity session, some family gigs and one really sad shoot I did for Soulumination. A little 5 day old at Children's Hosp.--they were taking him off life support and I was there to document a small bit of his short life with his family.

Tonight I'm shooting a living wake for a terminally ill gentleman. Tomorrow a Senior and a baby and then get this: drum roll please
I'm doing a two day shoot for a the white house committee on anti drug use. I'm shooting 5 people who have been effected by Meth use. The shots will be displayed during National Drug Recovery Month, aka September. How I was chosen for this... it beats me but I'm pretty geeked about it.

Strange photographic juxtapositions abound, from sick newborns, to terminal adults, to pregnant ladies, to families and then naked ladies.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Xander's Party


What the hell is going on?


Scanning for cupcake predators.


Loving cake with the ladies.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Monday, August 06, 2007

Where have I been?

Status Report:

Moving: All boxes are mostly unpacked, or out of sight, with the exception of MY clothes. I find this quite telling as to what motherhood can mean for someone once obsessed with her closet. Forget your own stuff. It will sit in boxes for months, quite possibly 12 months. Unpacking will happen only as you realize you've washed everyone else's clothes before your own and now you have to open a box to find something clean, but very wrinkled, to wear.
But it doesn't fit because your boobs are still to big and you haven't unpacked the junk in your trunk.

Neighborhood: Drugs. They might have been fun at one time, but now they're just annoying. We have two major drug depots on each side of our block. To the west we have pot, to the south west we have crack in addition to people clearly not taking their AIDS cocktails, and shootings--there was one last week.

Inside of the house: I love love love this house.

Inside of the the inside of the house: we could quite possibly have ghosts. Remember the boots they found in the lath and plaster? Well, inside of these was a death notice. This note was revealed to me a few days before moving in, only after the person who found the boots was confident I didn't believed in ghosts. I guess I said I didn't.

Business: I'm not sure what happened. Maybe advertising is paying off or it's blind luck, but I'm at the point where I'm going to have to turn away business or be very 'exclusive' with my bookings. Kinda of cool but also kinda of bad because it means time away from the boy (not only shooting but the time it takes to post-process) and that makes me feel really bad.

That's a good enough update, right? more and photos of the new / old(1905) digs later.

The Husband has been good at keeping the internet abreast to the recents: See his posts here

Friday, July 06, 2007

New Website

My new website just went live. Tell me what you think, if you don't mind. www.christinamallet.com

Friday, June 29, 2007

Blog!

Blog, blog blog blog blog blog blog.

blog?
Blog!

"Blog!"

In other news:
The house is close-ish to being done. After more than two months of remodeling we're on the last stretch, painting and floors.
Fact: The house was built in 1905.
Fact:Apparently it's common to find things in the walls of old homes, like skeletons, which is exactly what we found.

Not really.

However, they (contractor & his people) found a pair of old boots, a lining for a hat, and a tube top sort of bra in the wall. All of which has got to be 100 years old.

There are exactly 2 toilets and 3 pedestal sinks in front of our garage in a large crate, which I'm told weighs 600 lbs.
Why I had them delivered here, when they are for the other house? well, that's beyond me.

I'm shooting a wedding this weekend.

The end.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Confession

Dear Lord of UrbanHip,

I have a confession. Forgive me, for I have sinned. I have broken the UrbanHip commandment to resist the temptation for all things suburban, no matter how convenient they might be.

Will you forgive me? For I am now the not so proud card holder of the scary gym in the suburbs.

I had to do it. I needed to do it. I needed some me time.

Was the fact that I know one of boyboy's caregivers and one was a nice lady from Ghana, who's actually from Alex's dad's tribe, a sign from you?

This sin is my last. I promise to never cross the line again--cul-de-sacs and mini-vans will never tempt me.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Scary Gym Part II

After BoyBoy's meltdown at The Scary Gym I considered switching to their second location, a much larger and fully equipped location, in Bellevue.

It's so huge it quite possibly requires its own hydroelectric dam. This metropolis in the suburbs is complete with, a spa, salon, a botox spa, and super duper daycare that allows you to leave your BoyBoy and go off-site. This seemed like a glorious option given I get 2-3 hours a week of alone time, when Mrs. Doubtfire comes.

Well, it wasn't meant to be. We went there yesterday to sign on the dotted line but I chickened out and decided to stay urban.

I'm left with 2 conclusions.
1. I'm a really amazing and self-less mom because there is no way in hell I'll leave BoyBoy there.
2. I'm incredibly stubborn when it comes to maintaining my urban cool and giving in to suburban conveniences.

The reasons behind my super self-less momitude:
I suffered a bought of post-traumatic-stress upon entering--I went to daycare from 6 weeks on and hated it (Mom, if you're reading this, don't)--everything about this place reminded me of what I hated as a kid, namely:
no natural light,
feeding assembly lines,
and kids were aimlessly spinning in circles with nothing to do.


And for my "keep it cool, keep it urban" reasoning:
The art is horrendous. Imagine commissioning Thomas Kincade and The Happy Painter to paint scenes of a rainbow of people working out, children engaging story time at the daycare, and for a fantasy art experience, a triptych of a gymnast spinning in outer space, an outer space which happens to include Mt. Rainier. This art, hung like masterpieces (I'm talking huge prints), is everywhere.
The carpet is totally Las Vegas casino.
The parking garage is filled with BMWs, Mercedes and Mini-Vans, all of which freaks me out--it's a rich breeder gym.
Their spa is decorated like a Roman Bath, unfortunately minus the vomitorium, and has the following treatments: The Journey to the Fountain of Youth, The Royal Journey, and the Gentleman's Journey.

So, I'm sticking with the big city version of the scary gym which has natural light, views of the city scape, and a very tiny daycare.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Portraits of Hope at SIFF

If you're lucky enough to be going to The Seattle International Film Festival, consider taking in the documentary Portraits of Hope about Soulumination, the foundation I recently became a shooter for.


Portraits of Hope
USA, 2007,
8 Minute Running Time
US Premiere Genres: Documentary, Social Issues
Monday, June 04, 7:00 PM Egyptian Theatre
Lynette Huffman Johnson’s calling is to capture the sweetest moments at the most difficult times, in very touching portraits of children who are dying and their families.
DIRECTOR: Jon Ward
Producer: Jon Ward
Editor: Jon Ward
Screenwriter: Jon Ward
Cinematographer: Jon Ward
Music: Kyle Grimm

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Red Tricycle & Me

Check out a photog write up on me at red-tricycle

If you're a Seattle parent, this site is the uber-duberist for all things hip in the breeding world.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Weighting

So, there's this rumor going around in the breeding world that nursing your young will make the pounds miraculously drop. Sure, this works in the first few weeks and month post delivery but after that, they fail to tell you that women who were thin prior to conceiving are more likely to hold onto 5, 10, even 20 lbs of baby weight. Exhibit one: Me.

I gained 50-55 lbs with Xander. Mind you he was a hefty fellow, weighing in at 9lbs 3 ounces, but I had... well... let's call is xtra, with a lowercase x.

Many many pounds departed, 35 to be exact, by the time Mr. X was 2 months.

The remainder, well, they've refused to leave.

When I say refuse, I mean it.

Case in point: I've paid for 5 weeks of not so great tasting diet food. Stuck to it for 2 weeks (okay, I cheated a wee wee bit..... occasionally (substituting 3 fruits for an evening glass of wine). What do I have? A new scale, to prove the first one wrong, which it turns out was not lying or faulty. After days and days of no more than 1500 calories, my jeans are the same and well, it's just... uhm... kind of depressing.

This is the point in the story where I Google like mad to prove that there's some reason beyond me to blame.

After numerous oracle searches .... Enter: post-partum weight loss... no weight loss breast feeding... weaning and pregnancy weight loss... I've come to learn that my body is likely revolting and storing stores for the drought or more appropriately, the famine.

I'm probably divulging too much, not only boring but too personal, stuff for the internet but this is a public service announcement: 1. don't believe the hype about nursing weight loss 2. if you were thin before hand and haven't lost a portion of the flub, it will/might/should/god please! fall off when you wean the lad or lass, or, at least that's my excuse.

Meanwhile, a giant box of uneaten, not so edible, diet food is waiting for the day the boy is weaned. Or, that's at least what I'd like to think.

The Walking Boy & Belly Dancing Man



Yesterday was Alex's 33rd birthday.
I smile because, well... it's his day & it's pretty cool when someone you adore has a day.
In addition:
1. Xander walked, unassisted.
2. I had visions of my husband belly dancing in Marrakesh, which you can see came true.



Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Separation Anxiety

Yesterday, I came to realize the power and safety of 'Mother'.

There was a spot in the day care at The Scary Gym so we went for it. Ms. Doubtfire was sick this week so this was my one chance for alone time. Turns out it wasn't meant to be. See, there's this thing we're experiencing called 'separation anxiety'.

After 40 minutes of catching up on my Hollywood smut mags while attempting to sweat, I saw the daycare lady coming my way. If I was a filmmaker and this was my movie, everything would decelerate as a low and slow "NOOOOOOO" bellowed out of me.

Turns out the boy was having an extended meltdown--he'd been at it since I left.

Daycare lady's words "He won't calm down--you need to come now".

This is the part where I started to realize how being a mother is instinctual and hijacks you on all levels when something isn't right. I wanted push day care lady out of my way in true Momma Bear fashion and run to my boy but managed to maintain my cool with a friendly conversation about the weather.

I got to my guy with out hurting anyone in my path and found him indeed out of sorts. He had been crying so long that he had that gaspy hiccup shudder thing going on, which continued for another hour.

Later on, while reading about separation anxiety, my heart hurt, not just for my boy who was so worried I wasn't coming back, but also for all the little people in this world who don't have somebody. I kept imagining all the kids who don't ever experience separation anxiety or who have a never ending version because they don't have a sense of safety with a parent or caregiver.

Remodeling Shopping List

2 toilets
1 shower faucet
1 kitchen sink
1 kitchen sink faucet
kitchen cabinets and knobs
9 lighting fixtures
1 window

Shopping of this sort... not fun.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

The Photos from Last Week's Shoot

Two of the photos from the family I photographed last week for Soulumination are up on there site. Check um out here www.soulumination.org/blog.html

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Soul Work

I'm not big on telling the world what sort of charitable and good things I'm up to because I think it's corny and distracts from the real issue, the cause, but I'm going to shout out about this because maybe someone reading this Christonicle will know someone who can benefit from the work of this foundation or has something to give (Benjamins) to keep the foundation going.

So, I'm now a volunteer firefighter, uhm... I mean volunteer photographer for Soulumination www.soulumination.org, which was founded by an amazing photog lady named Lynette Johnson. Soulumination provides professional portraits for families with children afflicted with life-threatening illnesses or ill parents at the end of their life.

I had my first shoot this past week and I was pretty nervous and wondering what I would walk into. Sometimes the shoots can be in hospital rooms but I was lucky, this one was at the people's home.
How did it go? It was great. We all had fun and I felt honored to be able to use my talent to create a lasting snapshot of a family which might be minus one member way too soon.

I can't show you the photos because of privacy issues and because the images are the property of the family and Souluminations. In the near future, I do imagine that this family's bio and their photos will be up on the Soulumination website or on Lynette's blog. Stay tuned.

Why did I do this? Because I can. And really, what's not great about making beautiful portraits of people who really want them? I've preserved something for them, something no doctor or god can, a tangible bit of life that will live as long as the photo paper does. And that my friends, is pretty dang cool.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

A Day at the Beach

Dolls and Balls

The Mother and Father agree there are gender differences but the mother would like to keep the gender bias' to a minimum so on a trip to buy new toys for The Boy, The Mother buys him a doll to go with his new ball.

Shockingly, to The Mother at least, The Father's reaction is "no way, my boy is not playing with dolls".

The Mother and the creepy looking doll win.

The discussion that follows:

The Mother: If we had a girl would you object to her playing with trucks?
The Father: I wouldn't encourage it.

The Mother is so shocked because The Father's gender demon had never revealed itself until this day of balls and dolls.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

New Digs



Here's a mask/totem pole thingy at a cool park by our new house. Oh wait, I never mentioned......we, uhm.... bought a house.


It's in Judkins Park (the heart of the Central District), about a mile from our current house.


We're remodeling, and ridding the place of green paint, and will be in it sometime at the end of May.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Have cold, no insects

Yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered I heard a story that really made me sad. The thought of pretty little song birds starving had me up last night. Apparently migratory birds in the midwest are starving due to the cold snap. I found this guy's blog, which has some photos and interesting info on the topic.

If you have snow now, please put out some food for these little birds!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Mrs. Doubtfire

Mrs. Doubtfire is our new babysitter, or nanny, or surrogate great aunt or something.
She came for two hours today while I raced through two sets of client proofs.

She's 65, wears glasses, drives a van, and has 16 grandchildren.

She says words like Cutey Patootey and knows all the children's books we have almost by heart.

I was never a serious babysitter as a kid, tween or any other age so I was totally unprepared for what a serious babysitter, nanny, surrogate aunt with 16 grandchildren expects from a mother.

She expected things, things I did not provide or even mention. oops.
Through the office vents I could tell she was running out of tricks around minute 30.

Come to learn, the location of food, milk, diapers, wipes, are pretty important things to know. (relax, I had just fed, changed, napped and nursed him).

Mrs. Doubtfire is coming again tomorrow. :)

Happy Easter, Spring, Passover, What-Have-You



Just an impromptu Xander portrait as we raced out the door to Bainbridge Island yesterday. Too bad we left his shoes on and that the backdrop didn't extend out to cover the carpet--I have the cats to thank for that. They peed and pooped on it when someone accidentally left the cat door locked while parking a motorcycle in the garage. At least they went on the paper backdrop instead of the carpet.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Scary Gym

My gym is scary.
It's a super pish posh place and almost everyone working out is employed by The Empire.
That said, it's a good thing I don't go too often because the level of swank-i-tude creeps me out. (Example: They have a monthly magazine that gets mailed out to all members. There are quite possibly 35 advertisements for cosmetic dentistry, 49 for laser treatments, 17 plastic surgery clinics, and a handful of diamond jewelers)
I've made a point to wear 'non-workout' attire when I work out--it's my own form of gym rebellion. Today, I wore maternity gauchos (no, I'm not pregnant) and a t-shirt that says "I'm a Super-Duper Programmer" (Alex refuses to wear it) and grey tennis shoes with bright white socks.

Another random bit: We had to introduce ourselves in the class I'm taking and tell where we worked. After awhile I felt like I was in a twelve step program. After 20 or so "Hi I'm Joe and I work at Microsoft".

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Hey, Look! It's Me

I'm a mom on the block at TheFamilyGroove.com

1. Yes, I did write the blurb
2. No, it wasn't my idea to right about blossoms, it was the groovy peoples'
3. I'm wearing goggles not because it's the latest in grooviness, but because they are my onion chopping protective gear