Christonicle

Opposional Blogger Syndrome

2010-02-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

A new version of the DSM came out last week and I've found a name for my affliction, Oppositional Blogger Syndrome.

The characteristics of this syndrome are repeated and sporadic bursts of blogging, with promises to never again let so much time lapse between posts.

There may also be promises of grand and excitingly creative daily posts (e.g. photo blogging).

No offense to anyone to who's reading this but let me be honest, I'm not doing this for you and that one other reader out there. I'm doing this for me because I desperately need to find a way to channel daily creativity. Some might say that's ridiculous considering I'm a professional photographer but shooting for a job is more about problem solving then creativity.

Maybe signing up for a daily online photo + journaling prompt is in order.

I'm thinking of doing this: The Poetic Eye, Point & Shoot Journaling: Daily Inspirations

New Katrinka Site--Tis Live!

2010-01-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

The Amazing Shanda, of Pixel Soup Creative, just launched the new Katrinka site she designed. I love it.

Please check it out!

http://www.katrinkas-secret.com/

A Generation, past.

2010-01-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

My Grandmother, Helen, my mom's mom, died yesterday.
I rarely saw her, was never close to her and therefore didn't know her well so to say I'm mourning would be dishonest. I do however feel sad for my mom, my Aunt Sheila and my Uncle Jess.
They lost their mom and that, regardless of your age, has got to be so hard.
Sometimes I think about my own death. Leaving this world will is something I fear becuase it means I'll be leaving my Xander alone in this world. Regardless of how old he'll be, a grown man I hope, it makes my heart hurt.

Helen, my Grandmother.

My Mom, Sheryl, and my Grandmother.

01/15/2010

2010-01-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Xander's school does an annual MLK march but this year it was canceled because some whackjob called the middle school next door threatening to kill kids.
Recipe for canceled march = SWAT everywhere + buildings on lockdown +o ne stupid psycho with either a love of prank phone calls or a serious mental disorder, potentially both.
So the march was inside the school, which was a bummer.
I had planned to be the MWAC (mother with a camera) with the mad professional flare and skills but alas, I only made the 5'o'clock news.

Love, it's good!

This boy is apparently haunted by vampires. Peace is all he wants you blood suckers!

01/14/2010

2010-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

Today was grey. You get that. Today was also a helicopter day.
We often have these in our neighborhood.
I have to figure out whether how I'm going to pick up Xander given SWAT is surrounding the school, which is right next to his.

01/13/2010

2010-01-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

My client Kate at my studio.
Canon 5d

YesToDay. A Delayed Project Start.

2010-01-13T17:30:00.003-08:00

I'm pretty confident the readership on this here blog is non-existent and that's okay because I'm writing and posting images here for myself--if someone decides to watch, swell and consider this a big old welcome shrug.

So after many years of looking for a project I have one, a very simple project.
A photo a day.

I've titled my project YesToDay--tis a combo of Yesterday and Today (posting a 'yesterday' image is my slacker safety net) additionally, this title serves as motivation, a JustDoIt of sorts, Yes (I have to do this) ToDay.
Disclaimer: I'm a quality over quantity sort, but for 2010 producing quantity, no matter how crappy, is the goal, and just so you know, there will be crap.

Because we are now 13 days into 2010 I'm going to post what I have of 2010 here in this post.

01/01/2010. Sleeping off last year.
iPhone

01/02/2010. Ice cream as a we broach the topic of what's to come. "Xander, I think today is Saturday and the day after tomorrow is Monday. Do you know what happens on Monday? Vaca is over." It was really Sunday.
iPhone.

01/03/2010. The ManChild is a huge fan of puddles. He wears his helmut in case he falls into the puddle. iPhone.

01/03/2010. Plain and simple. The sun, a welcome sight.
iPhone.

01/04/2010. What's the deal with street shoes? I decided I should at least aknowledge it, after passing it by for over 2 months. Turns out this shoe is currently occupied.
iPhone.

01/11/2010. This is a view from a playground around N. Lake Union (aka Vultan Land). The spire in the background holds a special place in my heart.
When I was in Jr. High, this place, I think it was then called The Temple, was a club of urban legends. The sort of legends that would make anyone put down Judy Blume's book Forever. Yes, they were scandelously juicy tales.
iPhone.

Hot Santa in the Village! December 12th

2009-12-04T15:00:00.002-08:00

Gretchen & Todd's Wedding

2009-10-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after I returned from Ghana, I had the chance to photograph Gretchen and Todd's wedding. My good photog pal Sandy helped me out--thanks S!
I have never photographed a church wedding and what a church it was. Architecturally it had a sort of mid-century Scandinavian vibe with tons of windows--that said, the light was amazing! And with that Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the Mr. & Mrs.!

The Back Story, Gretchen & Todd

2009-10-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

seemed so long ago.
And Summer is when I did Gretchen and Todd's engagment photos. Their session was really unique, it was on their sailboat! Holding on while focusing and composing required a lot of very careful shifting. Thanks to Todd for showing me the ropes. Pun totally intended :)
I also shot their wedding, which you can here.

Kevin, Seattle Senior Portraits by Christina Mallet

2009-10-17T08:28:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Kevin came to my studio to do his Senior Portraits. It is always super fun to work with High School students. The Seniors that come to me are all about doing something very different from the 'standard' Senior Portrait, which means I get be super creative. Yeah Me!
I also love that I can be my flip-goofball-sarcastic self and they get it. :)
Thanks to Kevin's mom for ferrying Kevin, from Sammamish, into the city, no small feet on a weekday.
And with that Ladies and Gents, I present Kevin!

Ghana Gallery

2009-10-08T20:29:00.003-07:00

I've finally done something with my photos from Ghana, take a look.

Mazel Tov Jonathan!

2009-09-18T14:28:00.012-07:00

Back in August I had the opportunity to photograph Jonathan Sievert's Bar Mitzvah. It was a fab event and I really enjoyed capturing the guests dancing it up at his Museum of Flight celebration. After leaving the party, I couldn't help but wish there could be some sort of official 'rite of passage' celebration for Xander. Mind you, I have years and years to think of something that would be fitting but given we're Goyum, a Bar Mitzvah is sort of out of the question.
Okay, back to the topic and hand--The Sievert's amazing Party. Thanks to Sievert's for choosing me to document the day and a big shout of to The Almeleh's for referring them my way.
Lastly, Mazel Tov!

Sarah

2009-09-15T21:35:00.006-07:00

Sarah and I are friends, have been since Jr. High, where we did lots of questionable things.

She's all grown up now, which I guess means I am too. I digress...

Her new bambina, Alexa, was born at the end of August. So let's give a warm welcome to Alexa! Yeah Alexa!

Interview with a Vampire, A La Katrinka

2009-09-15T21:21:00.002-07:00

http://katrinkas-secret.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-with-vampire-la-katrinka.html

Copy Cat in The Hood

2009-09-15T08:15:00.002-07:00

New blog post byway of Katrinka! Check it :)

http://katrinkas-secret.blogspot.com/2009/09/copy-cat-in-hood.html

Vote for Me!? Pretty Please...

2009-09-10T01:12:00.004-07:00

Now that I'm all big time... ha ha... I've been nominated for King 5's Best in the NW.

If you vote for me you will earn many good karma points :) http://best.king5.com/christina-mallet/biz/492917

Back In The US

2009-09-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Pre RIP Mooshi

2009-08-13T14:28:00.004-07:00

I'm a cat lady and Mooshi has been my cat for 10 years, ever since he was a very unattractive kitten--he had to grow into his eyes if you know what I mean.

Turns out Mooshi (aka Mooper, Super Mooper, MoBerto, Wicker F*cker Upper, MooMoo, MoMan) has cancer. We're leaving for Ghana, for 2 weeks, on Tuesday, and this complicates things. See, his prognosis is not good.

Me to the Vet ,"Like six months, right?"

Vet to Me, "I'd call that a long shot".

So I'm now preparing for our trip, getting ready for Xander's 3rd birthday, finishing up all of my work, and now trying to spend some quality time with Mooshi, which isn't really very easy since he can't walk very well and he appears to be in pain.

We had to put Mooshi's brother, Sushi, to sleep in Boston, before Xander was born. We took him to the vet for what we thought was a slight illness and walked out with an empty cat carrier. That was traumatic, for everyone. I hated the fact that his last hour was one of stress as they poked and prodded him to find out why he couldn't breathe. I wish we had taken him home and had the vet come to us but we were in shock and put him down then. I know we did the right thing but I can't help kicking myself for not making his last few minutes calm and peaceful. I feel like I never really had a chance to say goodbye to him because the process was so sudden.

So, with Mooshi, I've decided to call in a vet who specializes in home visits. I want MoMan to be peaceful and calm with me by his side.

I took these photos of Mooshi on Tuesday, before I got the call from the vet regarding his biopsy.

Oh dear, I'm puddling up.

Nicole & Graig's Wedding

2009-08-08T14:23:00.014-07:00

I've done a good job of keeping my photog calendar filled with a variety of photographic genres and gigs so I never get pigeon holed or typecast as a photographer shooting only in one genre. This keeps me fresh and having fun, always. Case in point: I had the opportunity to photograph Nicole and Graig on Thursday, August 6th. Molly, my friend, assistant, and former bride asked me to capture their day and it was quite the unique experience.

First, I had never met either Nicole or Graig and when I did, they looked smashing. Being in black tie and a wedding dress makes a great first impression. ;)

Second, I didn't actually photograph their ceremony. Only Mormons are allowed inside The Temple, so I had to wait outside. I thought this might pose a challenge because the ceremony sets the mood for the event and gets everyone on the same page. Thankfully everything worked out, no doubt in part because Nicole and Graig were so chillax that it made doing a quick read on how to best photograph them a breeze.

Lastly, the temple is an amazing location! The fountains and gardens are spectacular--capturing love birds being love birds in a fab setting is always a pleasure!

And with that very long winded preamble, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Nicole and Graig!

The Other Side of the Tracks--Seattle Child Photography

2009-07-08T15:14:00.003-07:00

I'm a big fan of shooting in SoDo and specifically around the train tracks. This usually works out well, so well in fact that a couple of times I've been invited on the trains--Thanks super cool train engineers!

Well a couple of weeks back, prior to the Drew and Xander at the beach post below, I asked Sarah and Drew to come down to the tracks with me and Xander. The goddess of railroad peace was not watching over me that day. Within two-minutes of playing pretend Hobo, a office kill-joy called me out for trespassing. He told me he didn't care if I got hit but that the kids shouldn't die. Uhm... okay. I guess he thought we were irresponsible nannies or Mothers looking to tie our kidlets to the tracks.

Hey Mr. BNSF Office Man--you'll never be as cool as a train conductor! Nuh nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhhhhhhh....

Playdate + Photo Documentation

2009-07-08T15:13:00.002-07:00

I'm getting older while my child is getting stronger, faster, and sassier. Having Xander home with me on Thursday and Friday means I must cultivate my inner super mom and venture out into the world. This becomes challenging when the sass, scream and tantrum factor is high which is precisely why the I've finally embraced (come to terms?) with the thing mothers all over the world do to keep themselves from drinking at breakfast, The Playdate.

For me, Playdates were the gateway to cul-de-sacs and minivans. An endless series of questions and talk about Jane's poop schedule and the consistency of Johnnies naps and my desire to talk about nothing of the sort, keep me out of the 'dating' scene. This is where my old pal from the 7th grade comes in. Enter, Sarah and her daughter Drew.

Here are some snaps from the day.

What Would Superman Do?

2009-07-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

Times are suckity economically, and when you combine said suckity-ness with the 'slow' time in the photog business, it spells only one thing. Serious-meltdown-OMG! What am I doing wrong--I need to reinvent myself! I need a look, a vibe, a persona, the ridiculousness is ridiculous. In times like this, I hover over my laptop hitting 'send/receive' in a very OCD fashion (Me: The cable must be out again, otherwise I'd be downloading copious amounts of client inquiries, right ?!) and check my google analytics graphs, pie charts and bounce rate like I actually understand them. So when times get tough, the tough start investigating all the gobs of benjamins they could drop to make more money. It takes money to make money, right?

Well here I am, at this very free, blogspot blog, wishing I had a super snazzy and expensive 'couture' blog designed by fabulous people, much younger than myself, and able to pull off fashions I refer to as 'Forest Gump in his running across America phase' or 'Pat Benatar and Napoleon Dynamite are BFFs'.

I go through this crisis around this time every year and I'm hoping this year will be like years past, as in, 'this will be over soon, once the sun hits, biz will pick up' but there are two potential problems with my 'The Sun Will Come out Tomorrow' hopes. 1. The economy 2. The economy.

Meanwhile, I work on a few clients' files as well as my own personal work and I just wait... oh and get ready for a shoot tomorrow at the studio.

Spring has Sprung!

2009-07-08T15:05:00.002-07:00

Gams with and without Jams

2009-07-08T15:04:00.001-07:00

If The Shoe Fits

2009-07-08T15:03:00.003-07:00

Rosa, Carla and Adam

2009-07-08T15:03:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday, I got a chance to photograph the Saultwards (C. Saulter
+ A. Edwards=Saultwards) at a part in West Seattle. Everytime I do a family session I wish I did more of them (shameless pandering for business).
Anyway, they are quite the lovely family so with that... I present The Saultwards.

The Fords

2009-07-08T15:02:00.001-07:00

I never thought I'd get a chance to meet the Fords for a photo shoot--lucky for me they were willing to give me a second shot. This past summer, a local photographer asked me to fill in for her--I felt honored and humbled to be the one chosen. I marked the day on my calendar and the rest is history, not the kind you want to repeat I might add.
Sitting in front of my computer one Saturday (this is were the ominous music starts) enjoying the peace and quiet on an empty house, I notice I have voicemail. Checking the message, I feel my stomach do a triple luxe--the message, left 20 mins. earlier, by a very sweet Heather, who doesn't ask "where the H E double matchsticks are you?!!!!" but who instead is checking in to make sure I'm okay. Bottom line, I was severely late for the Ford's family reunion.

Photographers, you feel me when I say felt my insides dropped through the chair--this is the stuff photographer horror movies are made of. The reunion wasn't far away, but far enough to make it a moot point--important guests, Grandmothers from out of town, were due at the airport.
Heather was gracious and forgiving --she accepted my offer to do her family photographs in the Arboretum to repent for my error. I couldn't be more thankful for a second chance to work her and her family. They are a beautiful family and I hope some of their good karma rubbed off on me.

Kyle + Molly

2009-07-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Molly and Kyle were married not to long ago and the location of the wedding gave us the opportunity to shoot at a number or places, which made the day a lot of fun and action packed. If you check out their engagement shots from a few posts back you'll see their engagement shots which are steamy and therefore rated PG13. :)

Congrats to the Newlyweds!

The Russo's in the Arboreteum

2009-07-08T14:50:00.001-07:00

Back not to long ago, when the trees weren't naked and night didn't arrive at 4:30, I had the chance to meet the Russo family. They were lovely and their kidlets were cute beyond words. Below I've posted some of my favorite images. Interesting that most of my favorites are black and white--it goes back to my belief that the amazing colors of autumn can be really distracting when you're trying to tell a story about people, not leaves. :)

Kate and Steve

2009-07-08T14:49:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I got the chance to do an engagement session at Golden Gardens for my wedding clients Kate and Steve. Aren't they lovely!?!

Little Theo

2009-07-08T14:48:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to photograph the Hunter's, in celebration of little Theo's arrival. Welcome to the world Theo! You're a mighty-fine-looking little lad!

Katrinka's Secret, Seattle Boudoir Photography

2009-07-08T14:47:00.001-07:00

Check out the write up about my alter ego at Photographik.org

Photographik is the source of all things fab in the photog world.

Not only because they have a catalog of amazing and high caliber photogs but also because Photographik brings me so much work!

Check me out here

Big ups to my big sis, Rhonda the Writer for being my writer.

Sweet Emiline

2009-07-08T14:46:00.001-07:00

My great friends Geoffrey and Annmarie created little Emiline and she's pretty dang cute.

Is there a song about a girl named Emiline? A nice girl, I'll add. If there is, I bet it's French song about a girl who looks like Audrey Tautou.

If there isn't such a song, there needs to be, about this little Emiline.

P.S. Aren't you secretly bummed that you didn't think of the name Emiline? Don't blame yourself that you didn't, it takes the melange of French and Dutch to pull of sort of fabulousness.

B'not Mitzvah Natalie and Alex!

2009-07-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I photographed the double B'not Mitzvah for sisters Natalie and Alex. It was a truly festive and colorful event and it was very cool to have a chance to photograph part of the ceremony in addition to the evening party. From what my photographer friends tell me, it is rare to be allowed to photograph during the ceremony.

Being it was my first B'not or Bat Mitzvah I learned a lot about this Rite of Passage. Prior to the ceremony Rabbi Daniel Septimus informed Natalie and Alex of their responsibilities as fully indoctrinated Jewish women and they signed on the dotted lines.

Later that evening, there was a fabulously festive party held at the UW Botanical Gardens. It was the first summer day of 2008, the mountain was out and it was all around a festive and memorable occasion. Mazal Tov!

Spring has Sprung

2009-07-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

Meet Lindsay, Wayden and little Shea, who I photographed at the arboretum. The weather was fab and I made sure to take advantage of the high noon sunlight and little grass daisies. The only things we were missing, little frolicking baby lambs, and Lindsay's husband who was tied up at work. :(

Katrinka's Latest

2009-07-03T09:02:00.001-07:00

I recently did a shoot with Cathy and I love the results for a couple of different reasons but mostly because Cathy is the perfect person to illustrate that at 50 years old and beauty go hand in hand. Happy 50th Birthday Cathy!

Spring has Sprung!

2009-07-03T08:59:00.002-07:00

Welcome to the World Haywood!

2009-07-03T08:58:00.001-07:00

Briana and John, who I first met as pregnancy photo clients, had me over this week to photograph their new little boy Haywood. Isn't he a babe (pun intended) ?

Teeny Tiny Baby tootsies, what's not to love?

The proud father.

The adoring mother.

Haywood using not so subtle cues to let me know he's bored of me and my camera thing.

Chloe

2009-07-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

Christina Mallet & Red Tricycle

2009-07-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Red Tricycle, The pint-sized news for savvy grownups has the latest write up on Christina Mallet Photography, which I absolutely love. I think they did a great job of capturing the sort of work I like to do.

Go check it out Here

Katrinka's Secret, Seattle Boudoir Photography Write Up

2008-06-11T21:20:00.002-07:00

The Latest Xander

2008-05-09T09:26:00.005-07:00

Photo Blog

2008-05-09T09:21:00.002-07:00

As a photographer it's expected that I have a blog where I post images from shoots, prior to showing my clients their proofs. I've avoided this because I feel like I'm all over the web map and it's just one more space to maintain. But, I've finally given in and started a Christina Mallet Photography Blog.

Check it out HERE

Chloe, My Faithful Model

2008-03-27T16:22:00.003-07:00

My Niece Chloe is a great model. She patiently sits, even when I mess up her hair.

She's also willing stand on my balcony dressed like an old lady.

Bald is Beautiful

2008-03-03T09:40:00.004-08:00

My Mom, rocking her baldness.

Sherylonicle, Part I

2008-02-24T19:37:00.020-08:00

My Mom, Chez Moi
My Mom, aka Sheryl, on round two of breast cancer, has enlisted me to photo document her treatment.
We had our first 'shoot' this weekend, during a wig shop outing that turned into a hair shaving outing.

The nice stylist wigs at Hair Options in Greenwood, wigs my Mom.

My Mom is pretty, and I like this shot so it's a keeper.

After narrowing down the wig selection, Mom goes outside to check the color in natural light.

It was my idea--I couldn't help it. It's so Cat in The Hat.

We've found a wig, now off with her head, of hair.
Don't try this at home, it will hurt.

Pile o' Hair.

Off with it.

The Last Stand, for a while anyway.

Katrinka's Secret Show at Salon Aria

2008-02-18T09:58:00.003-08:00

I'm having a showing of 11 pieces of my Katrinka's Secret, Intimate Photography work at Salon Aria on Capital Hill. If you want a fab hairdoo in a groovy locale or just want to see my work, check it out.

This Epic? It's long.

2008-01-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Which is why I am going to list it.

First though, Happy New Year!

1. Alex's Mom was diagnosed with cancer in early December
2. Alex had knee surgery in early December
3. I had to call 911 night after his surgery because his eyes rolled up into his head and he looked dead. Oxycontin is not his drug of choice.
4. Two weeks after his surgery, we went to Germany to spend Xmas with his mother. There, Alex's knee become so infected that he had to be hospitalized and had 4 German surgeries (that might be a cool band name).
6. Our house sitter had an 'accident' with the house alarm and the cats are now deaf and familiar with the cops in the hood.
7. I kind of crunched a family friend's car in Germany.
8. I flew home solo, with a 16 month old who screamed bloody murder for 11 hours straight.
9. I came home to learn that my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, again.

All of this, combined with thoughts like "recycling the cat food cans is a moot point given the world will come to an end in my lifetime" and you have one crappidy dappity year ahead.

The good stuff:
Alex comes home tomorrow, finally.

Studious

2007-11-16T12:01:00.001-08:00

The New Katrinka

2007-11-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

Katrinka's Secret has a new look, courtesy of the amazing graphic designer Erik Fadiman.

Check us out!

Something Else I've Been Doing

2007-11-07T19:09:00.001-08:00

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/

Christina Mallet Photography

2007-11-01T08:13:00.001-07:00

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

Not Sea Level

2007-10-31T19:13:00.000-07:00

Bit O Flower Arrangement

2007-10-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

Fall

2007-10-29T21:17:00.001-07:00

Scary

2007-10-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

WHEE!

2007-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Ritual Balance

2007-10-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

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.

Katrinka's Secret--Boudoir Photography, Seattle

2007-09-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

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.

My Husband, My PR Agent

2007-09-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

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

Xander does Urban

2007-09-04T22:37:00.001-07:00

Crazy Color

2007-09-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

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.

Amazon.com's Support of Animal Fighting

2007-08-27T12:09:00.001-07:00

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/

Interesting Upcomings

2007-08-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Xander's Party

2007-08-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

What the hell is going on?

Scanning for cupcake predators.

Loving cake with the ladies.

Happy Birthday Baby!

2007-08-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

The X-man is one today!

Where have I been?

2007-08-06T18:59:00.003-07:00

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

Mooshi

2007-07-16T09:15:00.001-07:00

A is for Acorn

2007-07-16T09:02:00.001-07:00

Half and Half

2007-07-16T08:48:00.001-07:00

BoyBoy

2007-07-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Forbidden Fruit

2007-07-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

New Website

2007-07-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

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

Blog!

2007-06-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

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.

Confession

2007-06-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

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.

This Kind of Day

2007-06-13T14:32:00.001-07:00

Scary Gym Part II

2007-06-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Portraits of Hope at SIFF

2007-06-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

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

Vice

2007-06-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Red Tricycle & Me

2007-05-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

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.

The stuff behind my reasoning below

2007-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here

Weighting

2007-05-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

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.

From the Archives

2007-05-18T14:56:00.001-07:00

Separation Anxiety

2007-05-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

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.

The Niece

2007-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Teeth

2007-05-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Chiclet Mallet.

The Tunnel

2007-05-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

The Peacock

2007-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Hedgehog

2007-05-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Are We There Yet?

2007-05-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Playground Graphics

2007-05-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Future Rule Breaker

2007-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Photos from Last Week's Shoot

2007-05-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

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

Soul Work

2007-04-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

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.

A Day at the Beach

2007-04-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dolls and Balls

2007-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

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.

New Digs

2007-04-14T19:59:00.001-07:00

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.