Life, love, relationships are not static.

They are full of movement.

The movement of life and those around me urge me to take part of the journey and to stay away from the sidelines.

Within the small moments of the everyday happenings life moves, bends, sways, shifts.

Right now…today I’m learning to embrace this.

Model:  Jessica, Brady Brannon and Rich Agency

Hair and Make-up Artist:  Rachel Burney, Remba Productions

A recent shoot I did with model Jessica.  More to come….

Model:  Jessica, Brady Brannon and Rich Agency

Hair and Make-up Artist:  Rachel Burney, Remba Productions

Happy 2 year Anniversary guys.  Here’s to many more years of road trips, life together, and lots of laughter!

A few months ago I had the privilege to shoot behind the scenes for a music video for James David.  Everything about this shoot was a thrill.  There were so many creatives within this one room, and everyone was for  each other.  Not to mention James David is an amazingly talented guy.

Be sure and check out James David and his new video HERE.

Enjoy some behind the scenes shots from the evening.

The wonderful crew included:  Sarah Shreves, Renato, Beats and Feets, Aaron Scott, the guys of Sew Creative, and many more!  Thanks guys for making this evening so much fun!  Can’t wait to hang/play/create!

Today I miss New York.

There’s something about that city.  I just can’t get over it.  It’s busy; it’s independent; it’s a foodies heaven.  The air is crisp, and I feel like for some reason I walk a little taller and with a little more determination when I’m there.  There’s a constant movement, and though almost every corner of it is concrete, there’s something strangely beautiful about it.

Now that I have been traveling there for a few years now, I have developed some dear friendships that I am so thankful for.  My friends that live in New York are creative and pushing the envelope of expectations that have been set on them.  I love that every night that I’m in New York is a late night filled with good food, long conversations usually filled with laughter, and typically some sort of red wine.

Below are some shots of a friend’s Manhattan loft that I crash at when I’m in town.  I love love love her place.  The colors, the odds and ends, but most of all there is this strange sense of home I get whenever I venture into this Manhattan home…a sort of home away from home.

Dear New York:  I will see you soon~Kat

We literally live on opposite sides of the US.  Bekah and her husband Ben live in Florida, and as you know I live out here in Southern California.  Last fall, Bekah and Ben of Kallima Photography, photographed a wedding I was in on the East Coast.  Somehow by the end of the wedding we were dancing, telling secrets, and acting like lifelong friends.  (And really once you get to know this girl, you kind of want to be her lifelong friend).

After the wedding we talked about keeping in touch, and let’s be honest we say that a lot of times.  But here is the thing.  We actually did.  Over the last almost year, Bekah has become a dear friend.  One of those soul friendships.  She’s such a kindred spirit, and I respect her so much.  Artistically Bekah tells such honest stories with her images.  As a mother and wife she is committed, nurturing, playful.  As a friend she’s loyal, encouraging, will dance on the dancefloor all night, and then have a heart to heart with you.

Bekah, it makes me so sad that we live so far away, but I am so thankful to God that he crossed our paths.  You consistently pour your heart out into all that you do, and it challenges me as an artist, friend, sister, etc.  Thank you for your friendship.  Thank you sharing truth in my life when I need it most, and thank you for sharing your life with me.  I just adore you!

Location:  Some field.

Fun Fact:  This is my first time using the Film Presets VSCO.  Would love to know your thoughts!

There are six children in my family.  Yep, you read right:  I am one of 6 kids, which basically makes my mom a saint.  The older I get the more I realize what an amazingly strong woman she is.

Grace is my youngest sister.  My mom had her when I was a senior in high school if you can believe it.  When she was a new born I used to take her to the mall to go shopping with me, and everyone would comment on how good I looked with having such a small baby!  Did I correct them, and let them know she was my sister, not my baby?  No way; it was too much fun to pretend I was a teen mom!

Grace is 9 now, and although she lives in Texas we are super close.  She’s my pen pal, and we write to each other about things like Justin Bieber, and her new genie trolls that she buys off e-bay.  It’s also not uncommon to come back from a run and find that I have 15 text messages all from her; it cracks me up and makes me feel special.

Over Christmas we snuck away and took some pictures in our backyard and alleyway.  These pictures are the essence of my precious little sister.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:)

I love you Grace.

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor.  It’s a gift to the world and every being in it.  Don’t cheat us of your contribution.  Give us what you got”.

Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

My blog has felt quiet lately.  I don’t know if it has felt that way to you.  The surface may have looked still the last month, but just below so much has been happening.  In a sense I’ve been on this journey of discovery.  By the time 2011 ended I felt as an artist (and to be honest as a person)…well I felt burnt out.  I lost sight of the why, and began to go through the motions in my craft.

I felt dry, and uninspired…not sure what to do next or what I should/could/ought to do next. Then I began to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and slowly I felt a change.  Maybe change is the wrong word.  I felt a resolve.  A resolve to press into my craft not for the sake of status or fame, but a resolve to be a more true artist.

I think what people connect with is honesty.  When I read a John Steinbeck book I know it’s him.  There’s a certain rhythm, a distinct voice to his work.  All I need is a few seconds to know that a particular song is by Jonsí. I can spot a Peggy Sirota image from a mile away.  I connect with these artists because they are (or at least seem to be) exerting their own voice and not mimicking another’s success.  They are trailblazing a new path.  Maybe there are some fakes out there that are successful, but I’m starting to wonder if the most successful people are those that know themselves and vulnerably offer their craft from a very personal place.

The truth is that I’m in the beginning stages of my craft, and I’m still looking for my voice, my rhythm, what defines me as an artist.  I come into 2012 with a resolve though.  A resolve to push myself as an artist, do shoots that are completely out of my comfort zone, open my work to other artists for criticism, and to keep moving.

Even if it’s small, tiny, almost unnoticed steps I am committed to movement.  There may not be overnight success, in fact I already have a few bumps and bruises, but there will be growth…a quiet growth.

Pssst…here’s a sneak of a recent shoot I did with LA based model Jessica Seeley.

So much of life is about timing.  My dad likes to remind me that things tend to happen just right at the moment when they’re supposed to take place.  Not a second late, or a moment too soon.

Johnny and Erika lived on the same street just a few houses away from each other for 10 years, and neither of them knew the other was alive let alone that they would some day be getting married to one another.  Both wanting to be married…but it just wasn’t the right time.  Then a little over a year ago, Johnny and Erika met at church.  Several months after meeting they were flying overseas for a missions trip sitting next to each other talking about life, their dreams, and their goals–and it hit him.  He was sitting next to the woman he was going to marry. But timing.  So he waited until for the right time, just a few short months later on another overseas trip and proposed.

What is special to me about this couple is their patience.  They waited patiently for one another.  Patience is one of those qualities that we all like to say we have, but then when we’re stuck in traffic slamming on our horn because someone just cut us off we (or should I say I) realize how little patience I truly have.  However, these two exude patience in their lives and in their relationship with each other.  Johnny, I love how you make Erika laugh, and Erika I love how you constantly play pranks on Johnny.  You’re my kinda girl.  I feel blessed to get to shoot your wedding next month!

Thanks for spending the afternoon with me at one of my most favorite places in Los Angeles:  Griffith Observatory.