Kyle Hepp

December 30, 2009

Much like the way I do Christmas — that is all at once and nothing at all — is the way I do New Year’s Eve. Last year I made a couple resolutions on the actual ringing in of the New Year. But, in general, during the year, something random I want to accomplish will pop into my head and I’ll write it down on my goal list.

However, I’d like to actually do more resolutions today since I was pretty successful accomplishing what I set out to do in 2009 — be a better wife, check, save 25k more (well we actually saved less than 25k but that goal was keeping our travel plans in mind for the start of 2010, so when we stopped saving in July to travel this year we were right on track with how much we should have had) check, shoot 12 weddings, and MARK. The biggie failure that I had resolved for myself sometime in Feb. was to run a marathon.

So. Numero dos on my list for 2010 is:

Run. A. Marathon.

Particulars: The Chicago Marathon with one of my best friends from high school, YAY!

Numero uno is actually:

Don’t. Die. After this 2009 craziness I definitely don’t take breathing in and breathing out for granted.

And of then we have numero tres on my list for 2010:

Work a set schedule. To put it mildly, I need to learn how not to be bat-shit crazy. Tough. See, the thing is that I have no off button. For the last 4 days, literally, the moment I woke up, I went to the computer, started working, and didn’t stop until I went to bed. I love my work, and I mean LOVE my work. When I’m feeling down my clients and their pictures and my work are what bring me back. Well, Seba does too, but lucky for me, he’s completely included in every sense of the words, “my work.” It’s just hard for me to stop, ever, even though I know that a little down time is probably healthy, even good for my creativity. So my goal is to work no more than 10 hours of a normal day and to take 2 consecutive days off at any given point during the week.

Last, and slightly contradictory to the above, but probably most important after the whole don’t die issue, is:

Grow our photography business. This year I shot 15 weddings and booked 10 more. Next year I would like to shoot a total of 25 weddings. That sounds like a random number but it’s actually the amount of weddings we will need to live comfortably, pay our mortgage (that we don’t have yet, but will as soon as we find an apartment) and pay for Marcelo’s tuition.

I have a lot of very specific ideas that we need to get rolling that should help with exposure which will hopefully lead to more clients, both in Chile, Argentina and in the U.S. They’re all ideas though, that take a lot of work. So my goal is to work on all these marketing goals from start to finish of all of 2010. The incomparable Jasmine Star once said something that really stuck with me (in the DVD that the also incomparable Bobby Earle sent me) with regards to marketing (paraphrased), “Marketing is like lifting a chair. There is no ‘I’m kinda lifting the chair.’ When it comes to marketing, you’re either lifting the chair or you’re NOT lifting the chair.”

I am going to lift the chair. Watch me. My name is actually Kyle Hercules Hepp and I can lift mad chair.

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December 29, 2009

With all of our couples and wedding we have, we don’t have a lot of time for family portraits, but we are always happy to do them when we can! This adorable little one was so much fun to photograph, she almost made me want a baby — I swear, I loved her so much my ovaries started screaming at me when they saw her. If I could guarantee that I would have as sweet of a child as this little one, I would give birth tomorrow. Ok, that’s a medical impossibility, but you know what I’m trying to say here

Seriously, if this face does not slay you, I do not what does!!! She looks SO CUTE with that pout, I can hardly stand it!!! This was the absolute last photo of the day because she was just about to have a break down — too many cameras in her face, totally understandable — and I LOVE it.

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December 28, 2009

I actually do have some culturally funny, not mishaps, but just observations to blog about. But I am going to wait until 2010 since for the rest of the year I figure everyone is probably on vacation and not reading my blog.

So how was your Christmas? I think I’ve mentioned before that Seba and I aren’t really big holiday people. No tree, no presents, no decorations. Neither of us are Scroogey. We give each other presents whenever we find something that the other would like during the regular year. But, searching before an actual holiday is too much pressure.

This year was no different. A few weeks ago, while we were in the U.S. I found a book similar to the David LaChapelle one that was on my fake Christmas wishlist for a mere 3k+. I should mention that Seba was also crazy about this book when we saw it in the flesh in Amsterdam at our hotel, and both he and I like things that will one day decorate the apartment we don’t have. So I gave that to him while we were in Miami, meaning I had nothing for him when December 25th rolled around.

Then Seba actually emailed a friend because he knew I loved her sunglasses. They were a bit out of our price range, which lead to him googling, “over sized sunglasses,” and he found some Miu Miu ones. He knows I love Miu Miu shoes because he had seen me fondling a pair in Italy. But, he wasn’t sure if I would love the sunglasses as much as the shoes, so in the end he told me about what he was trying to do. And I told him not to spend money on anything, because the mere fact that he had thought to try and hunt down some designer sunglasses that he knew I would love — even though he is scared of talking to people he doesn’t know — even though he thinks that spending money on designer anything is stupid — was more than enough to make my little heart go pitter patter.

Merry Christmas to us.

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Annie and Kevin threw the rules out the window on their wedding day. I absolutely adored that about them. Getting married wasn’t about traditions and conventions, it was about Annie and Kevin simply being themselves and celebrating their love in a way that fit them. They even saw each other before the ceremony and walked down the aisle together. So. Awesome.

Really, it was obvious their entire wedding was So. Awesome.  Annie is one of those rare people who has the gift of making anyone in a room with her feel totally comfortable and happy. She’s funny and loud and charming and when I first met her, I could not even fathom what this “cute little gringo,” she had talked about would be like. When I met Kevin, I understood. He’s maybe the only man on the planet confident enough in himself to keep up with Annie. They’re a perfect match.

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December 24, 2009

Feliz Navidad a todos los Chilenos que estan celebrando esta noche, y Merry Christmas to all the Gringuitos opening presents tomorrow morning!

This is us today. Hanging with my doggie and my husband, then family dinner tonight!

I debated long and hard on whether or not to give myself some time off next week. I’ve decided to go ahead and do it. Tonight I have to finish up editing the last photos from recent sessions, answering a couple emails and I’ll probably pre-publish a few blog posts, then I’m all caught up. So after that, this one woman office is closed for the holidays! Well, aside from the wedding that we’re shooting on the 26th — but believe it or not, shooting an entire wedding isn’t really like work to me — it’s everything else that goes on behind the scenes afterward that takes up the bulk of our time. I’ll get back to anyone who contacts us for wedding photography or sessions on Jan. 3rd. Thanks for understanding that photographers are people too, who also need rest time!

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December 22, 2009

My name has always been a thing of confusion, both in the U.S. and in Chile. In the U.S. people expect a boy and then when I show up, they’re all confused. I get “Kyla,” or “Kylie,” a lot, or other variations that sound more feminine to normal people’s ears.

In Chile, there’s no gender associated with Kyle. However, in the Spanish language, the sounds in my name aren’t common. To get people to even come close to understanding me, I have to pronounce my own name wrong — in an accent that a Chilean ear can better pick up.

The other day, Seba and I were out looking at apartments and when we went in I asked the doorman to call up to the apartment we were visiting for us. He said, “De parte de quien,” or “Who shall I say is calling?”

I respond, obviously, “Kyle Hepp.”

He stares.

I stare back.

He says, “uuuh.”

I repeat my name in an even more pronounced Chilean version this time, “mi nombre es Kyle Hepp.”

He asks, “Como?”

I say, “Please tell her that la Senora Kyle Hepp, from Portalinmobiliario, is here.”

He says, “I’m sorry, can you repeat your name one more time?”

KYLE HEPP. At this point I sound like one of those programs that helps kids with speech impediments, where the voice OV-ER EN-UN-CIATES EV-ERY-THING.

Then…

He asks me in English,

“Uh Miss,(pronounced Meeeeeeees) what your name?”

To give him due credit, he is a doorman with probably little education so the fact that he’s competent enough to string together a coherent sentence in a second language is reasonably impressive.

But, I just don’t follow the rationale here. At various points in our conversation, even if he didn’t understand my actual name, he knew that I understood the questions being asked because I was RESPONDING TO THEM. Did he think I was saying my name wrong? I mean, why would asking me in English get him a different answer than asking me in Spanish — would my name change?

Did he really think he was going to get a different answer if he asked me for my name in a different language?!? Next time, let’s try Chinese and see if that works.

These are the kinds of frustrations that make me glad I have a blog where I can vent.

And we did finally get up to see the apartment. It was a piece of poop. Definitely not worth five minutes of my life it took to try and make the doorman understand Kyle Hepp.

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December 21, 2009

Para esta pareja nos levantamos a las 6:30 de la manana un dia Sabado para ir a una vina a sacar sus fotos…y totalmente valio la pena! A pesar de que todos tuvieramos un poco de sueno, lo pasamos excelente con la Carito y el Alberto.

For this couple we got up at 6:30am on a Saturday to go to a vineyard called Santa Rita (hi mom!) to take their pictures…and it was totally worth it! Even though we were all a little sleepy, we had a great time.

La increible Paula nos invito a la vina. Muchas gracias Paula!

Me gusta mucho que estas proximas fotos estan sacadas en el mismo lugar pero cada una tiene un mood super distinto.

I really like that these next two pictures were taken in the same place, yet each one has a different feel to it.

Yo creo que cada fotografo que va a una vina para una sesion o un matrimonio saca esta misma foto dentro de las plantas de uvas. Pero queria que se viera un poco diferente asi que les pide que cerraran los ojos con la cabeza hacia arriba. Me encanta.

I think every photographer that goes to a vineyard for a session or a wedding takes this same picture amongst the grapevines. But I wanted it to look a little different so I asked them to close their eyes with and tilt their heads up. I love it.

Esta parte de la vina, con la piscina escondida, dentro de una estructura muy vieja, era demasiado bonita!!!

This part of the vineyard, with the hidden pool inside a really old structure was so pretty!!!

Jajaja, la Caro tambien aprovecho de sacar algunas fotos…quien sabe…en uno de estos le contrato como mi nuevo asistente

Caro took advantage of grabbing a couple pictures as well…who knows…maybe one of these days I’ll hire her as my new assistent.

Gracias a las habilidades de Seba con el tilt shift! Es como magia!

Thank you to Seba’s abilities with the tilt shift for this one! It’s like magic!

Serios…

Serious…

Y juegetones…

PD. Una locura como puede saltar el Alberto. Es como si tuviera una trampolina en sus zapatillas!

And playful…

PS. It’s crazy how Alberto can jump. It’s like he has a trampoline in his tennis shoes!

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December 20, 2009

1:st year in business as a wedding photographer.

10: Family sessions.

2: Boudoir.

15: Weddings.

4: Times in the emergency room.

1: Time in the ICU.

19: Age of the guy who put me there.

2: Best friends got engaged.

3: Continents.

12: Countries.

18: Flights.

16, 413: Number of pageviews this blog got in November, the highest month I’ve ever had.

2: Reality shows people wanted us to be on.

1: That we would actually do.

This year was out of control. In terms of life-changing events, it was HUGE. I still can’t believe we started a wedding photography business, and  got to travel all over Europe. A family emergency shook my to my very core. Michael Jackson died. In spite of all that though, 2009 will forever be The Year I Got Hit By a Car. That’s not looking at the year in a negative way, by any means — I actually tend to think about the whole event as a minor miracle, all things considered. But I am not sure anything else that happened will be as burned into my memory as this. I’m pretty sure nothing will ever come close to being as emotionally and physically scarring until the day I give birth.

So here’s to hoping that 2010 is bigger and better — and significantly less catastrophic.

After thought. Hmmm, I should probably wait to post this until December 31st. But, this is just what’s on my brain right now. After Brittany Murphy’s death I’m sort of scared of 2009 so I kind of want to go to sleep right now and not wake up until we’re all safe and sound in 2010.

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Como dije ayer, he estado un poco bajoneado. Pero la verdad es esto debe ser uno de los mejores trabajos del mundo, porque pasar tiempo con parejas que transmiten tanto amor y energia, me levanta. Imposible tener un mal dia fotografiando gente como la Claire y el Esteban.

Like I said yesterday, I’ve been a little down. But, the truth is that this has to be one of the best jobs in the world, because spending time with couples who transmit so much love and energy, brings me up. It’s impossible to have a bad day photographing people like Claire and Esteban.

Me encantan estas fotos que son urbanos, pero no las tipicas fotos urbanas que son como…gritty. Tambien me encantan que la Claire llevaba puesto unos lentes Gucci. Combinan perfecto con el ambiente en el Golf.

I love that these pictures are urban, but not the typical gritty urban photos. I also love that Claire had on Gucci sunglasses. They go perfectly with the vibe of the El Golf neighborhood.

Bajamos al metro a sacar un par de fotos prohibidas dentro de los vagones, jajaja!

We went down into the metro to take a few forbidden pictures inside the trains, haha!

Y esta foto es mi favorite de la sesion, AMO!!!! Fue sugerencia de la Claire usar las flores y lo achunto bien, no?

And this is my favorite of the session, LOVE!!!! It was Claire’s suggestion to use the flowers, and she hit the nail on the head, didn’t she?

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December 19, 2009

I’m sitting here editing photos on a Saturday night. I have three sessions and a wedding in the queue. Before you feel bad for me, remember, I can take a weekend pretty much anytime I want aside from actual weekends. And I wouldn’t be working right if I didn’t enjoy it. Never pity someone with a glass of champagne in her hand — that’s all I’m saying.

The new computer we bought this week, an iMac, is ridiculously fast compared to any of the computers we’ve ever used before. I just edited a session in record time and I’m wondering why we hadn’t bought one of these monsters before. I’m seriously about to add hours to my life because of time that I won’t have to spend on the computer waiting for Photoshop to run. Happiness. So far though, all I’ve really done with the extra hours of my life is to spend way too much time thinking — always dangerous.

I’ve been a little down since we got back to Chile, not because of anything the country’s done to me in particular — it’s been a while since I got run over or assaulted or anything so I’m pretty good on that front — but just because ever since this family emergency I’ve been thinking maybe we should move back to the States. My parents might think they’re still spring chickens, but they’re not. Sorry, Mom. While it is true that you have freakishly tight skin, you’ve been alive for FIVE DECADES!!!!

While I’m not a particularly sentimental person, if I’m anything, it’s practical. Of course I really miss my Mom and Dad, but that alone isn’t enough to make me move to the U.S. – obviously. But, living near your relatives is practical. You can be anywhere in a matter of hours when you’re in the same country rather than a matter of days, which is what happens when you’re in another continent. However, if we’re in the U.S. then it’s not practical for us to be able to get to Seba’s family quickly. And, believe it or not, they’ve been alive for even more decades than my own Mom and Dad. Fortunately, we’ve had the opportunity to go back to Michigan and Florida quite often for work, so right now this arrangement makes sense. Hopefully we’ll continue booking weddings in the Miami and/or Chicago area to enable us to continue being able to see family regularly. But, really, there’s nothing like big, bad, health problems to change your perspective on well, pretty much everything.

The other option would be to convince the Hepp family to begin immigrating to Santiago. Instead of coming over on the Mayflower, they’d get here on Lan flight LA 500 and instead of celebrating Thanksgiving, we’d start a new tradition called Dieci-och-giving where we’d eat delicious turkey-mashed-potato-empanadas. If only.

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