Birthday party

Mid City Lanes Rock N' Bowl Bar

Mid City Lanes Rock N' Bowl Bar

Night Live Oak with Azaleas

 

I love the Live Oak in our front yard.  It's the "keeper of our house" in the dark, and our sun shield and shelter during the day.  Here it's so lovely surrounded by azaleas late day.  The street lamp provides a nice silhouette late in the evening.

Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue - Sunday in the Park, 11/8/09

This photo with Mayor Kip Holden leading the Second Line was published in Baton Rouge's 225 Magazine.:)

Mike the Tiger Collage

My younger daughter and I would visit LSU's Mike the Tiger while my older daughter attended gymnastics class on campus.

Glam birthday party

Rare

9.23.11:
This beautiful white fence sat along the driveway of the old Ford farm.  Once the property was purchased for development, the fencing was completely taken down.  I knew that was going to happen when I pulled into the drive for this shot.  It rarely snows by us, so this is definitely a keeper.

Bob Thibodeaux's Acorns of Hope - My first published images

Louisiana Homes & Gardens published 3 of my photos in their article about Bob Thibodeaux's Acorns of Hope. I don't have access to the acorn photo they used, but the one below is similar. It's exciting to see "Photographed by Irene Kato" in the magazine.

 

"Icons of Music II" benefiting Music Rising

I was fortunate to attend, with my husband,  Juliens Auctions "Icons of Music II" at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC. It was a successful night for Music Rising, and we really appreciated our time with fellow New Orleans supporters. :)

Thank you Music Rising! http://musicrising.org.  //

Check out the auction results http://www.juliensauctions.com/auctions/2008-music-rising/results.html

Nose to nose, heart to heart

12.19.12:

My daughters nearly 5 years ago to the day.  I remember being so touched during their first week of togetherness.  This moment will always mark my heart with goodness and love.

Second Line with Trombone Shorty and the Hot 8 Brass Band

My daughter and I jumped into the French Quarter for some beignets after visiting our friends doing volunteer work. We were behind Cafe Du Monde walking back to our car when I heard the brass coming from the street. We jumped, and I grabbed her hand and ran out to find Trombone Shorty and the Hot 8 Brass Band. I called to him like he was a friend, and scooted Grace right into the Second Line to meet him.  Holding his trombone with his left, he reached back with his right to squeeze hers while we all moved along.  It was such a quick, sweet gesture, and we then ran back along the curb with the crowd.    We somehow managed to keep pace in my 6 month pregnant body, and I was able to take a couple of photos that I like.  Second lines are a beautiful thing, and remembering the surprise of this one gets my heart going once again.

Close-up experimental

AKA "Flowers, Feet and Bubbles".  This was a fun session with my older daughter who was 4 at the time.  I stacked on my favorite Bower +1, +2, and +4 glass and played around with varying distances to my subject.

Don't stand in a crowd behind tall men holding beer cans

The Moment:  Jazz Fest, April 30, 2006.  It's the first Fest since the federal levee failures and flooding in New Orleans in 2005.  Bruce Springsteen gets it - the pain, the broken hearts, the frustration, the need to heal and find hope in recovery.  He delivers a stellar and moving set of music, and the crowd becomes one in spirit.    During "City of Ruins" we were in tears with people around us as he sang 'with these hands...c'mon rise up'.  He understood and connected, and it was one of the best concert moments I have ever experienced.

Looking back at my set of photos, I don't know why I didn't move to get the beer in hand out of my field of view.  At the time I remember being so in the moment with everyone, but still wanting to get a shot of the scene.  That dang beer can is in almost every shot, and if not that, it's tall men wearing hats creating a visual distraction. It may not have been THE shot without the 'beer can in hand', but it definitely would have been an improvement.  How funny that this man didn't feel the urge to put the beer down.  That's a Fest moment in itself.

I revisited these photos tonight looking for some good shots from past Jazz Fests.  Nola.com is running a photo contest where you can win a pair of Fest tickets and a spot in the photo pit for Arcade Fire's appearance on 5/6.  I was hoping to find at least one potential, and I remembered the hands and the moment...but not the beer can.  Soooo, this will be the riveting lesson in making sure I move, no matter my emotional state or the number of children draping themselves across my body, and be aware to get the shot you want.  

4.6.11, 12:10 AM

Japan Favorites

I traveled to Japan in 2004 with my husband and 2 year old daughter to visit family.  Because I held my little one in a carrier on my left, I lost use of one hand most of the time.  I adapted by holding my camera away from my face and shooting off my hip, arm stretched high, behind the back, etc. with my Canon Digital and point and shoot.  It became habit forming and expanded my photographic style. So, which of these are one-handed or two?

Rainbow Pebbles

 

Taken in our friend's apartment in Hiroshima, Japan.

Hiroshima Peace Park

Strong and lovely

Rooftop shoot with Shane

2/25/11:  This blog is already leading somewhere.  In thinking about this photo the other night, I was prompted to look for Shane.  I found him on Facebook, and as it ends up, the photo appeared in his set of images.  I'm very happy to reconnect with him, know that he's doing well, and find out that he's a photographer.

I took this photo of him for a photo/darkroom class assignment in college.  It was a long exposure shot, he says 30 seconds, and I remember being so pleased with the image during processing and printing.  I also remember how cool it was to be up on top of that parking deck playing photographer.  Freedom, cameras, and a good friend make for an excellent creative mix..

3.19.11
Shane sent me the other photo taken that night. I remember this one, too, and being amazed by the fact that the film recorded both Shane and the window reflections because he had moved.

Grandpop

7.14.11: My grandpop would have been 111 years old today. He died in 1987 following a rough stretch of survival after having a stroke. He was one of the hardest workers I knew, and remember his days of gardening from morning to night so well. We lived in his home during my younger years until we moved into our own house when I was 11. I connect to his spirit with every session of hard yard work. I think that's one of the reasons I love sweating it out in the dirt no matter the weather.

I believe that I took this photo when I was in a senior in highschool for my photography class. My grandpop wore this suit for special outings. A trip to church, a visit to the bank, or a Sunday afternoon at our house. I remember telling him that he could smile and that he didn't have to be perfectly still. It was just the way, and I appreciate that there's still an element of that in the image. It's one of my favorite prints of my Grandpop, chemical discolorization and all.