Photoshoot with Rachelle

Rachelle's in Edmonton for a week and a half, and I needed to take advantage of that opportunity! I was so excited about the results that I had to show everyone! The last one is my favorite, and I'm going to be using it for my portfolio! Enjoy.

Thesis night teaser

We have our annual thesis night coming up on Monday, and our program blog just posted a teaser. My classmates are extremely talented and create such amazing photography it's really neat to be in classes with them!
Check it out here.

A New Favorite Band

My Brother-in-law showed me this awesome band, and I just love them! They are called "Needtobreathe" and are a christian band. They use the banjo in a lot of their songs and they just have a really neat style take a listen.

The Outsiders

Lay 'Em Down

Girl Names Tennessee

The last one is one of my favorites, unfortunately I couldn't find one with good sound quality, so this was the best one! You get the idea though :)

And so begins another semester...

Well, I'm just "finishing" up my second week of my last semester of school and boy does it look quite challenging! (I say "finishing" because I never have classes on Wednesday's and this week and I think every second week I don't have classes on Thursday's either) I don't have very many projects, but what projects we do have are BIG projects! This semester we're taking a small business course that goes over the basics of starting your own business, which will be very helpful! we have another portrait class, a self promotion class (we have to make a website and business cards etc. Look for that in the future :) And a class called "Major Client" where we are broken into groups of four and are assigned a non-profit organization to have as a photographic client. We have to set up a meeting for them and go over what they want photographically and when certain events are. Throughout the semester, we need to acquire 50 hrs. of shooting time as a group altogether. Our group just had our meeting this afternoon and I think it will be interesting but challenging to say the least! We were assigned The Bissell Centre here in Edmonton which is a non-profit organization with about 18 different programs they run from day-care to a homeless shelter, so we'll definitely have quite the variety of shooting I think! I'm definitely a little bit nervous though, it'll be the second "job" I have done since beginning school, but I think the experience will be invaluable :) We also have a fine art class which is going to prove expensive as we move back to 4X5 film photography.
Over the past few weeks it's been pretty stressful as well, as I have basically wiped out my savings and am looking for a part time job for the semester with no luck so far. I haven't recieved a call back from any one place yet...so I'm kind of nervously praying that something comes! I would like to move back to GP in may, and money is a necessity for that, so here's praying!
There has been a few hospital visits around here as well! (not us being in the hospital) My grandmother has some heart problems and had to get an angiogram done (they inject dye into your veins to make sure everything is as it should be, which it was) but after the angiogram showed fine, she went back to her hotel room, and layed down for a nap. When she woke up she got an instant severe migraine and my grandpa and aunt took her back to the emergency room where they had to do a CT scan on her head to check for clots, and a spinal tap to make sure there was no blood in the spinal fluid. After a 13 hour wait, the tests came back and she was fine. So praise the Lord for that! I'm looking forward to having my grandma and grandpa coming to stay with me for the next week.
As some of you know, our dear friend Karen is currently being treated for lung cancer at the cancer institute here in Edmonton. She has had I think 3 weeks of chemo and radiation so far, and has another 3 to go, but we went and saw her tonight and she is looking and feeling fantastic! She was happy, energetic and just doing great! Just goes to show how powerful prayer is :) She said without people praying for her, she's sure she would not be doing as well as she is, so keep praying people, it's definitely working! :)
So those are the updates in my life. I could use some prayer, if you ever think of it. I think this semester is going to be very stressful as I am doing graphic design schooling, full time schooling, possibly a job as well as looking for a job in GP and a place to live. I was also put into a group for one of my courses where I am very nervous about how it's going to work out. I'm a little worried that I may end up doing most of the work, and as you can tell, I do not have time for that!! Prayer that everyone will pitch in and do their share and that we'll pass! Also, prayer for the job and savings situations. Definitely nervous about that one, and praying hard! Hope you all are doing well!

And today's Chuck Norris made me giggle a little bit:
"Simply by pulling on both ends, Chuck Norris can stretch diamonds back into coal."

January 16 & 17 Chuck Norris

"Chuck Norris doesn't step on toes. Chuck Norris steps on necks."

Name Change...

No, not my actual name. Just my business name. I've been thinking about changing it to something more fitted for someone who's doing the business by themselves. I really like Knappshot, I think it's really clever and funny, but when I hear it, I think it's more of a company name than a single photographer's name. I also don't really want to go with "Kari Knapp Photography" because it doesn't sound quite right to me...hmmm. I am kind of leaning towards finding a really neat word with a great meaning behind it, but can't seem to think of the right one. So, if any of you out there have any ideas, let me know! I'd love to hear 'em!

January 11 Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris Calendar January 11 - "Chuck Norris can lick his own elbows. At the same time."

A Noteworthy quote by C.S Lewis

Found this quote on a friends' page on facebook and had to share.

‘If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents—the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the thoughts of the materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else’s. But if their thoughts—i.e. of materialism and astronomy—are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents. It’s like expecting that the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milkjug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset.’

C.S. Lewis

Oh the memories...

I was looking over some of my photos from the past years that bring back wayyyyy too many good memories! I just had to share!


A Couple of years ago while we were still on the acreage, we decided to have a tobogganing party at our place and invited a lot of the young people from the church over! This is Brent as a pretty little indian girl...with a mustache. Nice look :P

Chris and Logan went down the hill sharing a sled with Chris in the front and Logan standing up and holding onto his shoulders, then they hit a bump and both went flying and Logan completely smushed Chris' face into the snow! This is Chris' face imprint:A Bunch of us girls went to Pirates 3 one night and there were some Shrek cutout masks. Aerylin took one and posed for many different photo opportunities. If you click on the picture, the ash tray says "Don't Smoke" on the side, so we figured Shrek was endorsing no smoking.
Gaelan, Aerylin, Kaden, Logan and I went and explored this really old farmhouse by our acreage and it was sturdy enough for us to actually go inside and check it out! I loved it so much that someday, I wouldn't mind building a house just about exactly like this one!
This is Jen. No explanation needed here :)
A Photoshoot we did with all of my friends before I moved away too college...


Aerylin is a nut! (I found a giant nut by the tracks)
about 2-3 years ago, I needed Logan and Chantelle's help in doing an English project and afterwards we had some fun with a photoshoot. This picture is just...too funny.
This was the last official wing's night at our acreage...sad night, but too much fun! If you look closely (or click on the photo) Brent and I are making almost the exact same face..and it's way too good!!
Annnnddd...my friend Chelsea had her bachelorette party before her wedding which was 70's themed. I chose to go as a man. Mr. Kennedy had a powder blue bell bottom suit that he wore for his wedding which fit me perfectly! Top it off with already shaggy hair, aviators, and a mascara stache and I was set! I started to feel quite uncomfortable after awhile because while we were walking through the mall, basically everyone was staring at me and doing double takes. I'm pretty sure they were trying to figure out if I was really a guy or not :) Means my costume was a success! hahaha
Oh boy...too many good memories. I miss all of my friends back in Webster and I am SO eager to move home in May. Thanks for the good times guys :)

For Logan: Some jokes about the bagpipes.

I was reading through a magazine my parents get called "Our Canada" and there was an article on all things Scottish, including the bagpipes. There were a few things in it that made me think of Logan and laugh quite a bit, one of them is that the Scotts call turnips and potatoes "neeps and tatties." which tickled my funny bone, and I think I might start calling them that from now on. Also, the writer of this article included some good bagpipe jokes after explaining the history of bagpipes. Here are a few of them:

Q: What's the difference between a rattlesnake on the road and a set of bagpipes on the road?
A: Skid marks in front of the rattlesnake.

Q: Why do bagpipers march while playing and practicing?
A: It's harder to hit a moving target! (That's why he wants to play on a foggy morning too right?)

During the second world war, while his platoon was under heavy fire, the sergeant major asked his commanding officer to send six tanks....or one bagpiper.

Bagpipes: The missing link between music and noise.

It's actually kind of a cool article to read. It talks about Haggis (yuck!) and Robbie Burns, the famous Scottish poet who wrote such songs as "Auld Lang Syne" and of course the bagpipes!
If you don't know yet, Logan has a bagpipe ambition that is quite hilarious!

Hooray for being broke (Haha!)

Today was an expensive day. That makes it depressing! Today my mom and I had a few errands to run around town getting groceries and doing the recycling, and since it is a new semester, I needed to purchase my next round of bus passes which comes in at a whopping $316.00 for the four months! In the long run it saves you quite a bit of money, but 300 bucks at one pop can be pretty mind blowing, especially when it's a good chunk of your savings! I was fine in getting the bus passes and I was doing good, but then we got the mail. Back in October I was in GP doing a work experience week, and ended up accidentally running a red light!! I was driving toward the intersection, noticed the light was yellow and that people were still driving through it, and so I looked down briefly to see what was brushing my arm, looked up, I was in the intersection, the light was red and the flash came! I was so upset and worried and I felt terrible! I don't do things like that! Anyways, a month came, then two months and no ticket, so I assumed I was in the clear, but then I got it in the mail today finally on January 4th! I ran the red light on October 29, they mailed the ticket December 11, got it today, and now I have until the 26th to pay...$287.00!!!! Hard lesson learned! Here's a hint to saving money...Don't run red lights!!

Daily Chuck Norris January 4th:
"Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster take pictures of Chuck Norris"

20 years old...

yikes! I know I'm not old but I sure do feel different. It's hard to believe 20 years has come and gone already. It was a good day spent playing games with family and just relaxing! Well, here's to the next year!

Another prayer I need to remember everyday (posted it last new years as well):

"Deliver me Jesus
From the desire of being loved;
from the desire of being honored;
from the desire of being praised;
from the desire of being preferred to others;
from the desire of being consulted;
from the desire of being approved;
from the fear of being humiliated;
from the fear of being despised;
from the fear of suffering rebuke;
from the fear of being forgotten;
from the fear of being wrong;
from the fear of being suspected.
And Jesus, grant me the grace to desire that
others might be loved more than I;
That others might be esteemed more than I;
that in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I decrease;
that others may be praise and I unnoticed;
that others may be preferred to me in everything;
that others may become holier than I
provided I become as holy as I should."

A prayer we should all memorize, providing we truly mean what it says.

and of course, the Chuck Norris fact from my calendar. They combined both today and tomorrow.

January 2 & 3 - "One man's loss is another man's gain. Most of the time, that second man is Chuck Norris."

Chuck Norris

I'm pretty sure everyone has at least heard of Chuck Norris! He was in the movie "Walker Texas Ranger" (which I've never seen) but when I was in high school, quotes about Chuck Norris were very popular, and quite funny too. Marlys and Terry got me a Chuck Norris facts desk calendar for my birthday and it is hilarious! I don't know if anyone would want me to post one fact from the calendar every day this year or not, maybe I'll just post the funny ones. Starting today!

January 1: "Chuck Norris does not age. Every birthday is just another year added to his existence. Which sucks for you."