/  by Katherine Yaksich

A short film of my 6 week bucket list adventure in Australia and New Zealand. Highlights include night diving with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef and hugging Wally, the enormous Maori Wrasse fish. Filmed on the iPhone 4S, Sony WX-50, Canon 5D mark II, and Canon 5D mark III. It took me nearly a year to go through this beautiful footage and it truly was a labor of love. Enjoy!

/  by Katherine Yaksich

20 cancer patients participated in a unique makeover experience. 
They were invited to a studio. Their hair and makeup were completely redone.

During the transformation, they were asked to keep their eyes shut.
A photographer then immortalized the moment they opened their eyes.

This discovery allowed them to forget their illness, IF ONLY FOR A SECOND.

Directed by Coban Beutelstetter

Great Things Are Bound To Happen To You Just For Showing Up /  by Katherine Yaksich

“You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.” - Isadora Duncan

I love how you can do whatever you want in NYC, and there are no barriers and nothing stopping you. For example, I want to learn how to pop, so I’m able to take the train 2 stops from my house and take classes at New York’s premier dance center. Some of the students in my classes are well on their way to becoming professional dancers, and it’s intimidating as all hell. But part of the beauty of it all is that there’s no judgement and my peers still clap for me after I messed up performing my dance routine. My Japanese dance partner even gave me multiple bows, and we all know very well that there’s no way you will ever win a bowing contest against a Japanese person. People want to foster creativity and help you along the creative journey; they recognize how much courage it takes just to show up. 

I also love how there are so many unexpected, surprising moments in NY. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with a friend from college that lives in San Francisco. In fact, we’ve spent more time together in NYC over the past year than we did when we were practically next door neighbors in college. I always look forward to the random, unexpected text message from him. Last week, he texted me shortly after returning from Southeast Asia. Two days later, we were enjoying MGMT and Dinosaur Jr. perform live at Barclay’s Center, thanks to a producer that kindly gave my friend the tickets. 

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The next day we waited 20 minutes in the cold, falling snow to experience 1 minute in Yayoi Kusama’s “I Who Have Arrived In Heaven” infinity room. It was well worth it. There was another infinity room with a line of crazy New Yorkers willing to endure the cold for 2 hours for a chance to experience it for 45 seconds.

Afterwards, I attended my friend’s opening exhibit, Collision in Cycles, and some talented kids from Juilliard busted out a live musical score to his film as it was projected onto a big screen. It was a powerful, magical, and unexpected multi-sensory experience. But then again, you can’t really expect anything less from a wild gathering of NY creatives. I walked away feeling incredibly inspired and so grateful to be here.

In NY, great things are bound to happen to you just for showing up. All those unexpected moments make life exciting, wild, and worth living. So go out there and make it count.

/  by Katherine Yaksich

“Not all those who wander are lost.” Wandering around Brooklyn never gets old. You’re guaranteed to find something beautiful and almost always find something new and exciting. I used to believe that it doesn’t matter where you are, but I…

“Not all those who wander are lost.” Wandering around Brooklyn never gets old. You’re guaranteed to find something beautiful and almost always find something new and exciting. I used to believe that it doesn’t matter where you are, but I think I’ve been wrong because I feel so at home here, like I truly belong. It’s hard to describe or explain the love that I feel for this place. Coming home is always exciting. Except for when I’m on the road, there’s no place I’d rather be. (at New York City)

/  by Katherine Yaksich

Hadouken Texas schoolyard edition, and probably the best selfie I’ve ever taken. I used a remote timer, along with my watch, and captured this image on the 5th take. I’m so thankful for my family, and my brother and I love each other so much that we…

Hadouken Texas schoolyard edition, and probably the best selfie I’ve ever taken. I used a remote timer, along with my watch, and captured this image on the 5th take. I’m so thankful for my family, and my brother and I love each other so much that we throw fireballs at each other, as New Yorkers tend to do. (at Texas)

Part of my ongoing Self Portrait Series

/  by Katherine Yaksich

Surfing 82 degree water in Mexico with the Ira Lippke Studios crew. Filmed in 120 frames per second on the GoPro HERO3+ Black Edition, 60 fps on the Canon 5D mark III, and 3 frames per minute on the Canon 5D mark II. Enjoy!

Packing for Your Next Adventure | Parallax /  by Katherine Yaksich

Below is an article I wrote for the Calumet Photo blog. Click here for the full feature.

I’ve had the opportunity to photograph and film stories all over the world, from tuberculosis in India and South Africa, to people receiving the gift of sight in Central and South America, to the Egyptian revolution in Cairo. I’ve traveled to over 30 countries, explored six continents, and have lived in six countries outside of the US. I’ve had to pack gear for a variety of jobs and assignments, and here are some valuable things I have learned along the way:

  • Above and beyond anything else, don’t forget to pack your passport! I know this may seem basic and elementary, but people still forget to pack their passports or obtain the necessary visas required to enter the countries they are traveling to. My photographer friend forgot to pack his passport a few weeks ago on our way to Mexico, but thankfully his wife was able to race his passport to the airport and he made the flight just in the nick of time. Others are not so lucky. I’ve worked with someone that flew from Los Angeles to South Africa, only to be refused entry into South Africa because he didn’t have six months of validity left in his passport. Always pack your passport, double check that it’s valid for at least six months from your return date, obtain necessary visas, and keep it safe at all times. Lastly, always keep a hard copy of your passport on you and make sure you have access to an electronic copy on the cloud.
  • Get a durable, well designed travel photo bag, and do not sacrifice quality for price. You will be traveling with very expensive photography gear, so it’s in your best interest to get a great bag that will not only will protect your gear but is also convenient to travel with. I currently travel with the Think Tank Airport TakeOff rolling bag (purchased from Calumet NYC), and highly recommend it. Think  Tank bags are very well built and designed, and this bag in particular can carry a decent amount of gear, but is also small enough to be carried-on small planes. I’ve also traveled with Pelican cases, which are waterproof and extremely durable, but the extra weight can make it difficult to travel with so I prefer to travel with the Think Tank bag. 
  • If you are traveling to humid environments, pack your cameras and lenses in ziplock bags to reduce the negative effects of high humidity and to avoid lens fog. 
  • For international trips, pack at least two universal power adapters. These can also usually be purchased locally, depending on where you are in the world. Make sure the voltage range on your devices is compatible in the countries that you are traveling to. If you are taking an extended road trip, be sure to pack a power inverter to charge electronic devices while driving. 
  • If you will be traveling with a tripod and/or a monopod, be sure to pack ones that are lightweight and not too much of a burden to travel with. I normally strap my tripod onto the side of my rolling bag, and hand carry my monopod or strap it to my backpack. Once I get inside the plane, I typically place my tripod and monopod towards the very back of the overhead bin, and slide my bag in front of them. To date, I haven’t had any issues carrying-on my tripod and monopod. 
  • Typically, I’ll travel with at least two portable external hard drives for backing up and storing data. If possible, try and keep the drives in separate bags and locations at all times to minimize the risk of something happening to your data. Always have your data backed up to at least two separate hard drives at all times!
  • Get on board with GoPro! A GoPro is a great additional camera for traveling because it’s small, lightweight, waterproof (with the housing), relatively affordable, and versatile. I recently purchased the new GoPro HERO 3+ Black Edition from Calumet NYC and highly recommend it.
  • Be sure to insure all of your gear from theft and accidental damage, and make sure that your policy is valid worldwide.
  • Create a checklist to ensure that you’ve packed all the gear that you need.

Bon voyage!

/  by Katherine Yaksich

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Today marks the one year anniversary of when Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on NYC, and we’re still going strong. It felt very apocalyptic, haunting, and eerie afterwards, and it’s a time that I will never forget. I’ve met people that literally lost everything, yet they manage to live life with an incredible sense of resilience. 

1. A haunting and eerie Manhattan skyline the night after Sandy devastated NYC, leaving millions and much of lower Manhattan powerless for days. This image was published by NBC New York and exhibited at Photoville NYC this year.

2. I rode my bike around Manhattan in the dark and took this photo in Soho. It was an incredibly difficult image to capture, took no less than an hour, and I still didn’t nail the focus.

3. A generator lights up this deli in the lower east side, in the midst of the darkness.