Katie Haller Photography

New Site!

2010-06-22T11:46:00.001-04:00

We have a brand new website!

Check it out HERE.

Nashville!

2009-08-21T12:49:00.010-04:00

Last month, I went to Nashville to intern with Sarah Barlow. There were 3 other girls there too... Michelle Andersen, Jessica Mooney, and Rachelle Ferrier. Check out their blogs! I really loved getting to know each of them and learned from them as well! It's really cool how close 5 people who have never met can become in just 10 days. We had many wonderful conversations and many great laughs!

It's awesome how open and willing Sarah is to share her life others. She showed us how to run a business and still have a life without neglecting what really matters. It was an amazing 10 days and I truly learned so much, not just about photography and business but also about life and Christ.

Here's Sarah and Michelle

Jessica and Rachelle

Here are a few from our practice photo shoot. It was fun but totally different from any shoot I've done before!

In addition to learning, we got a little taste of Nashville. We went to a Philip LaRue/Nathan Lee concert, awesome coffee shops, and out to dinner a few nights. Another highlight was celebrating Rachelle's birthday the first day, then Sarah's the next.

The amazing view of downtown and pool where we worked.

After the internship, I stayed a night with my Taylor friend, Ashley who lives near Nashville. Her old car was being sent to the graveyard so she wanted to take some pictures with it. So we hopped in the car with their dog, drove down the street and pulled off to the side of the road and had a mini photo shoot. It was pretty funny watching people watch us as they drove by...

Thanks Munns for letting me stay with you!! The next morning, my dad came to pick me up and we stayed a night at my grandpa's house in Nashville. On the way to his house we stopped at the cupcake place in Franklin where Sarah had taken us. Then my Dad and I drove home the next day.

The Parthenon and my dad excited about his carrot (cup)cake.

Ahh.

2009-06-18T22:28:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back from college and haven't blogged for a while (what else is new?). I am making it a challenge to myself to blog more this summer. So here it goes.

My summer began with surgery to fix my deviated septum. It wasn't too fun but I'm glad that's over. Then my parents and I went to Michigan. It was beautiful the first day we were there and we got sunburnt. Then, the rest of the trip was pretty cold so we were inside a lot. I'm enjoying spending time with my family and am so excited for what's next this summer: more Michigan, then Nashville to learn from another photographer, and Mark and Jill's wedding!

These pictures are from last semester. That day is one of favorite memories from spring semester. Some friends and I went out in a field and played music, talked and laughed. So much fun!

They aren't really that serious : )

Leaving my friends at Taylor was hard. It was the first time I wasn't looking forward to being done with school and, while I'm glad for a break from schoolwork, I can't wait to go back.

For Mom

2009-05-10T17:07:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you and can't wait to see you!

I got my hair cut the other night. Thought you might like to see it since I know you like my hair short.

Study Break

2009-01-12T21:52:00.014-05:00

This post is just random things that are happening. It's 10p.m. on Monday night, I've been at Taylor for a week. I'm drinking lukewarm cappuccino and eating popcorn (nasty combo) and have a ton to do, homework and other things. I'm starting to get used to Taylor life- the D.C. (dining commons), chapel, class, communal bathrooms, homework, dorms, ice, new people... but some of it has been a challenge so far.

I have a dorm room to myself for January since my roommate is abroad, which has its positives and negatives. It's generally quiet unless my suite-mates are watching a movie or talking, but can get kind of too quiet when I'm doing homework for hours. There are about 8 other girls in my dorm building who I went to Ireland with. I've haven't hung out with them that much though, in order to get to know other people. It's such a different situation, coming as a group of 28 very close students into a larger community where everyone has their place and friends. When we arrived at Taylor in August before Ireland, we didn't know anyone but quickly became pretty much like family. Now it's weird to see who still hangs out with each other, and who's branching out more. Some of us are having a harder time than others... but I'm pretty confident that it will be better here soon. I really do like the girls on my wing!

I have two classes which are with most of the Ireland people... Biblical Literature 1 and New Student Orientation. Bib Lit is pretty interesting, we're reading the whole Old Testament in a month plus two other textbooks. We have a quiz first thing every morning. It seems that many in the class have a hard time staying awake since it's at 8. The homework has been alright until today- we're supposed to read at least 60 chapters of the OT in addition to 40 pages from other books and will be like this everyday. Plus, we have 3 assignments due tomorrow for orientation. I've been having a hard time concentrating because I just read and don't retain anything or read one chapter then get so tired. I've had 2 cups of coffee, so I feel fairly awake but still am having a hard time.

There was worship today for any freshmen so the FISPers could meet some people from our class. It was great! It kind of made me feel like I was back in chapel in the classroom at the YWCA in Greystones. So many things have been making me miss Ireland. I want to go back so badly. I've met and talked to several upperclassmen who are going to Ireland for the spring semester.

When I can't seem to focus or am falling asleep, I find some way to take a break. These probably make me look crazy, but oh well: Irish dancing in the bathroom, playing the ukulele, wandering the halls/ visiting friends in other rooms, cleaning, and... reading magnetic poetry. Ok, well the magnetic poetry isn't really a break, but it can be interesting to read what everyone has written. As you can see, magnetic poetry can be pretty insightful. Haha. (I didn't make most of these. And the other picture is my desk.)

Oh, and I motivate myself by allowing myself fruit snacks when I get to a certain page kind of like a little kid. Last night, I went to Wal-mart with a couple of girls and got John Deere fruit snacks. Good stuff. But don't worry mom, I've had salad pretty much 2x a day and haven't drank (or drunk?) any pop.

Anyways, that's all for tonight. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting next time.

2. Broken Nose

2008-12-01T11:05:00.004-05:00

Back in September, I was hitting a baseball around in the yard with a friend. We couldn't find a baseball, so were playing with a hurling ball. Then I pitched for a few hits until, the next thing I knew, I was in the grass and my nose felt like it was a baseball. The first hospital we went to was an experience. We waited to see the doctor for a long time and when we did, there was a lady getting a cast on her leg in the same room. They took an x-ray, told me that my nose was broken in 3 places, then sent me to another hospital.

The second hospital was in Dublin where we still waited a long time. The nose/eye specialist said that the bruising on the inside of my nose was the worst she has seen. But it really is amazing that my nose was still straight and the ball didn't hit any higher or lower because then either my teeth or glasses would be messed up. They had me stay overnight just incase. That was definitely the worst part of the experience, waking up at 2:30 in the morning alone in a hospital in a foreign country. The bruising and swelling is gone now.

That day brought a few firsts for me:

1. breaking a bone

2. going to a hospital/ER

3. having blood drawn

4. spending the night at a hospital

5. having a black eye(s)

Here are a few pictures, feel free to laugh. I sure did :)

Norah called me Raccoon Baby.

This is what I walked around Dublin looking like a week after.

1. Greystones

2008-10-19T17:31:00.012-04:00

Since I'm way behind blogging, I'm going to make a few shorter posts to make up for what's been happening.

So. I'll start with Greystones. We arrived here September 6th. I love being able to see the Irish Sea from our house and going for walks along the beach.

Our house, the YWCA.

Looking at the sea on the first night.

Skellig Michael

2008-08-30T12:11:00.007-04:00

Tonight is our last night in Salthill. These past two weeks have gone by really quickly and I'm excited that we'll finally be in Greystones tomorrow.

The first week we were here, we visited an island called Skellig Michael. We climbed 600 steps to the top. It was really beautiful and it's amazing how steep it is on all sides.

Monks lived in beehive huts which were made using a dry stone method. They believed that secluding themselves from the world and being high on a mountain would bring them closer to God.

This is Puffin Island. All of the white is birds.

Puffin Island from Skellig Michael.

In Galway

2008-08-25T11:38:00.007-04:00

We moved into our apartments in Salthill 2 days ago. They are pretty nice and we're all adjusting well to living in an apartment and in Ireland. My apartment is fairly large because we have 5 girls living in it: Norah, Nicole, Rachel, Maggie, and I. The picture is the room that I share with Norah. We were assigned another apartment to cook with so ours is Cade, Ian, and Thad. Today is the first day we really got to choose what to make and go shopping for it. It's Thad's birthday today and we're grilling chicken, making mashed potatoes, green beans, and bread. The guys are pretty good about helping and Cade especially likes to do dishes. The washing/drying machine takes forever. I started a load at 11 this morning and just took it out (it's 6) and it's still damp.

Yesterday we walked into town to go to church. It was an old, anglican church that is the oldest church in Ireland to have been in constant use. Before the service, I went to the bathroom which was off of the sanctuary. When I went to get out of the bathroom, the door was stuck. I got it open enough to get out, but it scraped against the stone ground which made a loud sound which everyone could hear. Anyway, they got it unstuck after figuring out that there were rocks lodged under the door.

During the service, a cute little old Irish woman sat next to me. She just got back from Greystones (where we'll be staying) after a three week visit and has gone there since she was young. During the sermon, the priest made a joke and she leaned over and whispered "He's great fun, isn't he?" with her Irish accent. I wish I could have talked with her more.

Later, we had worship by the ocean which is only a 2 minute walk. Brayton led. It was amazing sitting there by the ocean, the wind blowing, worshiping God. I hope we do it more.

I posted some pictures on Flickr. Click here to see them.

Today is a study day and we're starting class again tomorrow.

Arriving

2008-08-19T08:10:00.005-04:00

We are in Ireland. We traveled from 8 a.m on the 16th and didn't sleep until late on the 17th. We're about 6 hours ahead here. We went straight to McDonalds for lunch. Not quite traditional Irish... but I'm sure we'll get there. From there we went to the Muckross House which was beautiful. For dinner, we split into groups. My group went to our hotel's restaurant. I had a vegetable stir fry thing that had a chili sauce. The next day, (yesterday), we went to a museum about emigrants during the famine. Then we went to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone. It was pretty crazy for me because the stairs were like lighthouse stairs and it was kind of cave like. I am scared of heights and get cave sick. At the top, it was very rainy. It was fun though, and I'm glad I did it. It's rained off and on all three days we've been here. So glad I have waterproof shoes!

We had our window open the first night and can hear music from the pubs.

We had class this morning and some of us are heading off to another castle/ waterfall for our free day. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

The views from the plane were pretty amazing.

First views of Ireland.

Far and away

2008-08-15T23:48:00.015-04:00

Tomorrow morning we'll get on a bus and head to Chicago, then fly to NJ, then to Ireland! I've been waiting for this day for months and am so excited!

My fellow ISPrs (Irish study program) and I arrived at Taylor last Sunday. I was so nervous about meeting everyone. We all get along quite well and are excited to keep bonding.

We've had classes everyday this week and already had a take-home test and have read most of a book. Some of us went to K-mart for some last minute stuff and played ultimate frisbee earlier today then went to Ivanhoe's for ice cream.

Last night, the president of Taylor's wife (he was out of town) had us over for dessert and to pray and visit with us. A couple of people played the guitar, piano, drums, and one guy did a chant of sorts. Haha. Pretty fun!

The pics are kind of backwards, but oh well.

One of Norah's wonderful faces. I have a feeling I'll have a lot of pictures like these by the end of the semester. Tehe.

Thad drumming away.

Katie, Chelsea, and Christy

Me and my roomies for this week, Hannah and Chelsea! I love them!

In Ireland we probably won't be able to get online very often, so I don't know when I'll get to post next. Well, we're getting up at 6 and will be up for around 24 hours to try to shorten jet lag, so I better get some sleep.

I love you all!

Hello! Testing!

2008-06-14T20:50:00.000-04:00

Hey! My name is Katie Haller. I love photography am working on

building my photography business. I'm going to Taylor University and

will be studying in Ireland this fall. I hope you check back soon!

Testing!!

2008-06-03T15:57:00.003-04:00

Hello!