Photography: Raking Leaves

Raking leaves on November 23, here in Creston, Iowa. I had already raked many leaves in the front yard a week before this blustery, but warm day, however a nasty snowstorm blanketed the area, covering all traces of my past efforts. After the snow melted, we finished the job. Well, the front yard at least. 13 bags of leaves in total.


April strikes an adventurous pose.


I break for a photo during the hours of raking.


April frames me...with leaves.

Photos © 2005 Chad and April Kerychuk.

Photography: The Difficult Life of Cats

While working away on some video projects here in Iowa one afternoon, I observed the seemingly difficult life cats lead. Shown in chronological order of course...


Xavier takes a nap.


The camera's noise rouses the slumbering beast.


Monique enjoys her lazy solitude.


"The paparazzi won't leave me alone..."


"...so I might as well start some trouble." Boxing match followed.


"That was a tough bout. Time for a nap again."

Throw in some meal times, bathroom breaks, and play periods, and you've summed up a cat's incredibly stressful day. And when it's all over, they decide to crawl in bed with you at night, stretching out fully and taking all available extra space, relegating you to a little corner of the mattress. It would seem felines are the superior species!

All photos © 2005 Chad Kerychuk.

Own the Original 'Hollywood' Sign

Supposedly, the original Hollywood sign is up for sale. Not to be confused with the current one most people see in California, but the original itself, built in 1923 for a real estate development company.

Due to termites, arson, and other damage, the sign needed to be either repaired or replaced. In 1978, 'Playboy' publisher Hugh Hefner sponsored a party to do just that. Celebrities including Gene Autry and Alice Cooper, along with other individuals, kicked in funds to restore the iconic sight.

If the whole sign is too much for your rec room, or that starting bid price is a bit shocking, how about owning a small piece instead?

NPR has a feature on the history of the famous American landmark. Check it out at this link.

Ray Harryhausen: Portrait of the Animator as Zeus

There's a good interview by Mark Zimmer with stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen at digitallyOBSESSED.com.

"Harryhausen: I always worked by myself, because I like to concentrate. I prefer not to have people around. So every inch of film is usually the first take. We never had time to do retakes.

dOc: How did you remember from one day to the next, 'Now, was I moving this limb this way or that way?'

Harryhausen: Sometimes if I had to stop a scene I would make notes, but you have it in your mind. When you make storyboards, you sort of think of it as though it's in action. I guess I have a Zeus complex. I like to manipulate these people as Zeus did in the early Greek concepts."

Ray also talks about his past work with Willis O'Brien, the upcoming 'King Kong' 'Mighty Joe Young' and 'Song of Kong' DVDs, and even Peter Jackson's 'King Kong.'

Hellboy Animated

Hellboy Animated concept art by Sean "Cheeks" Galloway.

Like the recent motion picture, 'Hellboy', created by author/illustrator Mike Mignola, will be coming to life in animated form. IDT Entertainment and Revolution Studios will bring 'Big Red' to life in direct-to-DVD productions, and possibly an animated series, online content and video games. Ron Perlman, who acted as Hellboy in the feature film will also be providing voicework for the animated versions. Guillermo del Toro, director of the film, will serve as a creative producer along with Mignola.

Read the Variety article at this link.

I was pleased to hear that a fellow member of The Drawing Board, Sean "Cheeks" Galloway, was chosen as the lead designer and fellow Hellboy.com forum member and animation veteran, Tad Stones, is the supervising director. With all of this talent, Hellboy is certainly in good hands.

Follow the production of Hellboy Animated at the new Production Diary.

Check out more of Sean's outstanding artwork at his online gallery, where I'm sure you'll see how his dynamic style is a natural fit for animation.

There's also a great interview with Tad regarding animated television series development at Digital Media FX.

While we're talking about Hellboy, here's two great lithographs I recently received. The first comes courtesy of '...' at the Hellboy fourm, and the second arrived thanks to Jun at The Comic Bug.


Hellboy mini-lithograph produced by Dark Horse Comics.


Hellboy Hurricane Katrina Red Cross Relief lithograph by Mike Mignola.




Hellboy and all related characters © Mike Mignola and Dark Horse Comics, Inc.

Photography: From Above

Photo © 2005 Chad Kerychuk.

I traveled from Edmonton, Alberta to Creston, Iowa on the 8th, and took this photo on the Calgary to Denver portion of the trip. Earlier during the flight, there was some great scenery that I didn't capture though. If my camera wasn't stowed, I would have had some photos of the badlands and mountain ranges covered by snow.

Oh well. Next time.

It's Experiment 626!

Check out this great Flickr photo from Princess Shari of Stitch from Walt Disney World...


"It's Experiment 626!" - Originally uploaded by Princess Shari.