Finished with production! (mostly)

done-with-production-mostly-38We spent three weeks in February shooting the rest of the documentary we are working on, Eating Up Easter.* While it started out as a film about food and resources on Easter Island and the importation of food, it has shifted and drifted quite a bit since that starting point. Now, we are following three main characters and a few secondary characters, highlighting their daily life on this most remote little island, and the many ways in which they are working to move their community forward in a positive, loving way that nurtures their island’s unique and invaluable resources. There is much to learn from their stories and we are thrilled to get to share them.

*Eating Up Easter is getting an overhaul and will soon have a new website. In the meantime, we have a facebook page, where some of you may have been following our progress during the shoot. Like our page, Eating Up Easter, to stay informed about the everyday happenings of the film. done-with-production-mostly-2When we first arrived on the island, it was the tail end of the Tapati Rapa Nui Festival, a two week long celebration of the culture of Rapa Nui, in which sporting competitions, singing and dancing fill the days and nights and culminate in a day long parade in which locals and tourists alike are painted with soil-based paint and dressed in traditional clothing (which isn’t much). Above, Mark, one of our cameramen, shoots our main character Mama Piru as she leads a group of women pulling a float. done-with-production-mostly-5The only beach on the island, Anakena, was overloaded with tourists in February, the busiest month for tourism on the island. done-with-production-mostly-6Continue Reading →

We’re Back (again)

we're back-1Some of you may have seen on our facebook post a few weeks ago that our blogging computer decided to take a diving vacation (aka, it got some serious water damage) while we were headed to Rapa Nui. And since our other computer was downloading and processing filming footage just about 24/7, internet is sporadic and only available in about a 10 x 10 foot square within the hotel, and we rarely were sitting still unless we were sleeping, we decided to let the blog go for a bit.

But we are back in business. The computer has been rebuilt and we saved (wince) half the price of a new computer! And we are back in the land of decent internet speeds, also known as the frozen tundra of Minnesota. We have a lot of fun posts planned for the next few weeks, starting with an update on our filming progress. We just about finished all the filming we need for the documentary, so endless nights and weekends of editing are in our future. But, we are so excited about the footage we got that all the work ahead actually sounds fun.

I was worried I might not take well to the whole filmmaker career switch, but I have to say, so far so good. Being on a film shoot these last three weeks was exhilarating and included everything I love: being outside everyday, switching fast from task to task, jumping at spontaneous opportunities as they arise, and of course, getting to direct people and make decisions and, well, be in charge. Cue a big sigh of relief that this whole husband and wife documentary team thing might just work.

{photo of Tahai archaeological site by Pineapple Tree, adapted to watercolor using the iphone app Waterlogue}

 

Production Phase II begins

production-phase-II-begins-1Yikes, time has run away from us again. We are already about to head off to finish phase II of production on Eating Up Easter on Easter Island. We are heading down with a team of four this time. The two of us and two cameramen. production-phase-II-begins-4We very excited to be bringing some special toys to try out! By allowing us to get unique angles and heights, we hope they will help capture the context of where we are – on a tiny, rugged island, alone in the middle of the Pacific. production-phase-II-begins-3We have so many posts we want to share, but again are getting overwhelmed with what is in front of us. But, we will update posts as often as we can and share how the production is going. Continue Reading →

Overwhelmed

overwhelmed-4Well, Happy New Year! We are back. Finally. After quite a long absence. We hope you didn’t completely give up on us. We are still here, still excited to tell our stories as we travel about and try to make a life out of what we love. We promise to keep up the posts much more frequently now.

So where did we leave off? Somewhere around here, am I right? overwhelmed-1We were on Easter Island working on production for our documentary. And then we weren’t. Sometimes airplane travel just blows my mind, because not more than a day after having that above as our view, we were staring out the window at this. overwhelmed-2Talk about contrast, and don’t get me started on lack of color. Anyone who travels to warmer climes during winter in Minnesota knows what we are talking about. That sinking feeling you get when you look out your window and realize the beaches have become snow and the long winter is still here, dragging on, and there’s no longer anywhere to hide. Continue Reading →

Easter Island: The North Coast

Easter-Island-The-North-Coast-8We finished filming the first part of Eating up Easter with our cinematographer this week! Although it was a huge challenge to work in an environment where everything happens day by day and minute by minute (i.e. appointments cannot be made with anyone, or certainly will never be kept if they are), we were able to film a ton of great content and capture lots of beautiful b-roll. What an awesome team we have! We’ll share more on that later, but for now we want to show you this beautiful hike we took just before filming began. I can’t believe I got this many photos to load here.

So, here we go…..beware, this might get a little archaeology-sciencey/tour-guidey, but I just can’t help myself. I want to teach you all about this fantastic little place.

Last week we hiked the north coast of Easter Island. While there are roads around the south coast and through the middle of the island, the north coast consists of steep slopes ending in rocky cliffs and is only accessible by foot or on horseback. The coast forms the northern base of the island’s largest and youngest volcano, Terevaka. We got a ride to the end of the road, just a few miles north of town to begin our hike, which ended at Anakena, the only sandy beach, where the road picks up again and heads back to town. With the rocky terrain, a nice stop for lunch and our zigzagging up and down the hillsides looking for interesting remnants of past life, it took us almost 7 hours. A good, full, beautiful, and refreshingly exhausting day.

**Please Note: If you are a tourist considering doing this hike, make sure to hire a guide or go with a local person on the island. There have been cases recently in which tourists have become lost on the hike and had to be rescued during the night.

Easter-Island-The-North-Coast-3Easter-Island-The-North-Coast-2 Continue Reading →

a little florida retreat

A-Florida-Retreat-1* Yikes, we are so behind in posts….we’ve made it to Easter Island and are trying to get our feet under us. There were all kinds of events and work to do as soon as we hit the ground, so we’ve been a bit swamped, not to mention slooooooow internet is always frustrating. So we’ll do our best to keep this updated while we are here, but it may not be as often as we’d like. 

When we fly to Easter Island, we usually go through Miami, which is a short 2.5 hour drive from where Nona (my grandma) lives in Fort Myers. So, whenever we can add a little extra time to our trip, we try to fly to see her first, then drive to Miami to catch our plane to the island. This time, Ta’u was busy on a shoot in Hawaii, so I went on my own to see her before meeting him in Miami. I think the last time it was just the two of us was when I visited her for my 11th birthday, my first solo trip across the country (Minnesota to North Carolina) and even then my grandpa was around, at least in the evenings after work. As an adult it was a whole new experience and we had a fantastic time together just sharing stories about life and how we see the world and exploring the golf course complex on which she lives. A-Florida-Retreat-2We raced her neighbor down the street on our golf cart, then took an hour and a half golf cart cruise past all 27 holes right at sunset so we wouldn’t disturb too many golfers. It was terribly windy and getting dark but we still had to sneak by at least 7 or 8 groups that were still out on the course.  Continue Reading →

A little awards gala in NYC

PrincessGraceFoundationUSA-19Our main purpose for being in New York last week was to attend an awards gala for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Ta’u had been chosen as one of the award winners for a grant that will provide the funds for us to begin production of the documentary we have been developing called Eating Up Easter. You can find more info and the full trailer for our video on the Eating Up Easter Blog. The film will look at the rapid development of Easter Island in the last ten years as we follow four characters each concerned with the future of the island in different ways. We will also look at how the islanders adapted to their changing environment in the past and the ways in which this knowledge can inform present day plans for sustainability.

The gala was held for the foundation’s largest donors and was a bit out of our comfort zone, dining with New York high society and all….so we just called it our Halloween. These were our costumes…PrincessGraceFoundationUSA-1PrincessGraceFoundationUSA-3PrincessGraceFoundationUSA-2Ta’u had to arrive at the gala a few hours before me, to rehearse walking on stage, to take photos with Princess Charlene, and to get his award, a beautiful little pin symbolizing the three arts that Princess Grace supports – film, theater, and dance.  Continue Reading →

48 hours in NYC

48-hours-NYC-1We had a whirlwind of a trip to NYC this past week but we still managed to fit in a lot of fun – eating yummy food, hanging out with good friends, exploring new (to us) corners of the city, and building connections with many inspiring people.

We had a little award gala to attend (more on that in another post) and Ta’u was tight on time off from work, squeezing this trip in between his Octoberganza of work travel. Did we mention he’s been to New Mexico, California, Washington, and Hawaii (not to mention New York) over this four week period? And with a trip to Florida next week, he will have hit all four corners of the country + Hawaii within a month. Craziness. Someone’s racking up the miles. And boy are we getting excited dreaming about how to use them — you’ve got to look for the positives in a month (mostly) apart, right?48-hours-NYC-2So, NYC. Well, Manhattan really. We stayed in Midtown a block from Grand Central and my favorite, the Chrysler building.48-hours-NYC-748-hours-NYC-8 Continue Reading →

Weekend Getaway: Gunflint Trail

Weekend-Getaway-GunflintTrail-24Sorry we haven’t posted in a while…..we needed a little break to focus on the present, but we’re back today with some fun inspiration for the weekend.

Sometimes we all need a little time away from our routines to restart our creativity, nourish our relationships, or find ourselves again. While we love to travel to meet new people and discover new ways of living, we also travel simply to regroup, get new perspective, have some adventure and fun, and come back refreshed and ready to attack the daily grind with new energy.Weekend-Getaway-GunflintTrail-9We’ve found we don’t have to travel far to get this little boost, just a day trip or weekend getaway often does the trick. So we are going to start a little series of inspiration for weekend getaways….including places we’ve been and short itineraries of what to do in each place (I love planning, Ta’u’s more of a wing-it guy, so go with what works for you). Often we travel within driving distance of wherever we are living at the time, but if the means are available, you could fly to these places too. Whether you travel to these particular places or it just inspires you to seek adventure near your own home base, we hope you enjoy following along. Continue Reading →

Arriving Separately

arriving-separately-2Have you ever traveled alone to meet a partner or friend somewhere far from home? I always thought A Cup of Jo‘s post about arriving separately for a dinner date sounded so romantic. Probably because it feels so out of character for us….we don’t live in NYC, i.e. we aren’t in walking or subway distance from a date night restaurant and we only own one car. But sometimes, we have met each other in far off places and we’ve discovered that, while sometimes having to travel alone can sound scary or sad, we can make it into a romantic way to meet up far away. We even flew separately to our own wedding in Hawaii. At first I hated the idea, but people were so nice and excited for me as I flew to Hawaii on my own, wedding dress in tow, that I decided it wasn’t that bad. It’s just one more way to keep excitement and adventure in your relationship. arriving-separately-8And if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have been picked up from the airport by this hot Rapa Nui guy. I know we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to do things like this in our lives, and it probably won’t last forever, so all the more reason to take advantage of it now, right?  Continue Reading →