Kim Rose Adams-How Surviving Hurricane Katrina Could Lead You to New and Unexpected Experiences

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Today's guest is Kim Rose Adams.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced her to move and find other opportunities.
She was able to take advantage of reduced college costs in Oregon for refugees and took her jr year of photography at  University of Oregon. She then returned to New Orleans to get finish her degree at University of New Orleans.

She currently works as a full time photographer and in her spare time
volunteers at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast where she cares for
and photographs wild birds.

Subscribe to the Women of the Northwest podcast for inspiring stories and adventures.
Find me on my website: jan-johnson.com

Transcript

Jan: So glad to be here today with all of you listeners. My guest today is Kim Adams. Hi, Kim.

Kim: Hello.

Jan: I met Kim as a photographer who had taken a photo of the Indian that's at the Roundabout in Astoria. And since that was something that my husband had orchestrated, I thought, wow, I want that photo. Then we got to talking about all kinds of things, and she's had a pretty interesting life, I think, that you would enjoy listening to. So, Kim, tell me you were in Katrina. What was that like?

Kim: Oh, yes. So in 2005, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. When I was a sophomore in college and heading out into my junior year, I figured I'd have to find a new place to go to college because it looked pretty bad down there. And so that's how I ended up in Oregon, was I chose to go to school at OSU because I had a really great photography program and all kinds of outdoor things that I just couldn't do in Louisiana. But getting here was a pretty wild story.

Jan: Yeah, well, I just can't even imagine. I've never been in a storm to that extent. Wow. Can you describe that to us?

Kim: First of all, it was amazing. The power of nature that I felt around me was like nothing I've ever seen before. I mean, leaves were getting smashed up against the window, and you could see branches breaking off trees, and then the levee broke very close to where I was living. So there were two levee breaches, and I was very close to the one that broke near Lake Pontchartrain. And my university was on Lake Pontchartrain, so it was just flooding right in. Oh, my gosh. It was wild.

Jan: And your heart was beating wildly.

Kim: And weirdly enough, in disasters, I tend to stay calm. I don't know why. Yeah. When there's something really big happening around me, I tend to stay calm. And it's funny because it's the little stressors that stress me out more. Yeah.

Jan: So was somebody with you during that time, or were you by yourself?

Kim: Like I was living in an apartment directly across the street from my university and a high school, which was like the high school was between the university and my street. And I had two roommates from India who were law students, and so they were working in this country. And we were all in the upper floor apartment of a two-story building.

Jan: Oh, my gosh. Well, maybe upper floor would be safer. Not so much.

Kim: So the bottom floor was flooded and we had to actually swim from the stairs. So, like, about halfway down the stairs, we had to start swimming to get out at one point. But the upper floor was safer for about a day. And then after the rains came and the floods came and we noticed that the water was sort of rising really quickly, we knew something bad was happening when we saw that because most people park their cars in the yard when it's going to flood. And my car just started to be, like, surrounded by water. And so we knew it was getting worse. But what happened was the next day after we slept there, thinking, maybe things will get better, the roof started to cave in in several rooms. And we realized the landlord had not taken care of the roof and it was much more rain than usual, but it was in pretty bad shape. So the roof over their bedroom caved in first, and then it was the living room. And then we found out later, after we left, it was the kitchen. And I got really lucky. But my bedroom in the back room that I had my artwork in did not cave in.

Jan: I was so lucky, really, because I'm thinking, okay, if you're in a fire, you're thinking, what am I going to grab? Right? But if you're in a water based something, what are you holding over everything, over your head? You're throwing it in a plastic bag. What are you doing with your things that you want to keep?

Kim: Well, that was exactly what my first thoughts were, was, we need to get out of here. We need to pack what we can take with us, and it's going to be in plastic. But before I left, I actually cut open some plastic bags and laid them all over in my possessions. And it actually saved them from mold, which is amazing. Yeah. So they weren't sitting there soaked with, like, the wet sheet rock, like in other parts of the apartment. And my parents were able to go in and rescue a lot of my things.

Jan: Wow, that's miraculous. Yeah. Quick thinking on that one because really, mold destroys completely in your artwork. What kind of artwork? Did you have in there?

Kim: At that point, I took a multidisciplinary approach in college. So I was in illustration classes for several years. I was in printmaking and I was in photography because I wanted to learn all these different things. So I had a film camera. I had one roll of film. I wish I had had more. At that time, I had huge portfolios with these illustrations in the back room that didn't get destroyed. And some of them I still have, I kept because I really liked them. But at that point, they were was stressing out. And I was like, okay, yeah, we got to get out of here. And so I kind of told everybody, I was like, get what you want to bring with you in a backpack, like your most important things, and a change of clothes because we're going to get wet. And then we put that inside of a plastic bag and then swam out with it.

Jan: So as a photographer, were you able to document anything?

Kim: What I had was literally the roll of film in my camera. Like, whatever I had been shooting for class, that was what I had because I wasn't big into stocking supplies if I didn't need them, because I didn't have a lot of money, right. So whatever shots I had left, I used those shots. And I got the document literally just like a little bit of the first day. That was all I had.

Jan: I know it's not something that you want to have happen, but in the moment, how could you take advantage of it to be able to?

Kim: We had cell phones, but back then, this was 2005, so our cell phones were basically just text. They weren't fancy picture camera phones like we have now. And I even had to really parse out when I had my phone on and used it because there was no way to recharge.

Jan: Right? How are you going to recharge it?

Kim: Yeah, that was my one line out. I had to any family and friends was just being able to text. So phone on, text, turn phone off, wait for a reply. Turn phone on. Look for a text, turn phone off. But eventually that did play out into after a long and interesting survival story, it played out into me getting in contact with a family member who set up a distant family member to come pick us up. And they brought us to Baton Rouge, which is about 90 minutes north. And so we were able to stay in a dry spot, and everybody was able to get to their families and home and stuff.

Jan: And you were some of the lucky ones, right?

Kim: Because of proximity. I mean, because I lived so close to campus. And the University of New Orleans is interesting because instead of being like in the middle of town, it was on what would be like the lip of the bowl, because New Orleans is kind of dips down and has a low elevation. And in some places it's so low that the water table is like right there under the dirt. So if it rains, there's almost nowhere for the water to go. And it's known for flooding, even just in rains without hurricanes. Yeah, but the University of New Orleans was previously a military air base, so it was flat concrete foundation, so it had been built up and it was right near the levee, so it was all like higher ground. And it actually didn't flood. Even though my street flooded in the high school front yard flooded, the university didn't flood. So I was able to swim from my apartment across the front yard of the high school and into my university.

Jan: Oh my gosh. Wow. That's kind of providential. That could be your spot and at least a spot of safety at that time. And have you since gone back?

Kim: Yeah, many times. Even after spending two semesters in Oregon, I had to go back because I was too much shy of residency and I was going to be charged the full rate of tuition. And at the time I was really looking to get out of college without debt, so I said, Well, I'll go back to New Orleans. So I did. And then I was able to see like, how they spray painted all the houses with the X’s and the date that they were there and if there was anybody found inside and things like that. And it looked really surreal because a lot of the neighborhood that I lived in along the lakefront just had so many X's and so many vacant homes and there were other parts that would.

Jan: Be really kind of gut wrenching

Kim: Think, and also kind of scary because like, you know what happens at night when nobody's around? It's kind of in a free for all for people to loot. So it felt kind of dangerous and a little spooky, like where'd everybody go?

Jan: Kind of otherworldly.

Kim: Yeah, definitely. It was like that end of the world type of feeling.

Jan: So you're able to get out and to a safe spot. And how did that bring you to Oregon?

Kim: Well, so I chose the UFO because of the photography program and I really wanted to be in a place where I could experience more outdoors and mountains and beaches and stuff. But at the time I had found a university that was offering in state rates to what they called refugees. And I was a refugee and apparently there was a list of about 50 or so universities in the country and University of Oregon was on the list and I was like, that's where I want to go. So was the one in Corvallis? I can't remember. Is that OSU? Yeah. So OSU and the U of O were both offering refugees an instate rate, which was wonderful. So I took advantage of it and kept going to school. I didn't miss a day of school between the Katrina and the beginning of the semester.

Jan: That is amazing. Really amazing. Yeah. So then you kept right on track to be able to graduate.

Kim: Yeah. The hurricane was in August, and school started in September in Oregon, so it's like a month later here. So I was able to just find a place to live. There was a student whose mother was looking for, like, a roommate for her daughter at a condo that she had bought, and she couldn't find a roommate, and so she just set me right up, and I got myself a room and a bicycle, and I would just bike to campus. Was awesome.

Jan: Did you receive some kind of benefits or anything, support from Louisiana?

Kim: Not from Louisiana, but from FEMA. So I had to go through a lot of documentation. I had to take pictures of the flood that I sent, and then when my parents went in to pick up the rest of my belongings, they took pictures. So we compiled those pictures and sent them into FEMA. And FEMA was reimbursing people for lost possessions and things like that. So I lost my car, and I had the value of my car reimbursed, and it was not a very expensive car. I think it was me.

Jan: Darn.

Kim: Yeah, I know. I mean, it was a used car. I was in college, but they reimbursed me for my used car and then for some of the things I lost. And I think in the end, it was around, like, $6,000. But that was a lot of money for me, working and going to college. That was a lot of money to be had at once.

Jan: Right. Well, 2005, that was a long the economy was a little better than now. Right.

Kim: But I made a conscious decision to not buy another car and just ride a bike because I was like, Well, I'm in this perfect town for biking. Why not? And so I was able to have a much more comfortable junior year going into my senior year and just kind of focus more on my school, which I really appreciated. Like, that buffer a lot. And I don't think I had a day job that year. That was my goal, was to focus right before I graduated. So I'd go to campus at night. I would use the photo lab when I could, when I can get in there, and I would just make art in whatever studio I can get into, and it helped me practice and practice more.

Jan: That was just an overall great experience. It was great, the segue to be able to have that space. That's awesome. Yeah. You like hiking and biking? Yeah.

Kim: So the closeness to the beach was great. Like, I first started camping on the beach in Florence with my friends, and I just totally fell in love with being in Oregon. We would go to rivers, and we jump off waterfalls and all this stuff I had never done before. And I was like, I'm an Oregonian. I don't want to leave now. It was great.

Jan: The Oregon is a pretty dandy state. I mean, there's so much available to do, especially if you like the or outdoors. There's so many beautiful places and such a diversity of landscape in Oregon. You know, eastern Oregon is so different from the west, and you got the beaches and you got rivers and you got mountains and pretty much has it all, doesn't it?

Kim: Yeah, it does.

Jan: Yeah.

Kim: It's really beautiful.

Jan: Yeah. And so now you're continuing doing your art. Talk to us a little bit about what kind of art you do on your photography and other things.

Kim: Okay. So as of this year and the last few years, I've focused mostly on outdoor photography, even though I do some illustration. And sometimes I do graphic design using my illustration. Those things are more for, like, people I know and friends and stuff. I don't do it as often, but mostly what I do is I shoot as I hike either coastal seams or mountain areas. And then I sell prints of that like traditional artists do. But I also design different products with my images. Like, I think some of my best shots go onto cards and then some other shots that look good in a square format go on to coasters. So I just take my favorites that are the most what is the word? Like printable, I guess. Good composition and all that stuff. So I try to design products and then I sell those products to stores who then sell them to the public. So it's kind of like there's no middleman. There's just me designing and creating and hand making some of my stuff and then just selling it out, putting it out into the world in quantity.

Jan: It's kind of rewarding, isn't it? It is, yeah.

Kim: I knew I wanted to do creative work, but just being young like a teenager or in college, I didn't know how to make that work. How do you do that? And it seems like a pipe dream. And I'm sure a lot of parents get scared. They're like, oh, no, my kid wants to be an artist. They're not going to make any money, but it really can be done.

Jan: Yeah. Well, then it's easier now. I mean, because there's so many online options, shopify or Etsy, and different things that are available to people to be able to sell their works where they couldn't have done that before.

Kim: But I think the most important thing is having diversified income. So not just relying on Etsy, not just relying on a gallery to sell your work. It's shooting in a bunch of different areas and putting yourself out there because it's much easier to get discovered if you're vocal about what you do instead of waiting for someone to just find you online.

Jan: Right? Yeah. And I think do you do some things that match up? For example, maybe some of your photography are things that could be in the store for Fort Claps Up or for other national parks or different kind of things, too.

Kim: There was one time when I was in which is the one with the Lewis and Clark fort.

Jan: Fort Clapsop. Yeah.

Kim: Okay, sorry. Fort Clatsop at one time did carry some of the stuff that I designed. And I mean, things just tend to shift around with what people want or what's selling. Like what's selling often determines if I'm in a store or not. But I think in the future I have an idea of how I'd like to work with more of the state parks. But it's kind of like a retirement plan. It's not like right now kind of my idea is since I don't have any kids and I'm now 41, my idea is if there's nobody to, like, pass these photos onto in my family, I think it'd be really cool to, like, give them to these state parks and allow them to somehow profit off of them to create funds to maintain the park. Because parks seem to be underfunded. Right. And I know rescue operations are very expensive and maintenance and keeping personnel, and so I was thinking maybe that's the way it can kind of give back to all hikers and not just like, one single child. And I feel like that's huge, and I hope I get to do that.

Jan: So, yeah, I mean, I think when you think about, like, who other places where you can sell your things, you can get into all kinds of the Maritime Museum pictures of boats or things that are different.

Kim: This coming month, February, I'm going to have my first published photo in a regional magazine, which is really cool. In the state of Oregon, we have 1859 and 1889 magazines, which are the state magazines, and they promote recreation and travel and events and different things going on in both states. And so the 1889 magazine will have a full page image next coming up in February, which is exciting.

Jan: That is super exciting. Yeah, really exciting. Yeah. Your claim to fame.

Kim: I had to work for it. I didn't wait for them to find me. I wrote emails. And I feel like we established a relationship.

Jan: Well, that is really exciting. What other kind of things are you Involved in at this time?

Kim: I have been a volunteer for the Wildlife Center of the North Coast for a few years, and what I do is volunteer rescue and transport. And so far it's only been birds, but we do take other small animals. Nothing that's going to bite us, stomp us, pretty much give us rabies, but we will take in birds and small animals. And all that happened because a few years ago, I got a commission for the Columbia Memorial Hospital to do some photographs in their permanent collection. And one of the things I wanted to do was try to represent local culture and the outdoors and sort of bring it into the hospital because that's what we know and see around us.

Jan: Right.

Kim: And one of the ideas I had was to go to the wildlife center and do a picture of one of the birds. That was way before I was a volunteer, and they had this cute little american kestrel called Flynn, and he was a resident, and the resident birds can't be released because of a non healing injury, but they were well enough to keep as education birds. And so fFynn was, like, their main education bird at the time. And there's a picture of Flynn right when you walk into the primary care clinic. And they let me put, like, a little bit of information on the wall next to it that refers people to the wildlife center and lets them know what it's all about, what's going on in the picture. And so hopefully, it creates awareness that we have a place that can take care of birds if they find one hit by a car or whatever. Yeah.

Jan: Did they only do birds?

Kim: They can take small animals, like chipmunks little things. I don't think they take raccoons. They don't take deer. Of course, we're not going to take anything huge and dangerous, right?

Jan: Yeah. Josh Saranpaa grew up in Brownsmead, too. How big is that center?

Kim: I don't know the acreage, but I volunteered to do landscaping for a year there, and so I know it's pretty huge. And there's a lot that needs to be done. So, I mean, even if somebody doesn't work with the animals, they could always use help with that kind of thing, too. But one of my favorite parts was going into the aviaries, where the birds kind of practice their flying again. Before they're released into the wild. They need to make sure that their flight patterns are healthy. And so I was in there helping trim trees and clear out, like, fern fronds that had turned brown the year before and just make it nice for the birds to be in there.

Jan: That's fascinating. That's out on 202, right?

Kim: It's very close to the Olney Inn.

Jan: Okay. All right. I have never been out there, so I'll have to take a visit.

Kim: It's not a public really, it's not a public facility because it's nonprofit and they care for their animals. But they do have an open house once a year, and I think they even have a plant sale. So I think there's twice a year where you can go and see and then you can see all their resident birds. Like, there's a cormorant, and there's a tiny western screech owl there. It's incredibly cute. So you should definitely go to the open house, and then it's a way to actually donate because you can drop some money in the box or buy a plant and then all the proceeds from the sales of the plants and stuff go to paying for the medical needs of the animals.

Jan: Awesome. Yeah. Oh, that's kind of fun. Well, yeah, it suits your need to be a part of doing something for your community, but also you've got that photographer's eye.

Kim: Some of my favorite pictures are of the birds I've shot. Like, I've gotten really lucky. And I have some good raven photos. And I have an amazing photo of a red tailed hawk taking flight on the Columbia River just as its claws are releasing this piece of driftwood, and its wings are fully open. It's so pretty. And so I feel like if I'm photographing the birds, I want to also see them safe. Yeah.

Jan: What a delightful you've chosen a nice path, I think. And I think any kind of a path that's creative is definitely the best path in my mind.

Kim: I can't say people are necessarily unhappy because they choose to go very linear, but my path has not really been linear, even though it's had a theme. And I think that diversity is making it very interesting. And I like things that present challenges and new things because it makes life fun.

Jan: Yeah, well, and creativity does that because it always spurs to one next thing. You can do the same thing. Like, you could even take one of your photographs and re represent it a dozen different ways, so you're just never stuck in the rook.

Kim: Oh, I have a great word for that. I learned in listening to a podcast on managing your money wisely, it's called Scalable Income. So whenever an artist takes something they've created, whether it's like a photograph or an illustration, and they sell it again and again as a card and as a print, and they sell the original, it's called Scalable Income because you're increasing your sales of a single item.

Jan: It's the same idea of, where else can I center this? Or what's the right audience for it, or whatever. Yeah. Well, you've made a nice life for yourself, it looks like. This is great. I will put in the show notes the way to get hold of Kim Adams. So if you want to get to our website and look at the amazing things that she's doing or be in contact with her, I'm sure she would like to make that connection with you as well. Thank you, Ken.

Kim: Okay. Thanks for having me.

Jan: If you enjoyed this or any other of my podcast episodes, it would be amazing if you would take a few minutes to leave a review so others can find it. Transcripts are available on my website@janjohnson.com. Please join me again next week.