Q: Your photography career seems amazing... you've not only photographed the first two HALLOWEEN movies, but also ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and CHRISTINE, and TV shows such as Star Trek, Family Ties and Cheers as well. How did you get your start in the biz?
A: I had attended UCLA film school and was a teaching assistant in Motion Picture production as a grad student, but had no "ins" into the film business when I graduated...but shooting stills was something I had done for underground papers while at UCLA and continued to do, shooting rock concerts and antiwar rallies during the late 60's/early 70's and put together a portfolio of my work. My next-door neighbor (for a brief time) was Robert Mitchum's daughter, Trina, who was an excellent still photographer herself, working on independent films, who had been invited to shoot a low budget feature but was not available when it was scheduled to shoot...and she asked the producer/director to look at my portfolio. He did...and hired me on the spot. I don't think that feature film was ever released (it starred Wolfman Jack, Deborah Raffin and Lane Caudell) but the script supervisor on it was Debra Hill...who went on to work with John Carpenter, first as script supervisor on ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and then co-writing and producing HALLOWEEN.

Q: How did you get the job of photographing the first two HALLOWEEN films?
A: Debra remembered me from the film we'd worked on together and hired me to shoot HALLOWEEN. I became part of John and Debra's film family.

Q: What exactly were your responsibilities as photographer, and how many photos did you take for each film?
A: It was up to me to cover the essential images of each scene, as well as character portraits and behind the scenes activities. At that time, I didn't own a blimp (the soundproof box motion picture still photographers use to silence the "click" when they shoot) so John would restage crucial scenes for me after he'd call "cut." I shot a few rolls of film each day (I always tried to make every shot count)...probably 3000 to 5000 frames for each film (just a rough guess). I'm trying to track down all of those original negatives and transparencies.

Q: What can you tell us about working with John and Debra?
A: Debra was the best producer in the business...she knew how to get things done on time and under budget, was fair but firm and a terrific person. She fought to get me into the union on ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and was successful...I owed my career to her. Her death earlier this year came as a terrible shock to everyone who knew and loved her. John was a dream to work with...he understood the value of the stills to help promote and sell his films and always made sure I got what was needed...even to the point of letting me have his position on the set when it was the only spot providing a clear shot. I absolutely adored him...and still do. It was like working with a great group of supportive friends...an absolute joy.

Q: Did you have any interaction with Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis? What was it like working with them?
A: Donald was a consummate pro...totally cooperative, always good-humored...always willing to pose when a promising situation presented itself. A very sweet man. Jamie was very young when we shot HALLOWEEN - only 19, I believe, and because she had grown up in a high profile Hollywood family, I had the impression that she was used to avoiding still photographers...but once she saw my portfolio (which I left in her winnebago one day early in the shoot) she became the most cooperative, enthusiastic subject. She was, and still is, one of the most genuine, thoughtful and unaffected people in the business. A lovely person.

Q: Jamie Lee Curtis said in an interview that the atmosphere on the set of HALLOWEEN was one of great enthusiasm and incredible focus. Did you sense that the crew was filming a movie that would make cinematic history? And do you feel that your photos captured the the enthusiasm that Jamie mentioned?
A: We all had a GREAT time. We knew that the film was starting with a steadicam shot - one of the first uses of that equipment (done by Ray Stella, a wonderfully talented camera operator) which took pretty much an entire evening and everyone was very elated when it was completed...but we didn't know it would become the largest grossing film for its price or the impact it would have. We knew it was basing its suspense on smart film-making (a la Hitchcock) rather than with gratuitous gore (there was no blood in the film, despite people's impressions) but we all just did our jobs and enjoyed the process tremendously.

Q: When HALLOWEEN II rolled around, what was the atmosphere like on the set? Was it the same as on HALLOWEEN?
A: Entirely different. Debra and John had given a break (and their entire crew) to new director Rick Rosenthal...who did not understand why there was a still person on the set or what the adjustment process was before each shot - and was constantly throwing me off the set for no reason. He didn't seem to trust the brilliant camera crew (DP Dean Cundey, operator Ray Stella, first assistant Clyde Bryan and second assistant Krishna Rao, as I remember) and often humiliated some the young actors in front of the crew. You couldn't pay me enough to work with him again.

Q: Can you share with us some photos from your personal collection and tell us a little bit about them?
A: The photos are of PJ, Nancy and Jamie, Dick Warlock, Jamie and Donald Pleasance from H2, Jamie playing with the props in H1, the original crew photo (the entire crew of HALLOWEEN with Donald Pleasence) and one of me and Donald.

Q: Please tell us about the new book you're working on.
A: I'm considering doing a book about working with John on those early films...using his and other participants' commentary for the photo captions. I'm still trying to track down the original negatives and transparencies from the films. I may also do a book about the reggae artists I've photographed in the mid-seventies while working for Island Records...or maybe an entire career retrospective. A sample of my career can be seen at my new website at www.LensWoman.com. Everyone is encouraged to sign my guestbook and let me know what they'd like to see more of!

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am very active as the elected still photographers' representative on the National Executive Board of the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) and very active politically with my own email newsletter (which I compile and send out twice a week to keep people informed about what's going on in this country under Bush. Readers are welcomed to contact me if they'd like to subscribe to KimsPoliticalNewsletter@topica.com). The last feature I shot was one my son wrote and directed called DEAN QUIXOTE (see www.deanquixote.com) which is a smart comedy...and slightly surreal..sort of a cross between Woody Allen and David Lynch! He's now California commissioner for the World Adult Kickball Association www.worldkickball.com! I will also have a display of photos from John's films at Cafe Latte on Wilshire Blvd. at Crescent Heights in Los Angeles for the month of October.