PROJECTS
Check out the features' teasers. Watch the shorts. Buy the DVDs. Read the credits and accolades.
With numerous projects under our belt we have the expertise and resources available to produce a quality film for you. Let's talk.
In addition to clips for sale exclusively at Nimia, check out our Projects for other possibilities, and then contact us directly. We also shoot custom footage.
Crest Pictures has produced three feature films. All are available on DVD in our store. Visit our Projects to see their trailers, accolades and credits.
Enjoy the many photos shot while on location. If you wish to purchase an image contact us directly with the album name and photo title.
We never set out to make nature films – it just happened. With a deep-rooted background in art Robert had simply turned to video as a new medium for self-expression and creative exploration. At the time we were also just getting back into serious hiking and backpacking, so he armed himself with a mini-DV and hauled it around on all our trips in order to document them for ourselves. Eventually, he decided to take it a step further and began learning to edit so he could turn some of this footage into short films. As an accomplished artist he already had a firm understanding of the interplay of color, form, texture, and composition – and now, as a filmmaker he was able to add the dimensions of movement and sound to his work.
Lifespring, our first film. Broadcast on Seattle's KCTS 9; screened at the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival.
Below the Clouds : Rainier Impressions, our first feature. Broadcast on KCTS 9 and OPB TV in Portland; screened throughout Western Washington, including the 2007 Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival. Available on DVD.
Wanderings, a short film shot during a backpack in Washington's Enchantment Lakes; 2007 screened at the Hazel Wolf and the Burke Museum.
We took up mountain climbing (though we had already bagged Mt Whitney in 2003) and summited all of Washington's volcanoes (just coming up short on Glacier Peak), plus Mt Olympus on the Olympic Peninsula.
The Irate Birdwatcher, our second feature. Screened at venues throughout Washington, including the 2010 Port Townsend Film Festival; received the 2010 Silver Sierra Film Award, Environmental Film Competition at the Yosemite Film Festival; aired on KCTS 9 TV, Seattle, WA; screened at the Rossland Mountain Film Festival, Rossland, BC Canada; and received Honorable Mention for Creative Approach at the 6th Annual Montana CINE International Film Festival. Available on DVD.
Right Here, Right Now, our first extreme sport short. Received the 2010 El Capitan Short Film Award at the Yosemite Film Festival; the Seven Summits Award for Documentaries at the Mountain Film Festival, Mammoth, CA; and screened at the 2009 Rossland Mountain Film Festival, Rossland, BC Canada.
FreeRider, our second extreme sport film. Screened and premiered at the 7th International Free Ride Film Festival, St-Lary-Soulan, France; received the Sir Edmund Hillary Award for Shorts at the Mountain Film Festival, Mammoth, CA; screened at the 10th Annual New Zealand Mountain Film Festival; received Best Documentary Short at the Yosemite International Film Festival; and screened throughout Western USA and Canada, including the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and the WSSN Film Showcase in 2013.
Out of the Mist ~ Olympic Wilderness Stories, our latest feature. Overwhelmingly received and screened to many standing room only crowds throughout Washington and in Portland, OR. Broadcast of The Making of Out of the Mist, a television interview on KBTC in Tacoma, WA. Available on DVD.
Robert retired from his full-time job as a creative director at a Web consulting firm. We are now free to go wherever and whenever we are called.
Crest Pictures is the vision of husband and wife team Robert and Kathy Chrestensen. We both have a passion for nature and choose to produce films that are outside the box – with an artistic bent. We aspire to evoke feelings of respect and appreciation for the natural world and to send a poignant message for wilderness protection. Our hope is that the viewer will be moved to embrace the role of nature's steward, not its conqueror. And finally, we strive to maintain the highest degree of quality, beauty, and integrity in our work.
Videography - Editing - Design
An accomplished filmmaker, living and working in the Seattle area for over 30 years. His artistic and occupational careers span four decades and has gained him much respect in the disciplines of filmmaking, painting, graphic and web design, and art direction. In 2000 he turned to filmmaking for self-expression and creative exploration – adding the elements of movement, sound and rhythm to his artistry. His expertise includes camera operation, video editing, sound mixing, and DVD authoring. He considers himself a conceptual artist, whose work is heavily influenced by nature and structure. An acute eye, intuitive sense of composition, and impromptu style translates into unique and thought-provoking imagery.
Coordination - Content - Photography
Her expertise includes storytelling, scripting and research; Website content development, search engine optimization, and online marketing; customer relations; and, still photography. Skilled in communication and organization, as co-producer she oversees project coordination, resource management, budgeting and marketing.