We caught up with successful photographer Hal Masover, as he interviews this week’s feature model Amanda “Mandie” Deaton.  Read Mandie’s story as she talks to Hal about the joys and challenges of being a model.  Also, be on the look out for more work from these amazing artists in future editions of Elan Vital Media.

For this article, I asked Mandie a number of questions including who in the modeling world inspires her?  She gave me a name, “Miranda Kerr.”  Her reasons?  Because Miranda started young, worked hard, has her own skincare line, and always has a glowing smile.  But as I reflect on Mandie, the truth is I am inspired by her.

Mandie is 28 years old and was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.

She suffers from chronic Gastroparesis; a painful disease that causes bloating.  I once asked her about her pain and she gave me a long list of stuff that read like a bad medical dictionary.

If Mandie were an ordinary person, struggling with her health might be enough to keep her down, but Mandie is not ordinary at all.  In the past year she has acted in several films.  OK, yes, I know Des Moines is not the film capital of the world, not even of the Midwest, but that isn’t going to stop Mandie.

She stars in the film “Haunted Cries” (2018), where she plays a kidnap victim and a ghost.  She is an extra in “Orangedale” (2018) and “The Harvest” (2018), and in the short film “Magic Among Humans” (2018) she plays the lead.  She is also appearing in three more films that have not yet been announced so they cannot be named here. Whew!

In between filming, she works a day job and models for area photographers, all while managing her chronic illness!

To hell with wondering who inspires her.  Mandie is amazing.  She’s an inspiration to us all.

So back to my questions.  I asked Mandie what she gets out of modeling.  She said, “I started modeling to make creative ideas come to life, but it has also become an outlet for me.  When I model I become the person I envision.  Acting does this for me too. In those moments I’m so focused that the world disappears for awhile.”

On the morning that we were to shoot together, Mandie had a rehearsal for a film.  There was an ice storm the night before but Des Moines is pretty fast at clearing their streets so the rehearsal was held.  She gathered what she needed for our shoot, picked up a friend to accompany her on the drive, and drove 3 hours to Fairfield, Iowa to shoot with me.

I like the art we made together and I love her story.  Please enjoy the delightful Mandie Deaton.

–Hal Masover

Model – Amanda “Mandie” Deaton,

Mandie Facebook 1 

Mandie Facebook 2 

Mandie Instagram

Photographer – Hal Masover,

Hal Masover Photography Facebook 

Hal Masover Photography Instagram