Multi-Hyphenate Post #4 – Kapowing! – The Kapow Colour Pop

Pretty Little Yellows (original)

As a photographer working in the digital age, I’m a firm believer in the magic of Photoshop. A small twist here or there can make the difference between something good and something wow-tastique! If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m also a huge fan of colour. Turning the colours in my photos from normal to surreal is a constant of my work. In this installment of Kapowing, I wanted to share a simple technique to help make the colours in your digital photos POP!

I work in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. For this “how to”, I’ve included screen shots and instructions on PSE, but if you’re an original Photoshop user, the instructions are pretty much the same.
It’s a very rare occasion that Kapow shares any of her techniques. So pick that jaw up off the floor and let’s get to colour poppin’!

Multi-Hyphenate Post #3 – Kapowing! – Kapowing Moments into your Vacation Photos

Graves at Night
★ For many of us, vacations are few and far between. Taking a break from the daily grind is either nearly impossible for lack of time or financially infeasible. That’s why when I get the opportunity to get away, I savor every moment. Along with creating irreplaceable and epic memories, I like to capture my special “me” time in my vacation photographs. I used to simply point and shoot at places of interest along my journeys, but found that once I got home and printed the images, they lacked something. The photos were pretty (a landscape of the Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure, a valley dotted with buffalo in Yellowstone National Park, et cetera), but they didn’t really tell the story of my adventure.
In recent years, I’ve tried to more consciously frame and capture moments along the way in a timeline; a day in my life told by the pieces of the day that I encounter. Going snap-happy on an adventure is easy, but is easy always best? Rather than hold my arm out in front of my face at the Continental Divide or trust some stranger with my camera to click a portrait of my husband and me in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, I like to spin a different angle on my vacation pics. Let me show you how I mean.

Multi-Hyphenate Post #2- Kapowing! – Kapowing the Everyday

Best Day Ever
Opportunity – it’s everywhere.  That’s true for so much in life.  A couple of questions I am often asked are:  “Where do you get your ideas?” And “What is your inspiration?”  The only answer I can think of is also the simplest:  Well, everything!  One of the first things a good photography teacher will tell you is to constantly shift your perspective.  A common error is to center everything at eye level.  Although this is not a bad approach in some scenarios, you may miss what’s going on around you.  Today I wanted share a couple of Kapowing notes on being prepared and looking for the unexpected.
Kapow doesn’t take photos, she pounds life into paper, that’s what they say at least.  A shopping cart, the sky above your car’s sunroof, the top of your dresser, a popsicle, these sorts of common everyday items can become eye striking subjects when posed or looked upon from an interesting perspective.  I remember being tasked with assignments in photography class such as the oh so popular, “Take a photo of an egg in an interesting composition.”  When handed this assignment, my fifteen year old brain reacted with an “oh yeah, right, an egg.” But I find myself challenging my developed skills with a similar mission on a daily basis.

Since I’m constantly looking for opportunity, I must at all times be prepared for it.  My suggestion is to invest in a good, high mpx pocket camera.  I’ve gone through a few of these, (since I beat them up more than my old school Trapper Keepers),  and much adore my Sony CyberShot.  Another awesome tool (thank you, technology) is the camera phone.  Don’t be afraid to use it!  I’ve seen some amazing things done with Blackberry and iPhone cameras.   There’s even an entire movement right now surrounding the iPhone camera and its resulting art called “iPhoneography”.  #TrueStory

So let’s say you’ve got your camera and you’re ready to go.  I can’t tell you “what” to look for but I can show you what I’ve found.  (^_^)

(Read the full article on Multi-Hyphenate Dot Com)


Multi-Hyphenate Post #1 – Kapowing! – The Making of a Brand and 3 Rules to Live By

Tokyo TiniWarning:  This piece is unintentionally autobiographical.  In order to fully explain my position, I had to delve into my own history.  But pay attention, the rules are important.

It’s easy to find the value of a particular model of toaster; you do a quick internet search and kapow, you’ve got it. Unfortunately, making and selling toasters is not my forte. So how does a small town girl with a penchant and passion for photography go from doing portraits for her friends to establishing a brand, determining her art’s worth and begin selling her art online? Good question! I’m not here to give you a step by step guide for setting up your artistic career. That would be impossible. I am, however going to give you a window into Kapow.
In the early 2000’s you could find my physical presence at many functions in my small town. From local festivals to the county fair, I was displaying art and entering contests where ever and whenever they were available. Although in my town, with its mere 20,000 resident population, this exposure was “good,” it was not my target market. These functions offered me little success other than the personal satisfaction of getting my art publicly seen.

Around 2005 I came to the conclusion that I needed a more concrete goal.  I asked myself, “What is it that I’m working toward? Do I simply want to share my art?  Do I want to sell my art?  Would I like my art to be a lucrative business that could support me financially?”  With each goal a bit more difficult to meet then the last, it was easy for that little voice in my head to say, “Forget it, you’ll never get there. Make your art for yourself and be satisfied.”  It seemed obvious to me at this point that my art was not sell-worthy, at least not in my hometown. Lacking confidence, I reverted to taking portraits and senior pictures for whatever money came my way.   (Read the full article on Multi-Hyphenate Dot Com)


A new gig!

Hey peeps,

Kapow has been super busy with the new day job and all, but I wanted to share with you a new gig I’m contributing to, Multi-Hyphenate.

Here’s some information about the Blog-a-zine straight from the creator, Tyler Weaver :

“MH is a blogazine featuring articles by the new wave of independent filmmakers, comic book creators, writers, photographers, musicians, marketeers, and any other creative type as they navigate the murky waters of this crazed new media landscape.”

~ Copyright 2009 MULTI-HYPHENATE

I’m excited to be contributing to this collaboration.  “Kapowing” – my new column on M-H will be running every Tuesday.  Subject matter will vary, but all be very Kapowish. (~_^)  Check out my first article that debuted last Tuesday here.

Trust me, you’re going to want to add a new bookmark to your browser – Multi-Hyphenat Dot Blogspot Dot Com.

★Kapow (”’)-.-(”’)


Year of Kapow

Konnichiwa Kapow friends.

With the new year begins a new 365 project; a new photo everyday all year long – My #POTD (photo of the day).

In addition to this massive undertaking, I wanted to try something new. A movement that I got quite heavily into at the end of 2009 was iPhone photo art. I’ve been testing quite a few iPhone photo editing applications, reading application reviews and what not, and discovered a sort of booming iPhone art movement among some creative artists. This year, I will be writing a review complete with edited photos every month about a different iPhone camera application. I hope to also spotlight artists involved in this movement of photography.

If you yourself are or know someone that has been dabbling in this field, zip me an email here.  I’d enjoy speaking with them, hearing opinions and experiences and potentially spotlighting their work and endeavors on my site.

Happy Kapow Year my friends!

Don’t forget, ShopKapow is live!  www.katiekapow.com/shop

★Kapow (”’)-.-(”’)


POTD 365 Kapowed!

Due to some unforeseen life circumstances my POTD (photo of the day) 365/365 project has been kapowed.  Many apologies to my POTD Twitter followers.  I have few choices but to pick a date and start over from scratch.  I’m planning on Labor Day as my new 365 launch.  Much of that depends on how much time I will have to prepare, but I’m anticipating a smooth re-launch due to my upcoming four day weekend.

I appreciate all of your support and please hang in there with me for one more week while I get things back in working order.

{{{hugs}}}

-Kapow


The Kapowtastic Kapowsketeers

Kapow: Today is kapowtastic.

You: What is kapowtastic Kapow?

Kapow: Well, isn’t everything kapowtastic?

You: I don’t know.  I don’t know what kapowtastic is?

Kapow: =O

You: O_O

Kapow: =O

You: O_o

Kapow: =D Lemme halp u friend!

Main Entry: ka-pow-tas-tic
Pronunciation: ˈkap\ ˈpau̇ \ˈtas\ tik
Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English kapowantastic, kapowtastical, from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French kapowntastique, from Late Latin kapowphantasticus, from Greek kapowphantastikos producing mental images, from kapowphantazein to present to the mind.

1 a: based on kafantasy : not real b: conceived or seemingly conceived by unrestrained kafancy c: so extreme as to challenge belief : unbelievable ; broadly : exceedingly large or great

2: marked by extravagant kafantasy or extreme individuality : eccentric

3: kapowtastic : excellent, superlative <a kapowstastic day>

You: =O

Kapow: =D

You: I understand Kapow!

Kapow: {{{{HUUUUGS}}}}

There, mucho better.  Now that you understand my name is also used as an adjective, let me tell you why today is so kapowtastic!

http://www.twibes.com/group/Kapowsketeers

Kapowsketeers

What is this???!!! =O =O =O

A Twibe just for Kapow fans?

Yup, big surprise I got from my Twitter pal Big_Diel

Okay sure there are only 7 members so far but how fracking cool is this?  Man I love my followers!  I have had so much fun interacting with and building friendships with different makes of folks all across the globe!

I am proud to introduce to you, the original Kapowsketeers!

big_diel – Kapowsketeer Twibe founder!

Hard_Tellyn #smartass

p0rkch0pp *fist bump*

__mares__ Sweet as Maltesers

lifroc ^5

FijiLomalagi Island Dreamer

The amount of support that I’ve been receiving from my online network of friends is also amazing!

Thank you everyone from the bottom of Kapow’s heart!  What a kapowtastic thing to do!

;)

- Kate


Happy Kapow Day Kapow!

Wow, what a great birthday I had this year!  Brief history: My birthdays are usually littered with disasters.  Bad kinds.  Bawhaha! My recent dive into Twitter has made me some incredibly awesome friends though!  I was surprised by an inbox FULL to the BRIM of birthday wishes, homemade TwitPic cards and the like!  I was just so tickled I wanted to take a moment to publicly thank all of my Twitter friends for making my birthday on the interwebz a memorable one!

Arigato gozaimasu!

Bday kapow

Made by my pal Lygris from Los Angeles. Twitter.com/LygrisHollywood One RAD chick that loves her some zombies!

Twitter.com/Sn0wrose The sweetest rose you’ll ever meet!

Twitter.com/rmilana More sunshine and color than a rainbow filled sky!

Twitter.com/Mortythemouth Lots of mouth, plenty to go around. ;)

Twitter.com/joeyhollywood Pretty much will rock your socks off.

Twitter.com/wubanger5 Definitely not as boring as the Twitter Bio! Bawhaha!

Twitter.com/TidyCat More than a cool cat, he’s pretty tidy too. =D

Twitter.com/whipstache Sure he’s whipping something up right now.

Twitter.com/vojha Wonderfully evil, potato throwing volleyball. (seriously)

Twitter.com/Th3PinkRabbit An incredible undiscovered artist and fab friend.

Twitter.com/sphinx568 She likes to party on my roof.

Twitter.com/cristobalcampos Super sweetie!

Twitter.com/MsKweenie She drives real fast, er watches cars drive real fast! lol

Twitter.com/vewe Full of the optimism I wish I had!

Twitter.com/Asfus Video game slinging, film watchin’ cleaning up for the in-laws mad man!

Twitter.com/unclebrak As big of an ass as my husband, maybe that’s cuz he’s his brother. Love you Shaun!

Twitter.com/karenwinters *HUGS* my sissypoo. She tweets when it’s important, PAY ATTENTION!

Twitter.com/__mares__ Down under with the thunder! Whoop whoop!

Twitter.com/Harley_Dog My dad rides Harleys and is way more badass than I could ever be!

Twitter.com/rodgerma One of my best Twitter friends EVER, skeptically enjoying life.

Twitter.com/Hard_Tellyn Good pal, and an asshat.

Twitter.com/p0rkch0pp Has a hot wife and is mostly full of shit. lol. Love ya pally!

If you are on Twitter, deinatley hook up with these peeps!  They are all more than awesomsauce! Oh and hit me up too Twitter.com/katiekapow!

Thanks again guys for an incredible birthday! You all rock!

Love ya!

- Katie


My Day on a Harley.

Vrooom vrooom!

garys-bike

Today was thrilling!  I got to ride on the back of a Harley down some scenic Oregon Highways and back roads.  I’ve been down these roads many times before but I have to say, it was a thoroughly different experience traveling over them on a Harley Davidson.  It’s a multi sensory event.  You feel the wind slapping your skin and the sun warming your body.  You smell the world around you, the fresh cut grass and blooming foliage.  You see things you never noticed before like a dilapidated barn and creek you didn’t know ran along the road.  You hear nothing but the growl of the bike beneath you.  It’s exhilarating, for me it’s reminiscent of being on a roller coaster, only more dangerous.

I was invited on this ride and given the opportunity to take photos.  There were four of us, Bob, Gary, Doreen and myself.  I felt pretty badass wearing a spare Harley jacket but was made fun of for my choice of foot ware; a pair of pink and grey Vans skate shoes.  Apparently you are supposed to wear boots when riding a motorcycle.

But here we go!

road-to-the-canyon

Our point of demarcation was a residence in Grants Pass, Oregon.  From there, we traveled out Vine Street and Highland Avenue to the old Merlin Road.  We road quite a few miles out to the Hellgate Canyon Viewpoint where we stopped to take some photos by an old bridge.

hellgate-canyon-signhellgate-canyon-viewpoint-oregon

I’m sure this photo has been taken a thousand times by many, many people but personally, I think mine’s the best.  ;)   Bahahaha!

Here’s the other side of the canyon.

Rogue River at Hellgate

bob-and-bike

Bob and his bike.

harley-jacket

I was told that this jacket was tailor made specifically for Bob in Mexico.

harley-men

There’s no kinda’ smile like a Harley smile!

bob-and-gary

“The Gang.”

The Gang

From here, we turned around and went back the way we came.  We connected with Interstate 5 at Merlin, Oregon which we stayed on until Rogue River, Oregon.  Wow!  Going that fast on a motorcycle was hella scary but totally fun!  We took a back road at Rogue River all the way to Gold Hill where we ran into another Harley owner while we were taking a break.  It’s amazing to me how you can talk to a perfect stranger for a significant amount of time when you have a common bond with them.  The guys talked “Harley” for a bit, we toured some freshly built homes in a new development (random, I know) and then decided to head home as the weather was taking a turn for the worse.  All in all, a pretty fun afternoon.

I’m going to be heading back out with them later on this spring to take a more detailed tour of Southern Oregon oddities on the road.  I plan on taking photos and compiling them into a coffee table book with the help of my husband, Stephen who will be writing some poetry to go along with the photos.

Stay tuned!