Nichol Krupp Photography

NEW YORK CITY SHOW AT NKP GALLERY:
BE SURE TO COME OUT TO NICHOL KRUPP PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO AND GALLERY ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 6TH FOR THE BAY CITY GALLERY WALK. NICHOL WILL BE FEATURING SOME OF HER WORK FROM HER TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME NICHOL HAS PUT HER IMAGES UP FOR SALE IN THE GALLERY. SEVERAL OTHER GALLERIES IN THE AREA WILL BE OPEN ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS WELL FEATURING OTHER ARTISTS. THE GALLERY WALK WILL FINISH UP WITH A MOVIE AT THE STATE THEATRE. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. THE GALLERY WALK IS FROM 5PM TO 8PM. YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT SOME OF THE OTHER NEW YORK IMAGES FROM A PREVIOUS BLOG IN THE SEPTEMBER ARCHIVES.

   I just wanted to share a quick image of my oldest little guy that I am just in love with. I keep asking myself…Is he really mine?  We were up at the cabin this weekend and he had not done his hair in two days.  I have been telling myself that I am going to cut it off but now that I see it in photographs….I THINK NOT!  Cameron, you are a special little guy and I am so blessed that you are mine. 

Oh me and my constant deep thinking. It is what I do all of the time. Lately the wheels in my head have just been spinning away. It is a good thing though. This past couple of months have been a time of personal growth and endless reflection. I find myself striving to be better and better at what I do personally and professionally. I feel that with my photography I am absolutely a perfectionist. I want only the best work leaving my studio. My business has grown to the point of being booked several months in advance and that is a huge blessing, especially when I live in an area of the United States that is not exactly thriving right now where the economy is concerned. Again, I am truly blessed to be doing what I love and make a living doing it.

     Below is a quote from a speech delivered by Steve Jobs, one of the creators/artists of MACINTOSH, to the graduating class of Stanford University.  In it is a quote that to me is beyond profound.  I want to share it with you all in hopes that you read it and keep it with you forever.  Print it out.  Put it on your bathroom mirror, in your purse, your journal, on the visor of your car.  Put it where ever you want, but really read it and think it through. 

"You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.

     Often times as an artist I feel like I’m being creatively squashed by the business aspect of what I do.  Then I start to think about retiring, AGAIN.  Do you even know how many times I have retired(or at least said I was going to)?  I am only 34.  Come on!  So then I think about what I would want to do in my "PERFECT LIFE"…"MY DREAM WORLD"… After I think long and hard about it, I realize I would be a PHOTOGRAPHER.  It is in my blood and who I am. I am an artist who LOVES to create with my camera.  I see things others don’t and I love it.

    The business aspect of photography often becomes very difficult when you are an artist so it is important to keep things in perspective. Once you start to have overhead in the profession you choose, your work can end up being motivated by other things therefore stomping on your creativity.

     I find that it is important to take a moment to reflect and refocus from time to time and see what you can do to get back on track.  If you are doing what you love, the rest will fall in to place.

    I have a very close friend who is a doctor and who, in addition to being a healer, is also clearly an artist and writer. We often times brainstorm to one another about what we could be doing differently to feed our creative spirit…our SOUL. Is it where we live that is the problem?  Are there things we can do that can still feed our creative spirit while we continue to run thriving businesses?  The answer is YES.  It is up you to feed your SOUL whether that is on a spiritual level or an artistic one.  If where you live is a factor, then make it a priority to travel more or move.  If the people you are around are squashing your spirit, then find others to surround yourself with.  Find people who inspire you and people who are driven.  It will only push you to become better and better.  You will then be able to give back even more of yourself to others. 

     What is the ultimate creative block for someone?  The answer, in my opinion, is money.  That is it!  How do we eliminate that from the equation? Well, when we have a business and overhead we cannot really eliminate it but if we are doing what we truly love, the rest will fall in to place, including the money.  Maybe you work less for money and work more on personal projects. Maybe you do more travel work, which for me I think is going to be a big part of my answer.  Who knows?  The possibilities are endless but the end goal for me as an artist is to feed my soul constantly and continue to surround myself with others who are driven, ambitious, passionate and giving of their time and talents.

What is your passion?  What are you ambitious about?  Who do you look up to?  What are your gifts?  What are your goals?  What do you want to contribute to this life?  How can you do that effectively?  In the words of Steve Jobs, "How can you put a DING in the universe?"

     Good luck figuring all of that out. If you stay true to your spirit the answers to those questions will come.  I have asked these same questions of myself over the past month or so and boy are the answers right there in front of me.  Now, I just have to make them all a reality and put them into effect.

I will finish with yet another quote from Steve Jobs…

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

   I would love to hear feedback from any of you who are reading my blog from time to time.  I am sure you can contribute to the conversation with your own thoughts. 

Thanks!

~Niki

Oooohhhhhhh this is a good one.  Are you ready?

"Watch your thoughts; 

they become words.

Watch your words;

they become actions.

Watch your actions;

they become habits.

Watch your habits;

they become character.

Watch your character;

it becomes your DESTINY."

            By Frank Outlaw

Here are some of my favorite images from some great clients in the past few weeks.  This is Little Miss "G"  What a great personality she has.

Playing with bubbles…

This one cracks me up. Looks like a nice Pilates/Yoga move if you ask me.

Meet "D"  She is a stunner and yes, that is really her hair.  No extentions here folks.  That is really the sky in the background of the window she was standing in front of too.  You don’t see skies like that very often here.  This entire family was an absolute JOY to work with from beginning to end.  It is nice when you get clients who trust you and just let you do your thing. The final outcome is way better too.  Thanks "T" Family!

    All right everyone, if you want to come out for a great night of food, fun and music then this is the night.  On Friday November 16th at 7:00pm, Jonathan Cordero will be featuring music from his new CD that was just recently released titled, "THE HOPE PROJECT." 

     You can go and check out Jonathan on MY SPACE www.myspace.com/jonathancordero    for a preview of his music.  Jonathan is also the one who wrote the music you hear on my site. He wrote Morning Medley specifically for NICHOL KRUPP PHOTOGRAPHY and I am telling you what, this guy is quite the musician and artist.  I talked with him a little bit about what I was looking for and he far exceded any expectations that I had.  It worked out well as he wrote me three songs and I did all of the images you will see on his CD.  Look for him and remember his name because you will be hearing about him a lot in the future.

     Jonathan also sang at my mother’s funeral and everyone was coming up to me afterward to ask where they could buy a CD.  Well, now you can.  There will be CD’s for sale at NICHOL KRUPP PHOTOGRAPHY on November 16th when Jonathan debuts his album.  You can email us with any questions at NICHOL KRUPP PHOTOGRAPHY.  We hope to see you there!

~N

Last one…come on out and meet Jonathan in person on November 16th at 7:00pm.

     Well, my heart is especially attached to this little piece of HEAVEN.  This is the new addition to the Krupp/Avey Family.  Keith’s little sister Colleen and her hubby Matt finally got their baby girl. We decided to take the two kids for Colleen so that she could get her first REAL break in 6 weeks.  What better way to spend it than at the Michigan/Michigan State game.  GO SPARTANS!!! 

     Of course we had to do a photo shoot with her today.  The challenging part was that there were five kids all over the place while I was trying to create magic(my three and her two).  Good times!!! 

    We managed to get some great shots and I managed to get her liking a binky finally which she pretty much has not let go of since they left this morning.  Here she is with with her big brother as well as a cute shot of my Jackson trying to SHOOSH her and make her go to sleep.  ENJOY!!!

Last one for now…I think???

     Okay, so for those of you know me and know me well you will know that I am a fanatic about quotes and sayings.  I am constantly searching out things that may inspire me or make me see things in life more clearly or more different.

     Recently, I stumbled upon this book in a box of belongings that were my mother’s.  I had not gone through any of her things because it was just always TOO painful to go there since her death.  Every time I did it was just too upsetting. Well, as luck would have it, I found this book at a time that I really needed to find it and for that I am so grateful.  It is a very quick read with some great content.  You can read bits and pieces at a time as well which is nice for a mother of three and studio owner. I decided to write down ALL of the things that jumped out at me personally and then typed them up on my computer to keep them more handy. 

     I would encourage all of you to check this book out and write down the ones that give you inspiration.  I probably would have never bought this book in a store so I am glad my mom did.  THANKS MOM!  I MISS YOU!

Niki’s Favorite Sayings from the book "Life’s too short to Live only for the Weekends.”

Life’s too short to make excuses…to forgo traditions that bind and strengthen family ties…to leave kite flying to the kids…to silence children’s singing…to let misunderstandings destroy relationships.

Life’s to short to save good dishes only for special occasions…to only think a compliment and not say it…to replace hard work with wishful thinking…to use foul language…to be afraid.

Life’s too short to silence bells on a clock meant to chime…to put more value on a beached whale than a floundering family…to forget the smell of a few new crayons…to always have to win.

Life’s too short to take good health for granted…to eat the same meals day after day…to not appreciate the smell of newly mowed grass…to act disrespectful to any person young or old.

Life is too short to turn down food samples at the market…to stand up while eating a meal…to stop learning new things…to always look at the greener grass in the neighbor’s yard and miss the sunny dandelions in yours.

Life’s too short to stop sending handwritten notes…to not apologize when you dial the wrong number…to have never slid down a banister…to fail to donate blood…to take a bath without bubbles, candlelight, and a good book…to have never read a classic just for pleasure.

Life’s too short to never have contemplated the artwork of children…especially your own.

Life’s too short to have never built a snowman with a carrot nose…to HOG a conversation…to deny the reality of a miracle…to forget that prayer is a two-way conversation…to have never memorized the Lord’s Prayer and said it from your heart.

Life’s too short to pass up a small town’s museum…to take only posed photographs…to know the interior or your office better than your child’s face…to complain about your kids while others long for a child…to expect more from others than you do for yourself….to feel uncomfortable with silence…to resist change when it really is for the better.

Life’s too short to confuse entertaining with showing genuine hospitality…to miss your high school reunion because you’ve gained weight or gone bald…to send emails to strangers while failing to correspond with loved ones.   

Life’s too short to have never finger painted…to choose TV over watching a glorious sunset…to forget the September smells of freshly sharpened pencils and new books…to have never been on a scavenger hunt…to be obsessed with being skinny.

Life’s too short to realize how quickly children grow up, until they do…to treat each day as a duty rather than a delight…to forget to say grace before eating…to use candles only during a power outage.

Life’s too short to give up on a noble dream…to shorten it more by smoking…to blame your parents for your shortcomings…to run stop signs and red lights…to tire of the aroma of fresh coffee brewing.

Life’s too short to forget the magic of the tooth fairy…to speak harshly…to always travel the same routes around town…to think flowers are an unnecessary luxury…to spend more time cleaning house than cultivating friendships.

Life’s too short to miss greeting others with a warm smile…to worry about water spots on dinner glasses…to look only down your nose at others…to utter unkind words…to put others down when we could be lifting them up.

Life’s too short to break promises…to count on taking that “Big Vacation” SOMEDAY!!!

Life’s too short to jump to conclusions…to hate Mondays…to gossip…to exchange the pages of a good book for the images on TV…to forgo common decency…to live like we have FOREVER.

Life’s too short to satisfy the pen of a writer or the brush of an artist…

Life’s too short to delay inviting someone over for a meal…to wish for tomorrow and miss the joys of today…to base our lives on what others will think…to not know your neighbors…to complain about the weather.

Okay I just had to share one more to show off the hair and eyes on these munchkins.  I never knew that when we pulled off the hats that they arrived in, there would be all of that black hair underneath.  LOVED IT!