Bits and Pieces

of a lovely day.

I'm on my way home for the holiday. Happy turkey/tofurkey day everyone!

Scraps

I thought it would be fun to make something from the scraps that were left over from some of my previous projects.

So I grabbed my bag full of old ripped up paper and threw them all over my boring table.

I then put a clear plastic tablecloth over it, cut it to the size of my table, and then taped it to the sides. (Moo totally photo bombed my picture!)

All done! Now I have a super fun table that I can add to every time I have some left over scraps.

Let's eat cookies!

Tent

I built a big tent in my apartment to escape the real world for a bit.

But I love it so much I don't know if I'll ever come back!

Tweet Tweet

I'm on Twitter now!

I'll be updating daily with lovely things I see, fun projects I'm working on, silly thoughts, and cute pictures of Moo.

Woohoo!

Paper Planes

I have a sneaky feeling that my apartment turned into an airport while I was sleeping.

Airplanes have been flying by my head all morning,

and all through my living room.

I think I even saw my family fly by. I can't believe they're going on vacation without me!

Animal Family

Not only is my brother part monkey,

He's part whale as well!

It's not like I'm jealous or anything because I can fly...

...with a little help from Matty.

Q and A

Why did you want to become a photographer?

To create fun images to make people smile, of course!

Did you go to photography school? I really want to become a professional photographer but I don't live near any photography/art schools. Do you have any advice?

I went to FIT in Manhattan for photography although I learned most of what I know by just going out and shooting. Sitting in a classroom learning about technique doesn't work for me! I spent most of my four years in college looking for unpaid photo jobs and internships on craigslist so I could get as much experience as possible. So I personally don't think it's necessary to go to art school. There are tons of great books, online tutorials, and internships to learn from. I use to even model for photographers just so I can watch them and learn how they shoot ;)

Where on earth do you get your fantastic ideas?

From constant daydreaming.

Can you give us a few examples of things that you are inspired by?

Strangers that help strangers, adults that are children at heart, an honest smile, a child's imagination

Do you have a place where inspiration arrives or is it more of a spontaneous thing?

Most of my ideas seem to come while I'm walking around my neighborhood, riding the subway, or in the shower!

What kind of camera do you use?

I shoot with a Canon 5D with either my 16-35mm or 85mm 1.2 lens.

How do you afford your life?

Well, I pretty much work all the time! I have tons of different jobs since I'm a freelance photographer. I shoot for Gothamist, Improv Everywhere, various events around NYC, portraits and weddings. A lot of my images are also used in books, newspapers, and magazines.

How did you do your header? I like the shadows, and the feeling of it all being in the air.

I set my camera on a timer and then threw the objects in the air when it was about to take the picture. I made a complete mess of my floor but I just love a good mess! I then combined all the objects in photoshop to create the final picture.

Is Matty your boyfriend? or fiance? or husband?

Matty is my boyfriend but I prefer to call him my partner in crime.

What is your favorite word?

Charming. But I rarely use it because I don't want it to loose it's charm ;)

If Moo still has his boy bits and if he ever has kittens, can I have one?

Unfortunately, all his bits are gone but if I ever figure out how to clone him I'll let you know!

Can you post more Moo pictures?

Of course!

Do you have a favorite movie?

Amelie

How old are you?

Drum roll please............I'm twenty-two!

Although every day I have to convince someone that I'm not fourteen, I just look small for my age.

(i'm under that coat)

What is your favorite book?

The little Prince.

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

SpongeBob SquarePants, of course.

I was wondering, you live in Brooklyn right? Where abouts... you make it seem like such a fun place I want to visit someday!

I live in Brooklyn in a charming little neighborhood called Greenpoint. There are lots of pretty apartments, sleepy store cats, and a famous bakery called Peter Pans where the donuts are the tastiest and the waitresses wear cute uniforms.

What is your best childhood memory?

Being at my mom-mom's townhouse wrapped up in fluffy blankets with the air conditioner blasting, laughing at old game shows and eating her amazing meatballs.

How are you so cute?

haha!

Which blogs, if any, do you check out for fun / inspiration?

Zoomdoggle and Cup of Jo were the blogs that inspired me to start my own blog!

Do you listen to music when you are brainstorming new ideas? What kind of music do you like?

I love listening to french singer Camille Dalmais. She has the sweetest voice! While I'm editing I like to have a movie on in the background to create a specific mood in the room.

So what do you do when you have a gloomy day? Do you ever curl up in bed, with Moo by your side, just sulking? Or do you always find a way to lift your own spirit?

I never like to sulk because I feel like I'm just wasting time and not doing anything to help myself feel better. Feeling sad inspires me to do something positive, like decorate my neighborhood with stickers. It makes me feel a lot better to be creative and to make my neighbors smile.

What is your biggest wish?

To be a crazy cat lady.... minus the crazy.

I am curious to know how your childhood influenced your bohemian outlook on life. I live in a society that prizes pure academic excellence and marginalises artistic creativity - and I really hope that despite the pressures here, my son will still grow up to appreciate the beauty in small things.

I went to a school that didn't support art and only prized sports and academic excellence as well. My dad understood that I was more of a creative person and helped me to find acting, music, dance, and art classes to take outside of school. It was really inspiring for me to be around creative and open minded people.

What's a favorite encounter with a stranger you've had?

The day Matty and I were shooting a silly video on the train and we bumped into a guy who was wearing the EXACT same outfit as us. I also love dancing with strangers.

When will you have your first colormekatie book in stores?

It's definitely something I've been looking into!

We're home!

From our fun week of exploring through Spain!

Matty and I went with our two friends Charlie ( who is the founder of Improv Everywhere ) and Cody.

We played in the ocean,

Had a big surprise waiting for us at the train station,

Saw tons of colorful birds on the street,

Did the mandatory jumping on the hotel bed,

Exploded with excitement to see so many street cats,

Had an MP3 experiment in Barcelona,

Saw lots of pretty buildings,

Had to leave our ice creams outside,

Rode an elephant,

Stopped off to pick up some bras on the street ;)

Climbed giant spider webs,

Raced through a maze ( Matty won!) ,

and met tons of lovely people including some of my readers! How fun is that?

Fly Away

We're on our way to Spain!

Anyone here live in Barcelona?

We're going to be doing an Improv Everywhere mission called the MP3 experiment. Read about the details here and join us. I'd love to meet you and take some fun pictures!

See you guys next week!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Color me Katie turned 1 year old this week!

I originally started this blog to have a place to put my photos rather than hide them away on my hard drive forever. I thought my only reader would be myself but now a year later I've had almost half a million visitors, crazy!

So thank you my sweet readers, for following along on my silly adventures, making your own fun versions of my projects, sharing your stories with me, and for your constant love and support. I feel like I have thousands of best friends that I've never met.

I've been working non stop for the last few months which has made me fall behind on my emails and for that I am sorry! Since I receive a lot of emails asking me questions about my personal life and work, I thought we should do a fun Q&A right here on my blog! Wanna know more about me? Leave a question in the comments and I'll write a post answering them =)

Grocery Store Musical

For our latest Improv Everywhere mission, we had six actors break out into a spontaneous musical at a grocery store!

The actors learned the song on Thursday,

practiced their moves on Friday,

and performed on Saturday!

The grocery gave us permission to set up hidden cameras in their store,

and Matty gave us permission to set up hidden cameras all over his body!

In the back of the grocery we had a little room where we can control the cameras and capture fun reactions.

This woman was so excited she called her friend to hear it!

If you're in the mood to smile so big that your face hurts, then you must watch this video. The shopper's reactions are hilarious!

Animals

My entire week has revolved around cats, dogs, butterflies, and frogs. What kind of horrible, repulsive person would I be to keep these adorable pictures to myself?

I may not be able to pet you in person little cat, but I'll pet you on my computer screen all I want!

Silly Sunday

When I woke up this morning, I noticed that everyone around me was acting silly.

Moo was wearing a giant girly bow,

Boys were bravely sailing down the streets,

Girls were wearing flower skirts,

And Matty was driving a new fancy car! I wish I had a nice car to drive...

All I have is this helicopter!

Photo Shoot

My favorite thing about being a photographer is getting to spend time with such fun, sweet, and romantic people.

This little boy has such a big smile and loves being popped up into the air!

Feel free to email me if you're interested in having a fun photo shoot. I'd love to meet you!

New

Here's my new self-portrait I shot this morning!

I absolutely love looking through the self-portraits that some of you have posted in the comments, keep them coming!
After the shoot, I accidentally tripped over a box of sequins and spilled them all over my floor.
But that's okay, now I have sparkly floors...

and some new fancy shoes.

Self-Portraits

When I was younger, I always wanted to write in a diary. I thought I would feel so much better if I could write about how I felt. I bought so many diaries growing up but I would just fill out the first five pages and then stop. The problem was that I think and feel mostly with images so it was hard for me to find words to describe things. So I decided to make a diary of how I felt with images!

I started shooting self-portraits when I was seventeen and still do them now!

I get lots of nosebleeds during winter!

It's always made me feel better after taking a self-portrait based on my mood. I like to call it photo therapy ;)

It's been a while since I've made a new portrait but now I'm all pumped to do one! Anyone else wanna join me? If you have some new or old self-portraits, link to them in the comments. I'd love to see them!

13 things I love about Moo

1. When I open our camera bag, I can never find the camera.

2. He makes a fancy belt.

3. His funny sense of entitlement.

4. The way he would fall asleep on the TV as a kitten....and then fall off.

5. His love of toilets.

6. The way he turned my closet into a giant cat lounge.

7. How impossible he makes it to do any work around the house.

8. He must be the longest cat in the universe!

9. When I open the closet, he's there...

10. and when I open the fridge, he's there.

11. How cute it is that he has no idea how funny he looks.
12. The way he manages to sneak his cat butt into almost every picture I take.

13. He's the tastiest cat burrito I've ever had!

Moo is officially 2 years old, happy birthday you silly little cow!

Invisible Dogs

Yesterday we had another Improv Everywhere event!
Charlie, the founder of Improv Everywhere, met someone who had access to over 2,000 invisible dog leashes.

They were passed out to thousands of people who then walked their invisible dogs around the neighborhood.

Kids in Cobble Hill were so excited and wanted to pet them all!

There were dog walkers,

bad dogs that needed to be separated because they were fighting,

dogs that weren't allowed in restaurants and had to sit outside,

big dogs pulling little kids,

nice people who cleaned up after their dogs,

confused real dogs,

dogs that chased after bikes,

fluffy dogs,

and even a dog that some how got stuck in the fence!

It made a lot of people in Cobble Hill laugh.

At one point I was able to put my camera down and take my dog for a walk. Of course all it wanted to do was roll around in the garbage!

Subway Yearbook

For our latest Improv Everywhere mission, we set up a photo studio in a random subway car and announced that we were taking subway yearbook photos!

The subway became pretty packed at one point,

but it was all full of smiles!

People on the train were more than happy to pose for our yearbook.

This woman was looking in our mirror to make sure her hair looked nice for the photo.

Even a newborn baby was in it!

It was exciting to put all the photos together to see how diverse the New York subway riders are.


It was so nice to see everyone on the train laughing and having fun rather than ignoring each other like usual. It was the kind of moment that made me walk away with those tingly little butterflies in my stomach.

Park(ing) Day

Yesterday was Park(ing) day! The lovely day where people can transform parking spaces all over the city into whatever they want.

There were tents,

Yoga classes,

Silly dance parties,

and giant ball pits!

Strangers on the street were invited to jump in and swim around.

It was a nice day in NYC so I just had to take a dip. It was my first swim of the summer!