fun – Page 2 – JonKPhoto

Ride ‘Em

September 2, 2012September 2, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

It’s Labor Day weekend. I ate a burger that was larger than what should have been able to fit in my stomach. I drank beer…

And I went to a rodeo.

I feel excessively American right now.

All and all it was certainly a unique experience. The rodeo circuit is a culture I was, up until now, completely unfamiliar with. There we speed races, bronco ridin’, calf wranglin’, and bucking bull riding’. The craft services pretty much paired with a local festival or fair.

The lead rodeo clown was a bit of a pleasant surprise – he actually had a comedy routine. Furthermore, he was pretty funny.

This really all pales in comparison to the action. I was expecting some flailing and danger and whatnot, but… OK – here’s the lineup:

Steer wrestling: These guys ride on their horse along side a steer, fly off the back of the horse, land on the steer, tackle it to the ground, tie it up…

Steer wranglin’: One step better – the old rope and horn routine where they ride behind the steer and try to lasso it. The dude got the steer, jumped off his horse, and body slammed a cow. I know – that snuck up on you fast. Let me recap so you can absorb it – HE BODY-SLAMMED A COW.
Bull riding: Well you know what that is, but did you know you’re allowed to stand RIGHT next to the fence? I had my camera INSIDE THE RING. That didn’t count for much though because the second they opened the paddock, the rider got thrown and slammed between a 6 foot steel fence and half a ton of rampaging bull.

It was awesome. I want to go again. Here are some pictures.

– Jon

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The Faces of Few Shades

August 10, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

I’ve got an idea for a project I’m going to be starting in a week or so.

So much of my time is taken up with design or marketing or contracted work that it’s hard for me to get around to personal projects. Also, as hardly a single recent job has involved portraits, I’ve got the itch to shoot some people (No-not like that. What’s wrong with you?)

The new idea that I’ve got kickin’ around involves faces, a considerable amount of mess, and exquisite lighting. If you haven’t already heard the deatils, then you’ll just have to wait and see the results (come on – I’ve gotta keep a few secrets.)

But to wet your whistle, I went back through my image library and picked out a selection from some of my favorite shoots. But to mix things up, I ran a bit of black & white reprocessing.

Whataya think?
– Jon

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It’s been a long haul.

August 5, 2012August 5, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

A week can make quite a difference.

2 posts ago I mentioned some food photos that were getting printed for a company I’ve re-branded and helped relaunch.

Well, yesterday at 4pm our doors officially opened and The Mad Hatter Pub took its first step as an actual business. Let’s recap:

About 8 months ago, I began the re-branding and “marketing” overhaul of the Wonderland Lanes (the attached bowling center). since then, I’ve been gradually mixed in more and more into The Mad Hatter Pub as kind of a full service ad agent.
To date some of my tasks have been:

Logo redesign
Full branding (fonts, color schemes, layout standards, etc.)
Advertisement photography
Food photography
Event photography/coverage
Promotional design (fliers, event calendars, specialty items/services…)
Graphic unit production (menu, vinyl decals, back-lit display boards, digital promo presentations…)

Then things got a bit more involved and…:

Menu item prep instructional (consistency, people!)
Kitchen co-management
Staffing
Marketing
Logistics
Procedures

To say the least: It’s been quite a run.

BUT!

Yesterday was only our soft opening. The kinks get worked out this month in time for our grand opening Super Bash at the start of September.

If you’re in the Commerce, MI area or close by be sure to swing over to the Mad Hatter Pub and grab some food and drink. (A little side note: We handed out comment cards yesterday. Our food and menu got a 4.7 average out of 5).

I’d suggest a Roadhouse and be sure to tell ’em Jon Kopacz sent you.

Oh look! Promo stuff!
– Jon

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A Good Old Fashioned Celebration

July 21, 2012July 22, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

It was a brisk fall day in northern Montana… OK – that’s a lie. It was the last day of June in Detroit and it was HOT. Like really, really hot.

But that’s all I really have to whine about. The rest of the day was super awesome.

Based on this post, some of you may know that I don’t regularly shoot weddings. It’s not so much because I don’t like them (’cause I do). It’s more that shooting a wedding for someone you didn’t know until they hired you has some drawbacks:

– They aren’t your buddies and there’s a chance they may feel a bit uncomfortable with a camera pointed at them (regardless of how good you are).

– You don’t really know a lot about their personal lives, so striking up conversation/making them laugh is pretty much left to the stock commentary that gets used with every client.

– (This is my big one) – Their personal bubble is a LOT bigger.

Those are just a couple of reasons why I only shoot weddings for family and friends. I can get closer, make them laugh more consistently, and – most importantly – it seems like less of a job and more like fun (which GREATLY improves image quality).

So anywho – a friend/former instructor of mine got hitched at the end of last month and I was there along with Ashley Lawler and Laura Raymond for picture takin’.

Here are some of the nifty shots we got.

– Jon

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The urban surfer

May 30, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

A bit ago I had the opportunity to shoot some subject matter I had been lacking: a full-on skateboarding promo campaign.

My cousin is a fairly skilled longboarder. (For those of you who don’t know – long boarding is like a cross between skateboarding and surfing, all preformed on – you guessed it – a long board.)

He actually won the board. It was a literary competition illustrating why each entrant love long boarding and should win the board. Mike Strong won. This thing is worth hundreds of dollars. It’s a big deal.

The problem is that we both live in Michigan… and Mike won his Loyal Dean board in December.

Basically he had to stare at it an wait for almost 5 months. So, when spring rolled around, we hit the asphalt. He busted some moves and gave the board a run for its money.

Check out some of the series!

– Jon

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It’s Summer and I’m Polish.

May 27, 2012May 27, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

It’s just about summer and as far as I’m concerned, that means festivities.

Now, I don’t know about where you live, but in my neck of the woods (Metro Detroit) there are fairs, events, and festivals EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND from Memorial Day to Labor Day. However, there is one kick-off that draws people from a really really long way off.

The Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair.

This thing is straight up awesome. Forget the corn-dogs and elephant ears for a second – most fairs take a few days to set up the rides and pavilions. This one takes 2 WEEKS. It started small and insignificant about 40 years ago… as of last year, it topped 110,000 attendees.

North American Midway Entertainment puts on the show (they’re the “world’s largest traveling outdoor amusement park”).

There are, of course, many a photo opportunity at this thing. For your viewing pleasure – here’s a little gallery from my trip to the fair yesterday. If you’d like to check out the rest, or pick up a print, be sure to swing over to the full event gallery! <– (link).

-Jon

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Let’s start off with some good wholesome fun!

March 11, 2012 jonkphoto1 Comment

Alright folks – It’s time to kick off this shindig with some current work. For the past number of months (maybe 4 or 5, but it’s really irrelevant) I’ve been working with a local bowling center to spruce up their image and show the community how super-totally-completely-awesome a night of bowling and togetherness can be.

If you are in or around the Commerce, MI area and want to go out for the night, swing by Wonderland Lanes (http://wonderlandlanes.com/) and be sure to meet Dave, the owner. He’s awesome.

Now… pictures!

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Sirs and Ladies – Welcome to the most awesome blog ever created.

February 27, 2012March 3, 2012 jonkphotoLeave a comment

Howdy folks. My name’s Jon Kopacz and this here’s my blog.

I’m a portrait, product, and promotion photographer in south eastern Michigan. The majority of my clientele consists of local businesses and groups looking to do some marketing. As such I regularly work on a lot of unique and unrelated projects.

That’s why this site is here (among other things). Cool stuff happens and I’d like to share it with you… no, not that other guy. Just YOU. You know who you are…

Anyway, if you look around, you’ll find a rotating collection of previous stuff I’ve worked on as well as current projects. You’ll also find some of the fun stuff I do on the side. There will even be posts on interesting goings-on in the photo and design community. Of course be sure to stop by my collection of “people to watch.” Either seasoned pros or up-and-comers, these folks know their business in a wide range of endeavors.

That’s all for now, but be sure to swing by soon. Lots of fun coming your way.

– Jon K

Tag: fun