Why nkp journal?

It’s 05:50 on a Sunday morning. The city still asleep with daylight breaking through the darkness. A quick stop for a coffee before the day starts. The neighbourhood quiet with a cold winter wind howling through the streets of Cape Town.

Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a security guard opening the door for you. Smiling, asking how your morning has been. First thoughts, it’s 06:00 in the morning, no normal person should be awake right now. Slowly walking through the foyer and up the stairs to the communications office. After the second try, you will guess the code and the door will open. You will be welcomed with a familiar coffee stench from Friday afternoon.

Bag packed out and ready to walk down the stairs through the production office to the main auditorium. There will be about 30 people in front of the stage. Majority sipping on coffee, dressed in all black. Smiles all around, everyone gets briefed for the day. Then on the left, you have me. Just starring. Actually, just trying to wake up, but also starring.

A lot of people know me as nkp or nkp_journal and over the past couple of years, people have asked me what it stands for. When I studied photography back in the day, somewhere in our first year, all the students started their own so-called businesses. Some, very successful. We had marketing as a subject and they challenged us about advertising and branding and all that jazz. Guess who was the only one who failed marketing? Me.

So nkp is short for Nicolette Kapp Photography (Almost every photography business name) and then the _journal part, well to be honest, I didn’t put much thought into it. I have never seen myself as a writer. But over the past couple of years, since doing backstage photography I started writing about my experience and the random stories of people.