Data Privacy Week – Jan. 22-28, 2023

January 18, 2023January 19, 2023 / terrinakamura / Leave a comment

Data Privacy – *Women observe security cameras outside the workplace. Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash.*

What is Data Privacy Day?

Most of us are familiar with the sinking feeling we experience when we discover that one of our credit cards or online accounts was breached. Personally, in the past, I was more reactive than proactive but changed to now employ 2FA (two-factor authentication). It is an extra step that I find annoying sometimes, but it’s a minor annoyance if it helps protect our data.

Data Privacy Day (known in Europe as Data Protection Day) is an annual international event observed on January 28th. However, its activities often continue for a week or longer. It is depurpose is to raise awareness about the importance of protecting personal information and to encourage individuals and organizations to take action to protect personal information.

Data privacy is important because personal information, such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, and personal contacts, can be used for identity theft, financial fraud, and other malicious activities. Additionally, in today’s digital age, personal information is often collected and shared by companies, governments, and other organizations, which can raise concerns about how this information is used and who has access to it. Observing Data Privacy Day helps raise awareness of these issues and encourages individuals and organizations to take steps to protect personal information.

Preventing Unauthorized Digital Access

Folio Photonics recently showcased its optical storage advancements at CES 2023. Steve Sanatamaria, CEO of Folio Photonics. provided a quote on this very timely and important topic:

“It is no secret that data is at the center of everything you do. Whether you are a business, a nonprofit, an educational institution, a government agency, or the military, it is vital to your everyday operations. It is, therefore, critical that the appropriate person(s) in your organization have access to the data they need anytime, anywhere, and under any conditions. However, it is of equal importance that you keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

Therefore, when managing current and archival data, a top concern must be data security and durability, not just today but for decades upon decades into the future. The ideal data storage solution must offer encryption and WORM (write-once, read-many) capabilities. It must require little power and minimal climate control. It should be impervious to EMPs, salt water, high temps, and altitudes. And, all archive solutions must have 100+ years of media life and be infinitely backward compatible, while still delivering a competitive TCO. But most importantly, the data storage must have the ability to be air-gapped as this is truly the only way to prevent unauthorized digital access.”

How Can We Get Involved in Data Privacy Week 2023?

Organizations, including the National Cybersecurity Alliance and IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) list activities and events in the coming weeks. Check out the National Cybersecurity Alliance (StaySafeOnline) video below, or visit the IAPP website for more information:

Data Privacy Week, Jan. 2-28, 2023.

Make Data Security and Privacy Safeguards a Habit

There are many reasons why it’s important to be aware and proactive about protecting our privacy and data.

Personal information can be used for identity theft, which can cause financial harm and damage to our credit.
Companies and organizations may use personal information for targeted advertising, which can be invasive and creepy.
Governments may use personal information for surveillance, which can be a violation of civil liberties.
Personal information can be hacked or leaked, which can embarrass or damage our reputation.

Protecting our privacy and data is essential because it helps maintain our autonomy and control over our personal information. The more we take measures to secure our data, the greater our sense of well-being.

More about Terri:

Her book: Blogging on Instagram
Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Her business: Terri Nakamura Design+Social
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
More by Terri Nakamura
Terri Nakamura on Linktree

Conversation with Neal Schaffer

May 30, 2022 / terrinakamura / Leave a comment

*Terri Nakamura, Hunter Huntington the Maine Coon, and Neal Schaffer*

Exciting things have happened since I published my book, Blogging on Instagram: Engagement Writing on One of the World’s Best Social Media Platforms.

One of the most surprisingly fun experiences has been doing podcast interviews. For those of you who listen to podcasts, you might not be aware of what goes into making them happen.

Each host has his/her own protocol for preparing for a podcast episode. Many conduct pre-production “meetings,” to prepare the guest. The pre-conversation could touch on sequence, types of questions and other things to expect. I’ve found it helps me be relaxed going into an interview because I understand what is going to happen.

Others hosts do zero prep and let the podcast interview become a spontaneous conversation. This is more like “My Dinner With Andre,” a 1980s movie of a 2-hour dinner conversation. They’re often entertaining but this format can leave a guest with a feeling of uncertainty.

There are also pointers for a guest. I found some terrific suggestions from Billy Samoa, CEO and co-founder of Podify, and shared them in an Instagram blogpost.

I recently listened to Celeste Headlee, an award-winning journalist, professional speaker, 20-year veteran of NPR, talk with Jaime Jay about what goes into making a great interview happen. She offered some great advice the best podcasters have employed in preparing me to be a guest on their shows.

It was exciting to finally meet Neal Schaffer at a pre-production meeting. He described our interview “as if we we ran into each other at a conference, and had a conversation where people overheard us like a fly on the wall.” So the interview was a conversation, but Neal also prepared by doing research. The result revealed unexpected information in a fun and interesting way.

Please give a listen to Episode 29 of Neal Schaffer’s “Your Digital Marketing Podcast.“

Thanks for listening!

#CES2022 – Virtually Amazing

January 7, 2022January 8, 2022 / terrinakamura / Leave a comment

#CES2022 VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE

The in-person attendance at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show was about 40,000 people – a fraction of the crowd of 175,000 in 2019. But there were dazzling products and experiences offered and attendees were able to gain easier access to exhibitors.

I would have attended as a social media influencer under the umbrella of media, so I have access to media assets to share.

“B-Roll,” in movie and video parlance, is the secondary footage that is shot to add depth, context and interest to primary (A-Roll) video. I reviewed the B-Roll this year and found some really cool things. For example, in the following segment, at about 2 minutes, you can see the BMW model that changes colors:

This time lapse includes views of Las Vegas, the convention center including the new West Hall (at about 1 minute).

THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE

The online experience was a huge improvement over #CES2021. With a completely redesigned interface, it was better organized and offered more features. With 4 channels of live content, there were some interesting topics, panels and panelists. I tried to catch a few each day, but wasn’t always able to make it. The beauty of that is, all of the content is recorded and available to view.

At about 1:10 you can see a panel discussion, on this Jan. 6 segment recording of the showroom floor, but there are lots cool things going on.

CES took extraordinary measures to ensure the health and safety of employees, visitors and exhibitors. It was requested that each person in attendance took a quick covid test before being admitted and covid tests were supplied to each person. Of course, proof of vaccination was required.

The finale of the show was the Indy Autonomous Challenge that took place this afternoon. Forty-one universities signed up to complete in this autonomous challenge beginning in February of 2020. Nine universities were left and joined countries around the world to form eight teams at CES 2022. Congratulations to team PoliMOVE – UniversityofAlabama, the winners of the IndyAutonomousChallenge at CES2022 at 150 MPH!

Grow Your Instagram Naturally

December 28, 2021 / terrinakamura / Leave a comment

Podcast: When It Worked | Host: Julian Leahy – 11/29/21

Click graphic to listen:

Description from John Leahy podcast interview with Terri Nakamura

“I made a concerted effort a few years ago to grow my following. I would try to find somebody who posts similar content to me and I would follow them. I would see the kinds of people they were following and if you look at their list you can kind of tell if somebody looks like they’re kind of in the same niche that you’re in. If you follow those people there’s a pretty good chance that they’ll follow back and that’s kind of what I did for about a year trying to grow my following because I was stuck at 3 500 for years and years before that.

On Automatic Instagram Tools

“I did it manually because I think instagram really frowns upon people who use apps and services to get there. They can tell somehow, so I don’t advise you to try to cheat.

“The big shortcut is buying followers and they can definitely tell when people are just fake followers. On instagram you can end up actually losing your account if they figure out that you’re doing things like that.

“I was just doing it by hand. I would follow like 20 people a week or something like that so it wasn’t wasn’t highly efficient or fast but it was faster than if I did nothing at all.

‘At least with follow backs you know they are real because you picked them out and followed them in the first place. If you just do nothing but follow back those who followed you, you will just end up following bot accounts which are useless.

What Is Blogging On Instagram?

“It’s a disruptive approach to blogging. If you have spent a lot of time trying to develop a blog from scratch you will find that it is a lot of hard work. You basically have to cultivate a mailing list and subscribers in order to have any kind of traction on a blog.

“However, with instagram it’s completely different. Let’s say you have 100 followers on instagram it would take a long time for you to develop 100 subscribers on a blog.

“You already likely have this audience on instagram and that audience is very amiable to see what kind of content you’re posting. So you have this channel where you have an automatic audience.

“It’s pretty unbeatable access to your audience because they really want to be there. They’re not having to be cajoled into clicking a link or making a big time investment because there is a 2200 character limit on instagram. You’re not going to ever be required to read 5000 words of a blog post. Instagram keeps things to a pretty magic manageable length.

Why This Works

“It just cultivates a lot of engagement. The engagement part of it is what’s really unique because it’s like there’s a dialogue that takes place between your followers and you and makes them feel more connected to your brand.”

Available on Amazon:

Available at Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA

https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781637304471

Episode 51: Terri Nakamura – Harnessing the Power of Social Media

December 2, 2021December 28, 2021 / terrinakamura / Leave a comment

Thoughtrow Podcast | Hosts: Rod & Inci Jones | 12/2/21

SHOW NOTES – Thoughtrow Podcast

Episode 51: Terri Nakamura – Harnessing the Power of Social Media

In this episode, show co-hosts Rod & Inci Jones share their quote of the day and motivational thought, and then discuss the pros & cons of social media and how its impacted their social media presence.

After Rod & Inci’s brief discussion, they introduce Terri Nakamura, who is a Social Media Consultant, Designer, Writer, and Author of “Blogging on Instagram: Engagement Writing on One of the World’s Best Social Media Platforms”.

Their guest Terri Nakamura discusses with them the power of blogging on Instagram and its benefits. Teri shares her tips on how to be more effective in building your brand and notoriety on social media.

She gives the number one takeaway from the interview today, and what would benefit people most when it comes to building their social media presence.

Paperback and eBook available on Amazon

On Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blogging-on-instagram-terri-nakamura/1140055219?ean=9781637304471

On the shelves at Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle

https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781637304471

#CES2021 – Impressions So Far

January 13, 2021January 16, 2021 / terrinakamura / 7 Comments

The Consumer Electronics Show is the world stage to show, see and get hands-on experiences with new technology. Twelve months ago, CES was the last normal thing I remember about 2020. The pandemic changed the way we work, live and play, and in keeping with all of our pivoting, the first all-digital CES began Monday, Jan. 11. When CES first appeared in 1967, 17,000 people showed up. In recent years the show has attracted about 180,000 visitors and last year there were 4,400 exhibitors.

I had high expectations. If anyone could pull it off a digital extravaganza, it would be CES, right? But the first day wasn’t ideal for me. I’d poured through dozens of advance press releases and did due diligence to determine which products interested me. Some were added to “My Exhibits”, which one would assume to be a shortcut. But I experienced glitches with the links. By day two, all was well. Since I didn’t know what I was doing, it could’ve been me.

Leading up to CES, I’m usually working overtime to clear deadlines out of the way. I’ll travel to McLaren International Airport where I’ll be greeted by my friends Diane and Steve Brogan — my hosts the past two years.

But this year CES is VIRTUAL. So Monday I woke up at reasonable time, ate my Cheerios, then turned on my computer. BOOM. I was there.

Best-laid plans

Monday, I sat in on several live events. If something wasn’t interesting, I wandered away, so in that respect, it was like the real deal. In between the keynotes and presentations, I visited dozens of companies and viewed their content. Some of the exhibitors were “present” when I “stopped by,” so if I typed a question in the chat box, they answered in real time as they would if you were there in person.

What I’ve liked so far

So far, two events made big impressions. One was the 30-minute “Better Normal for All” press conference by Samsung. The storytelling was superb from the “Mad Men”-style opening graphics to the host (name) and introduction of products, of which some I’d normally feel under-excited about, like washers, dryers and vacuums. Samsung pulled out the stops and even the refrigerators seemed cool (pun intended). The reveal felt like what I might normally see at CES — exciting showmanship and lots of “wow.” Entertaining animal actors and vacuum robots that keep a camera eye on your pet clean up after them made for fun context for their products. Here is a link: https://youtu.be/DqXsTtW5VEo

*The Samsung Jetbot90 AI+ robot vacuum keeps an eye on your pets and when it sees a mishap, it goes to clean it up.*

The other was a “thing” rather than an event. Over the weekend I had a chance to explore The Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA). TTA came closest to what I imagined digital CES would feel like. A cool video greets you upon arrival visually touching on some of the companies and products. It did a great job of setting the tone and I liked this quote: “There are ordinary people and extraordinary dreamers.”

*Screen grab of the Taiwan Tech Arena at CES 2021*

TTA was a virtual reality experience that featured more than 100 startups. Their arena was set up like you’d expect to see an exhibition hall: visitors could navigate to five categories and wander from exhibitor to exhibitor. Each startup featured multimedia presentations and I had the sensation I was wandering around the show floor. Thunderzee showcased a zinc air battery which hopes to usurp lithium ion. The zinc batteries eliminate the fire risk associated with lithium ion batteries and are more lightweight, cheaper and reportedly better for the environment.

Verizon’s presentation focused on 5G. They’ve been working to educate consumers about 5G because many of us don’t know anything about it. A series of Twitter chats have focused on it and introduced consumers to ways 5G is beneficial. (Disclosure: I have been a paid brand partner in Verizon 5G promotions). In addition to learning what is really exciting about 5G and how Verizon is partnering with businesses to enable almost incomprehensible speed in everything from medicine to delivery to sports to gaming and entertainment, it also gave us the chance to experience a live concert using virtual reality. By aiming at a QR code, viewers were taken into a VR environment to feel the reality of walking around the performers and viewing them live in 360°

*By scanning a QR code while watching the event, you’re taken into the concert as it happens*

Tuesday and Wednesday I spent spelunking in smaller exhibits and companies. A few that have interested me so far include:

American Printing House for the Blind and their “Road to Code” that makes coding activities accessible to visually impaired students, preparing them for future careers.
DeepScore enables people without traditional credit to earn “trust scores” based on facial responses to pressurized questions using AI to detect fraud/
Nomadplug is a product designed for travelers who are tired of lugging around a bag full of adapters as they travel from country to country. It’s attractive and compact and uses magnets to morph from one adapter type to another..
NinuPerfume positions its product as the first “smart perfume” that personalizes fragrance and is guided by AI. At the real-life CES you could experience what it smells like.

What works

It’s actually easier to make a one-on-one connection with companies at this digital version of CES, so if you’re interested in what they’re doing, you can chat or email and they quickly respond. The immediacy makes the virtual nature of CES feel more satisfying. Also, as anyone who has attended the CES knows—the guards start shepherding people out of the venues around 5 or 6 PM. With the all-digital CES and the linked micro sites, visitors can wander around in the middle of the night. You can explore whenever it’s convenient.

What’s missing

I really miss the crowds, atmosphere, mind-boggling immersive displays like taking a simulated helicopter ride. And the accidental discoveries of amazing products, ideas and services like when Alibaba previewed real-time voice translation in 2019.

*In the demo, people spoke into the camera and both speakers were simultaneously were translated in different languages*. Screen grab from video by Terri Nakamura

And I miss hanging out in the media room writing, drinking coffee and having lunch with friends, journalists and analysts who share something in common — a love of technology.

______________________________________

PS. A crazy thing about this story — I couldn’t publish it. We had a huge power outage from Tuesday evening until mid-day Wednesday. It’s ironic to have no Internet during a major tech event. It was like 2018 when the lights went out in the Central Hall at CES — another unforgettable moment that could only be experienced in person!

Tech Gifts for the Holidays

December 9, 2019December 13, 2019 / terrinakamura / 8 Comments

Two weeks ago, I was invited to join an exclusive gathering of technology aficionados sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association and Techlicious. It was a great opportunity to see and experience new tech gadgets and to get some terrific ideas for the holidays.

One of the features I love about this road show is seeing current trends as well as revisit trends from yesteryear.

Remember 1999?

Going back to 1999, the year before the famous Y2K? Can you believe that was TWENTY years ago? Back then the most popular items included:
1. Color TV – 27” or greater
2. VCR
3. Color TV- less than 27”
4. DVD player
5. Digital camera

Consumer Technology Association research from 2009

Top choices were laptops, MP3, Flat panel TV, Video game system and Digital camera

Ten Years Later— 2009 Top Trends:

1. Notebook or laptop PC
2. MP3 player
3. Flat panel TV
4. Video game system
5. Digital camera

So in 1999 and 2009, digital cameras made it onto the list, but now, everyone’s phones have such fantastic cameras, sadly for casual camera manufacturers, I’m sure they’ve taken a big hit. In 2019, we see some similar things like TVs and laptops but I think this is the first time wearables made it on to the list.

The Present — Top Trends for 2019:

1. Laptops
2. Smartphones
3. TVs
4. Tablets
5. Wearables

CTA research revealed the most wanted tech this holiday season to include Laptops, Smartphones, TVs, Tablets and Wearable tech

Another really cool trend in 2019 is giving the gift of content! In fact, 71 percent of those surveyed plan to purchase a content-related gifts like streaming or download entertainment services such as Netflix or Disney+.

So, there are the typical “big-ticket items” on a lot of people’s wish lists, but what are consumers really going to purchase? The Top Tech Gifts people actually intend to buy are relatively more affordable.

Top Tech Gifts for 2019:

• Headphones/earbuds
• Mobile case devices
• Portable battery chargers
• Video game discs
• Portable wireless speakers

What people plan to buy this holiday season

Headphones, Mobile cases devices, Portable battery chargers, Video game discs and Portable wireless speakers

From my own point of view, and writing as a full-time college student, I’m on a budget, so it was great to see gift ideas presented by Mophie, Jabra, Amazon, Fitbit and 1More (and I don’t mean “one more!”) that were affordable, attractive and super useful.

True Wireless Bluetooth

Apple earbuds don’t fit snugly in my ears, and other wrap around options have been uncomfortable, so I enjoyed trying out the Jabra Elite 65t Bluetooth wireless headset.

The Jabra Elite 65t True Wireless Headset

Comfortable and beautifully designed in Copenhagen, Jabra offers great sound quality and noise suppression

The Jabras turned out to be surprisingly comfortable and fit snugly. The sound quality is excellent both from the standpoint of hearing and being heard. I don’t like the idea of having both ears being blocked from hearing ambient sounds and have mostly used single-ear headsets, but it’s not a problem with the Elite 65t. There are also settings to allow you to hear more external sounds, and also you can use just the right earbud, leaving your left ear open to all sound.

They normally sell for $170, but I noticed on the website they’re $110, which is a great deal. The industrial design is handsome, (they’re designed and engineered in Copenhagen) and it comes with a case which is used to store and charge your earbuds.

Amazon Fire HD and Amazon Fire - kids editions

Amazon Fire tablets for kids – Almost indestructible and peace of mind for parents with great parental controls

For the past year or so I’ve been using the Sennheiser Presence bluetooth headset, which also has great sound quality and noise suppression. Its list price is $180. The design is old school, and the ear hook is uncomfortable. Actually, uncomfortable is an understatement!

Tablets for Kids

I thought the indestructible Amazon Fire tablets for kids were pretty cool. They give parents control over what their kids are reading, seeing, doing and when. The smaller 7” tablets were around $60 and the larger HD tablet (with more memory) is around $90. A tablet for under $100 seemed great!

Great variety of Mophie power stations and power banks for every need.

Battery Backup Power

There were so many great choices from Mophie and this picture doesn’t do justice to some of the fancier versions, but most range from $30 to $70 with a few more expensive options for powering laptops, tablets and Fast-charge portable hubs with Qi-enabled wireless charging.

________________________________________

What are your thoughts about giving technology for the holidays? Yay or Nay?

Do you live in the U.S.? If so, please leave a comment and you’ll have a chance to win a Mophie Power station!

_______________________________________________

Thanks to Techlicious and CTA for this fun event and for the gift bag of goodies, a great lunch and valet parking. My assessments of the products mentioned in this post are my own and don’t represent the manufacturers, CTA or Techlicious.

More about Terri:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
More by Terri Nakamura

Instagram Then and Now

July 31, 2018August 1, 2018 / terrinakamura / 9 Comments

A Brief History

I’ve been using Instagram since April of 2011 when the site was about 6 months old. It seemed like a creative challenge and I didn’t know if I was up to the task. Back then I was most likely shooting photos with an iPhone 4 or 4s (can’t remember which) capturing images at less than 400 pixels per inch. By comparison, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL I now use are capturing 12.3 megapixel images—so massively greater image clarity is possible.

Looking back at my early photos, they look kind of awful. Despite some images with halfway decent composition, the clarity is “not good.” Below is a sample, and you can follow the link to blog post with more examples and “tips.”

Minimal Activity = Stagnant Follower Count

I’m not good at “gaming” followers, and unlike many of the huge accounts out there, I have never bought any. So while I was doing “okay,” my account was never great. Then it got worse. In 2016 I accepted a full-time job. It was demanding and negatively impacted my ability to create and engage on most of my social channels, including Instagram. I was basically on “maintenance mode.” I tried to post an image most days, but weeks or months would go by, and I would “like” a bunch of photos, but I wouldn’t exchange comments with anyone! Needless to say, my account stagnated, I lost followers, and I’d be lucky to get 30 or 50 “likes on an image. I was stuck at about 2800 followers and nothing I did seemed to make a difference.

Some of you who know me pretty well are aware I left my job about a month and a half ago. The reason is long and boring, but suffice it to say I’m on the road to recovery and feeling better each day, and one thing that has been soul replenishing is reconnecting with people on social media. Engagement has been essential. I’m now up to about 4100 followers and have made lots of fabulous connections with fun and interesting new people.

Ramping Up

Assessing my Instagram situation, I realized there are now a lot of great photographers there, some of whom have massive audiences, and I seriously needed to up my game. The first order of business was to be more thoughtful about what I was shooting; then looking at how I was prepping the work, and how I framed the image’s narrative. I’ve been a brand partner of Verizon for about 5 years and I wanted to do a better job representing their products and service, so it meant changing up the way I had been doing things. Instead of “maintenance mode,” it was more like, “Banzai!”

Before and After

I’m going to share a series of “before and after” photos, so you can see what a difference it makes to properly prepare your images. This means cropping, sharpening, adjusting contrast, boosting the color saturation, and applying filters.

Here goes:

Kind of a “blah” shot of Alki Beach, right?

After being cropped, adjusted and filtered, it looks so much more interesting, AND detail in the bird that I didn’t even know was there, shows up.

One thing I’d like to say about Instagram — there is no shortage of brainy people there. Seems that each time I post something and don’t know what it is, a number of viewers will chime in and school me! An example is this shot below. I didn’t know what the flower was, and boy, did I get some great feedback!

The bee isn’t very apparent. Maybe because there are many distracting things in the shot, plus the color is subdued.

That’s better! And as Verizon says, “Better Matters!” And for the record, the flower is an Allium.

Reg Saddle @zaibatsu and I frequently discuss things like what the algorithms are rewarding or penalizing, and how it affects what we do. One of the things we go back to is what our audiences want. Think about what you post and which things get the most traction.

Here’s something “off the beaten path” for my feed — a glassblower in the Glassy Baby hot shop, not far from where I live. One of the most necessary steps was to crop this photo. You’ll see what I mean.

Interesting but a lot going on, right? Below: where the action is.

My “boyfriend,” Hunter. Dark. But cropped and adjusted:

I don’t know about you, but our cats are shedding like crazy!

So my brother-in-law is the head of the California Leafy Greens Board. His wife (is she my sister-in-law?) said this is NOT a thistle. But man. I’ve never seen an artichoke this tall. The main thing is, too much is going on and did you see the bee? Take a look:

I almost hate to show you this one. Check out this tree photo, taken on a dreary Seattle day in late spring. I have a thing about shooting UP a tree. This is a classic case.

I didn’t like the way the trunk was drawing the eye away in the bottom right corner. Cropping was calling. But how about those colors? Drab!

Through the miracle of filters, the tree came to life!

So this is a weird one. I noticed this magnolia blossom was so heavy, the bough brought the blossom to my eye level. When I peered inside, I was like, “WHAT?!?” Very cool, but I knew there was potential in making this better. As shown below, I cleaned up the shot, and there is now more detail and clarity.

Yes, folks. The bees were having a cabana party! Interestingly the following day, ZIP.

This shot is just plain beautiful any way you look at it. But even something this perfect can look better through cropping and a number of adjustments.

Things to Try

So, you can see that even a somewhat hopeless-looking photo has potential. It’s about post-production. Some things to think about:

Composition
Cropping
Color Adjustment (including saturation)
Ambience
Sharpening
Clean up
Filters

I’ve witnessed incredible transformations of the images posted by beginners who then found their mojo. Their photos went from “not good” to amazing!

If you’re on Instagram and follow me, simply post a comment on one of my images to let me know that you’re following, I’ll reciprocate! Here’s a link to my feed: https://www.instagram.com/terrinakamura/

If you’re NOT on Instagram, what are you waiting for? 🙂

If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you. Just let me know!

More about Terri:

Her store on Alki Beach: Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
More by Terri Nakamura

Alki Surf Shop Turns 4!

June 29, 2018June 30, 2018 / terrinakamura / 7 Comments

Next month will mark the four-year anniversary of a small journey my husband, David Horsfall, and I started in 2014. Alki Surf Shop began as an online store that became a brick and mortar reality once we were able to locate retail space on Alki (pronounced ALK-eye) Beach. Retail spaces are rare, and it was through a chance conversation that we learned of an imminent storefront space opening up. Tucked around the corner from Homefront, the most popular ice cream store on the beach, it’s not the easiest place to find, but people find us, and somehow we’ve become a destination of sorts. We’ve cultivated a loyal base of customers—many of whom have become our friends. Our fans and supporters want us to succeed, and they bring in friends and family whenever they have visitors, from everywhere.

It’s been an amazing learning experience, and I can say with certainty we are doing most everything more intelligently than when we started (there is always room for improvement, though). Along the way we have met thousands of people from all around the world and have 4 volumes of guest books to prove it. Packed on every page are drawings, messages of goodwill, and touching expressions of friendship spanning every continent and country, often written in the language of the visitor.

In the store’s nascency, I brought in a Nokia* tablet to use, but eventually we needed full-powered computer and replaced the tablet with a 21’ iMac. Our music continues to be piped out onto the sidewalk with a UE Boom* that it has been in use nearly every day for the past 3 and a half years and is still going strong! We have a WeMo* camera for security, and our Verizon service has even rescued us when our credit card terminal service was down by enabling us to use Square to process transactions. This is all to say, for a very low tech-looking, laid-back beach store, we depend on technology to keep the wheels turning each day.

It’s gratifying that beside that fact that we offer a valuable service, our business provides so much joy to our visitors. Most people enjoy the friendly vibe where we take time to learn where people are from and what brings them to Alki. Each day we have customers hug us as they’re leaving. How many businesses can say that? And many exchange a conspiratorial wink with us when they introduce new people to our store. They whisper, “Are you going to do the ‘horn,’” which is actually the blowing of a conch shell and shouting of “mahalo” as customers depart.

We’re in the midst of our busy summer season and look forward to some fun upcoming 2018 events:

Seafair Pirates land on Alki Beach — July 7
Alki Pride Day — July 21 (Alki Surf Shop is a sponsor!)
SubPop Records Celebrates its 30th Anniversary on Alki Beach August 11

Beside the special events above, on an everyday basis there are things happening — Saturday salsa dancing, volleyball tournaments, beach parties at the fire pits, paddle boarding, bicycle rentals, and happy people everywhere.

Looking out at the view from our store and seeing the Olympic mountains and Puget Sound, we are reminded that life is better on a beach.

© Terri Nakamura Storm on Alki 20151124_160619-01 2

© Terri Nakamura Linda Freeman 20150906_150019 2

©Terri Nakamura Masa Kobayashi 20151002_134715 2

© Terri Nakamura Barb and Terri 20151024_154001 2

© Terri Nakamura David, Paul, Bruce, Bill 20151112_131630 2

©Terri Nakamura Mike, Terri, Felice 20151022_135940 2

We’re grateful to our real-life and social media friends from Twitter and IG who have visited Alki Surf Shop. If you’ve visited the store please let me know so I can add your moniker here!

@queenhorsfall @jackandpele @muz4now @lorimcneeartist @jenniferannegood @nixkuroi @felicelam @blueweed_songs @becauseuarehere @savvyangie @kurt.nac @Joe996s @sheelala @lemness @wasian206 @dougplummer @michipeterson @lindacriddle @kennapete @lindafreeman_ @jshuey @thidekow @ryankanemagic @vickiehorsfall @freshprinceofmi @crimsonlotustea @x2tap @jrome2032 @hollymariephotos @slydehandboards @feliciakayne @artistpoint @mikedadams206 @horsfallscott @georgesta3000 @PutBarber @lupdesign @lindabrill

More about Terri:

Visit her store Alki Surf Shop
Terri Nakamura Design
Terri Nakamura on Twitter
Alki Surf Shop on Twitter
The Horsfall House on AirBNB
More by Terri Nakamura

*Verizon generously provided us with technology used at our store.

Me and My Pixels

May 31, 2018June 2, 2018 / terrinakamura / 2 Comments

Some of you know I’m an Instagram fan, and try to post a photo daily. I love Instagram for the variety of images I see every day and that it allows me a place for self-expression.

I’ve been shooting with a Google Pixel2 and a Verizon Google Pixel 2XL for quite a while now. I have to say after being a devoted iPhone user since the beginning, I now think Android is a piece of cake, but more importantly, I am in love with both Pixels.

It’s not just the ease of using an Android. Once you get the gist of how they work, it’s pretty easy to figure out any of them!

So ease of use is important. Service quality is important, too. I’ve mentioned numerous times we have a house near Mount Rainier that is listed on AirBNB, and Verizon is still the most reliable service out there.

But the cameras on these two devices! Wow. They’re amazing. They capture such minute detail that often I’ll shoot something then blow it way up and crop a tiny part of it to post, still maintaining incredible details.

This week I stopped by my mechanic, CarTender, on Capitol Hill. Paolo, one of the guys who works there, told me he bought a Pixel 2 BECAUSE of my INSTAGRAM PHOTOS! Wow!

So I’m sharing a few of the photos I’ve shot this month. From the top down, are:

Peonies from my sister’s garden
A view of the Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle
Wild roses from my garden
Basketball scrimmage after school
The “Eraser” sculpture at the Seattle Center
Weird graphic asphalt lines leading to the Museum of Pop Culture
A view of the Madrona Bathhouse on Lake Washington
The view from the end of the bar at 13 Coins in Pioneer Square
Plants reaching for the sky
A shed in Madrona with a pretty patina
Glimmering city of Bellevue seen from Madrona at Lake Washington
Happy sunflowers!
The first Amazon Bookstore, located in the University Village of Seattle
Century Link Tower seen through a gap in a grate
A tree before it budded
Expressive clouds seen from the Montlake Bridge

I’ve posted more than 16,000 photos on my Instagram account. As an early adopter, I went crazy at first, sometimes sharing a dozen or more pictures a day. Now, usually just one a day, although sometimes I skip.

I’d love to have you check out my photos. If you follow me there, post a comment to let me know, and I’ll follow back! And if you see the photos I’ve previewed below, you’ll usually find a more complete description on Instagram

Thank you for looking! And remember: #BetterMatters