A couple of years ago I met David Levene a photographer for The Guardian. It was 5 in the morning and we were both waiting to get in our respective hot air balloons while photographing the Bristol Balloon Festival. We had a good chat for an hour, and I said it would be great to meet again if he ever made if to Japan. I then got in my wicker basket and had my first (and only) balloon ride. It was a great experience and I got a few good photos.
Hot air balloon pilot David Fish fires the burner
Bristol Balloon Festival
A couple of months ago I got an email from David saying he was coming to Japan to get shots for the newspaper, particularly the two page center spreads, which are an amazing showcase for a photographer. Check out this short video to see the kind of work David does. (Then come right back!)
David is in Japan for two weeks and came down to Okinawa for 24 hours to get some images of Churaumi Aquarium I talked about in a previous post which you can find here. I spent the entire time with David, escorting him around the island, recording some sound for slideshows, and learning a huge amount simply by watching him work. We had a great time at the aquarium and David got the shots he wanted. You will have to go out an buy copies of The Guardian to see his work in print, but I’ll finish this blog with a few pictures of my own.
David Levene -showing that even better than having one Canon 5D Mark II is having two.
Dave & Me
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 
Cool for sure, but nearly anything is better than one 5D Mark 2. First of all if you rock a 5D Mark 2 with a grip you probably should have just gotten a full-size 1-series in the first place. Two the 5D2 and the 1Ds3 both have wretched hi-ISO, low-light performance. I’d rather have a 5D and a 1Ds2 than two 5D2’s UNLESS I was shooting video. The 5D2’s video is a killer feature for sure.
Any idea when we can see his shots in a publication?
His photo of the Osaka Sumo Basho was a two page spread in The Guardian a few days ago. You should be able to see more over the next few weeks.
If you are out of the UK I think you would have to subscribe to the service that allows you to see copies of the print addition online – although you can see most of the content on The Guardian website.
Chris
The photo of balloonist David Fish…
I wonder if he is the same David Fish who I went to school with (and who shares the same birthday as me?) He was mad keen on Airships when we were at school, so it is a distinct possibility. And how many David Fishes can their be in the world? (Or should the plural of David Fish be David Fish?)
Hi Steve,
It does sound like me… drop me a line at fish@fishpix.net and say hello!
Fishy!
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