2017 has been another busy year. So many things to mention….

Photography workshops have been a success, and it’s been great sharing my passion (and terrible jokes) with so many other people, whether its learning the fundamentals,

or dressing up as rockstars in the studio.

We had an amazing 1-week workshop in Kyoto with six lovely ladies, and a combination of planning and a little luck meant we got to photograph maiko, cherry blossom, shrines, temples, castles, bullet trains, and blue skies over the week.

Yuki started taking kimono classes before the workshop so she could be our subject for staged shots,

and there were plenty of opportunities for fortuitous street photographs.  (We’re planning the next Kyoto Workshop for April 2019.)

A huge thank you to clients who have booked me for sessions. It has been a pleasure shooting commercial portraits,

families,

fairy tales,

and senior portraits.

We’ve shot several events including the USO Service Salute, the Warrior’s Ball, and karate seminars.

We’ve also worked on assignment with international clients including NBC, Cinq Mondes, and Forbes. A huge thank you to Keith who became my mentee and assistant for the year. It was a delight working with you.

There have also been plenty of fun shoots simply to practice skills and make new friends, especially when makeup artist Audra Pesicka could add her magic touch.

The Karate Masters Portrait Project has continued, although at a much slower pace. It was however a pleasure to photograph Hatsuko Machida, and Koichi Nakasone. On a positive note we’ve also started to record some of the karate masters on video, a new exciting challenge.

Hatsuko Machida 町田 初子　6th dan Uechi-ryu, Uechi-ryu Ageda Women’s Dojo

Koichi Nakasone Karate Master 9th-dan Ryukyu Kingdom Sui-di BujutsuPhotographed on July 11th, 2017 Nakijin Village, Okinawa

There have been a few great days exploring Okinawa on land and underwater, but things have been busy, and I hope to dive more next year.

male ribbon eel (Rhinomuraena quaesita)

Todoroki Falls, ( Todoroki-no-taki) Nago, Okinawa, Japan

However, 2018 is already looking like it will be a super busy, epic year!

Yuki and I are currently working on producing videos for Skylum the company that creates the award-winning photo editing software Luminar. It will be exciting to share photography and Okinawa with a much larger audience.

We’re also expecting our first baby in February so 2018 shall be full of new experiences and challenges.

Once again thank you to all my students, clients, models, assistants, make up artists,  and the people of Okinawa who make the job possible.  Have a wonderful New Year and a marvelous 2018.