Family Session, Okinawa
Lovely session with the McMains family. Aidan was a real star, and Maddie the family corgi even got in on some of the shots. More information about family, couples and senior session can be found on the sessions tab.
Author: travel67
Engagement Shoot, Okinawa
Wonderful engagement shoot yesterday with Beau and Lindsay who are visiting Okinawa for a few days. We shot at various locations around the beautiful Motobu Peninsula before watching the sunset from the beach with Ie Island on the horizon. Congratulations on your engagement Beau and Lindsay it was great to meet you both! For more information on sessions in Okinawa for families, couples, or seniors click on the Sessions tab above.
Guinness World Record Breaking Kata
On October 23rd 2016 the Okinawan karate community attempted to break the record for the most people performing a kata. The record had been set in India in 2013 with 809 people. The Okinawan attempt on the record was a resounding success with 3793 confirmed participants. There was also a one of the biggest congregations of karate masters. I have photographed most of them for the Karate Masters Portrait Project so it was great to be able to say hello to so many of them. 2017 will have the opening of the Okinawa Karate Kaikan (training center), and with karate a demonstration sport at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, I expect that a mass kata performance may even become an annual event. If so, hopefully next year will be even bigger!
Yuki in Majun
A couple of pics of Yuki wearing a dress by the Okinawan fashion brand Majun. Shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 90mm lens. Lit with the Profoto D2 with a 3×4′ softbox, background illuminated by two Profoto proheads to give pure white.
Stamp of Approval
This week, Japan Post released a set of postage stamps to commemorate Karate Day in Okinawa. The series of eight stamps is made up of Okinawan karate masters of different styles. The bottom right image is of Yoshitaka Taira, 10th dan World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) and is one of the photographs I shot for the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Pleasingly, this is the second time one of my images has been used on a Japanese stamp. The first was around 12 years ago when they chose my photograph of Kabira Bay to represent one of Okinawa’s beautiful landmarks. In all that time the price of a postage stamp has only gone up two yen!
100 Kata for Karate Day 2016
100 Kata for Karate Day is an endurance event created by James Pankiewicz of the Dojo Bar in Naha. Participants complete 100 kata (set forms) over a period of around 2 hours. This year the event took place at Churasun Beach, and was opened by the Mayor of Tomigusku. Arakaki Toshimitsu , 10th dan master of Matsubayashiryu karate (and James’ sensei) gave a welcome speech and watched over the event. Participants performed 80 kata on the grass before moving down to the sand. Although it’s October, Okinawa is still hot and humid. A cool breeze provided a little relief, but it was still a real test of grit and determination. Congratulations to all who took part.
Studio Workshop / Profoto D2
Yesterday I had a 1 on 1 workshop with Mina who wanted to learn some more studio photography techniques before she leaves Okinawa next month. After the dark and smokey Star Trek shots in September we decided to go clean and bright. This was a three-light setup. Two strobes were pointed at a white background, and the keylight was a Profoto D2 with a 3×4′ softbox. Large flags stopped any spill from the background lights hitting the subject. Our model was Kelley, and makeup and hair was done by Audra Presika. We first went will a beauty look that was reminiscent of Daryl Hannah in Splash. We then switched to an 80’s glamour look, that with the addition of a prop gives us some (somewhat tardy) commercial images for the Motorola Dynatac. A more up to date bit of kit was the new Profoto D2 1000W light. Unlike my Profoto B1 this is a mains powered light, so is designed for studio rather than location use. It has fast recycle times, fast flash durations, and …
Holiday Bazaar Print Sale
This year I’ll be selling my fine art prints of Okinawa and Japan at two events in November. Each print is made with 100% cotton Hahnemühle fine art paper, and archival pigment inks, to produce a lifetime of viewing pleasure. November 4th to 6th I’ll be at the AAFES Holiday Bazaar on Camp Foster. With so many vendors it’s a great event to visit. There are usually specials games and prizes on offer to keep things exciting over the three days. On Saturday 19th November 9AM to 5pm I’ll have a print sale at my home in Motobu. This is perfect for people who don’t have base access, and for those who want to come and eat Yuki’s banana bread. Chris Willson Photography in Motobu on GOOGLE MAPS If you’d like to learn more about the prints click on the Prints tab.
Robot Restaurant, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Looking for a surreal experience that combines J-pop, anime, taiko drummers, carnivale, and robots. Of course you are. The Robot Restaurant is located in Kabukicho, the entertainment district in Shinjuku. The target audience was once the salarymen, but now it’s packed with international tourists. There are four 90 minute shows every evening. It begins with guests gathering together in the bar area, where a “robot” band plays Michael Jackson, The Eagles and Sting. My guess is that they originally played the themes from Astro Boy, Gundam or Doraemon. After all the guests have arrived you are ushered into the theatre. The main performance takes place in four 20 minute segments with 10 minutes breaks which allow the cast to change, and the robots to reset. The guests meanwhile can refill on drinks and popcorn. The show itself is a bit like watching a live action mixture of Power Rangers, Transformers, and Japanese music video. It should have been moronic, but everyone was having a great time. It doesn’t seem odd that you’re waving glow stick and booing …
Naked in the Rain
Ohara Hadaka Matsuri a.k.a. the Ohara Naked Festival took place in heavy rain on the 23rd of September. To clarify “naked” is clearly not an accurate description with the participants wearing far more than the fundoshi loincloths seen at the Okayama Hadaka Matsuri. As this is a traditional Shinto festival a priest gave blessings, and somewhat unusually two arrows were launched into the ocean. Teams carried mikoshi (portable shrines) down to the ocean. It was clear that the mikoshi were heavy and the teams looked exhausted as they shouldered the wooden beams. After dunking themselves and the shrine in the ocean waves they returned to the beach, and managed to raise it above their heads. All images shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 25mm lens. Glad both the camera and lens are weather sealed because they were subjected to rain for half an hour.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 