Author: travel67

64GB SDXC Card Comparison with Pentax 645D – a rudimentary test.

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Do different 64GB SDXC cards perform differently when used in my Pentax 645D camera? Why is this question important? SD cards of the same memory capacity vary in price. Some claim “faster shot-to-shot performance” but does it make any difference with my particular camera. The cards: Transcend 64GB SDXC Card Price 4,769 Yen (Amazon Japan) or $46.99 (Amazon.com) SanDisk Extreme 64GB SDXC Card Price 6390 Yen (Amazon Japan) or $73.69 (Amazon.com) SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC Card   12,819 (Amazon Japan)  or 128.95 (Amazon.com) Whether purchased in Japan or in the U.S. there is a clear difference in pricing between the three cards. Prices shown are the best available prices on the Amazon websites as of writing. (Please feel free to click on the links, and I’ll make a few cents from any purchases you make. This is a bonus, but not the purpose of the post.) The camera: I’m using my Pentax 645D camera. It has twin SD card slots. I have them set up so that the camera writes the RAW DNG file to both cards …

Kiyoshi Yogi – Uechiryu Karate & Ryukyu Kobudou

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Kiyoshi Yogi is a master of Uechiryu Karate & Ryukyu Kobudou. He was the sai world champion, the bou world champion, and the first Okinawa traditional karatedo world champion. Yogi sensei was the 17th master to be photographed as part of the Karate Masters Portrait Project. We stared on March 11th 2012 so we’ve being underway for a year. Over the past 12 months it has become clear just how important the project is. There has been praise and encouragement from all over the world, although the best feedback is usually the beaming smiles from the masters as we hand over the prints for their dojos. Hopefully over the next year we’ll photograph even more of these Okinawan icons. I’ll continue to take the portraits, James will continue to organize the shoots, and the karate masters will continue to share their knowledge with the world.

Business Portrait – Hisano Pankiewicz

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Hisano Pankiewicz makes traditional Okinawan sweets. It’s been the family business for over a century. They have a small store in Naha called Jahana Kippan, which can also be found online at OkinawaSweets.com Her husband James is the owner of The Dojo Bar in Naha. Hisano needed a new portrait that can be used when promoting the company and introducing herself as a young Japanese businesswoman. We decided to keep the look of the shot simple and natural. Hisano was delighted with the image, and a happy client means a happy photographer. Hisano also gave me some coconut covered tougatsuke, as a thank you. Very happy photographer.

The Queen of Hearts

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The first of two images from an Alice in Wonderland themed shoot for a client. The concept, costume design, and makeup was by Candi Girls Jovanna Flor, Michelle Rives, and Siobhan Bermudez. In this shot Michelle was more than a little upset that someone had stolen her tarts.

The Evolution of the Tech Guru – Stage 1

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The first of a series of computer geek / tech guru images I shot with my friend Keith last month. Unlike some of my other portraits, Keith really does this for a living. He’s also so nice that having spent all day reconfiguring and updating servers, he’s willing to stop by my home to fix / undo the latest technology based mess I’ve gotten myself into. Long live the nerd.

Pentax K5 IIs Exhibition

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Starting February 13 in Tokyo, Pentax is having an exhibition of images shot with the new K5IIs camera. 15 photographers are involved and I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of them. Pentax selected a couple of my recent studio images, one of Alexis, and one of Sachi. I’ve spent a month working with both the 645D and the K5IIs side by side so I have similar images from both cameras. From February 13th to 25th the exhibition will be at Ring Cube in Ginza, Tokyo. This is the Ricoh / Pentax Gallery that overlooks one of Tokyo’s most famous intersections. From March 6th to 11th the exhibition will be shown at the Pentax Forum in West Shinjuku. Thanks to Pentax for selecting the images, to Alexis and Sachi for modeling, and Felicia Lee and Summer Johnson for hair and makeup.