Author: travel67

Yayoi Kusama designs for Louis Vuitton

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A couple of years back, luxury Italian clothing / accessory brand Louis Vuitton teamed up with Japanese  artist Takashi Murakami to bring some color and youthfulness to their line. This year Louis Vuitton are once again emboldening their somewhat staid image with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Why is this big news? Because in urban Japan, Louis Vuitton bags seem to be almost standard equipment for hundreds of thousands of office ladies. Once they have graduated college and gained a company job, the acquisition of a LV emblazoned bag appears almost mandatory. Perhaps these brightly colored special editions are for the ladies who want to show their individuality and break free from the ubiquitous brown on brown bags carried by the huddled masses. Of course, there are the  brave few who will push the boundaries of convention even further, and not buy one at all.

HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S

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While I was at the Pentax Forum for my exhibition I got to have a brief play with the new 90mm lens that will be released at the end of this year. It’s a large, heavy lens but doesn’t unbalance the similarly gargantuan 645D body. What I realized was that with its image stabilizer it would be the perfect lens for the kind of travel portraits I love to do. I have therefore made the decision to order one of the 90mm lenses. Before the new lens arrives it’s time to create some space in the dry cabinet and make the bank balance a little healthier. For this reason I’ll be selling a few of the lenses I’ve been using infrequently over the last couple of years. They’ll go in Ebay in December, but if Pentaxians want to make offers before then just send me a message. PENTAX SMC M*67 400mm F4ED[IF] with 1.4 converter (grey) and drop in polarizing filter PENTAX SMC 67 165mm F2.8 SMC Pentax 67 100mm F4 Macro inc. 1:1 converter. Pentax …

Testing for Toxins

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Testing to see what dangerous chemicals are present in my workplace. It turns out that my studio is free of anything lethal, which is a good thing, because while Jovi was wearing full MOPP gear, I was chilling out in a t-shirt and shorts. On a more serious note, particularly just after Remberance Day in the U.K. and Veteran’s Day in the U.S., for some people the threat of sickness or death from chemical and biological weapons is a very real concern. Hopefully, one day, humanity will have progressed and the danger of these horrific armaments will no longer exist. To those who, for the protection of others, face this threat on a daily basis, thank you.

A Photographer’s Christmas Wish List – Polarizers

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Polarizing Filters are a great accessory for photographers. Some may argue that UV filters are a waste of money, and that colored filters are obsolete in the age of Photoshop, but polarized filters are still a fantastic tool particularly for landscape photography. A polarizing filter will give you saturated blue skies and bright white clouds, verdant vegetation, and  remove reflections from water. Before you rush out and buy one for you or your loved one, here are some things you need to be aware of: Buy the same diameter filter as the lens you’ll be using the filter on. To find out the lens diameter check on the back of the lens hood, or on the lens itself. It’s often written with a diameter symbol so it would look like this  ⌀72 for a 72mm diameter lens. “Wide” versions of polarizers are thinner (and more expensive) so they don’t result in vignetting of the image when placed on wide angle lenses. Buy a circular not a linear polarizer. Linear polarizers can lead to autofocus problems with …

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

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While in Shinjuku for my exhibition, I came across this unique delivery truck. It was parked outside a restaurant and the driver was restocking the restaurant’s aquarium with fish. Aquarium is probably the wrong term, as it’s more like a holding pen before the fish meet their maker. They swim around in the glass tank, unaware that a few hours later they will be sliced up for Tokyo’s  gourmands. However, even after their own demise, these particular fish can get their revenge. The fugu, or pufferfish, contains tetrodotoxin that if ingested by a diner will paralyze muscles leading to asphyxiation and death. Prepare the fish incorrectly and the chef can inadvertently kill of his clientele. Unsurprisingly, fugu chefs have to be specially trained and have gained a fugu license before they can serve the fish to the public. On a previous trip I photographed a chef with his license. For 10,000 yen, you can try 12 different dishes made with fugu. Or, if like me, you prefer to see fish swimming in the sea than dead …

Dalai Lama visits Okinawa

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Yesterday I went down to Naha to cover the Dalai Lama’s second visit to Okinawa. Unfortunately press access for photography had to be arranged before I was aware the event was taking place, but I was able to listen to the lecture he gave at the Budokan. The Dalai Lama’s speech included some of the following thoughts: Respect differences to find peaceful resolution. Distrust, hatred, fear and jealousy disturb our peace of mind. Compassion is not just for the benefit of others, it calms your own mind. A self centered attitude, or extreme self centered arrogance, leads to stress and heart attacks. Conflict is a result of a lack of conviction in the basic human values of love and respect. Respect all religions and the non-religious. Group culture must take care of others, we must be wise selfish, not foolish selfish. Media coverage appeared to be exclusive to RBC (a local television station) and the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper who was one of the co-organizers. Surprisingly, even the photographers who had access were all shooting with long lenses …

Karate Masters Portrait Project – Behind the Scenes

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Thought I’d show a few behind the scenes shots from the  latest Karate Masters Portrait Project shoot with Shimabukuro-sensei. We assemble our mini studio inside the dojo of each master. I have a Profoto 7A power pack which plugs into the mains and then a single pro-head inside a beauty dish for light. Behind the karate master I set up a large Lastolite Skylite with black velvet to give a clean background, and so the look of the images will remain constant throughout the entire project. I use the Pentax 645D camera with a 150mm lens and mount this to a tripod, although some shots are handheld. James holds the light and moves it from side to side depending on the stance of the karate master. The flash is triggered by a Pocketwizard remote trigger on the top of the camera, that signals another Pocketwizard that’s attached to the power pack. I take a couple of simple headshots and then we ask the karate master to adopt their favorite stance or show their favorite technique. …

A Photographer’s Christmas Wish List – Lightroom 4

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As Christmas, or more accurately the time for Christmas shopping, draws near, I thought I’d list a few things that would make good presents for photographers. (These are not hints to my own family, but things that I have and, or, would recommend for others) Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is a photo management and editing program. What is does is create a simple and intuitive workflow for photographers from inserting the SD card into the computer and importing new images, through keywording and adding IPTC data, to editing the image, and then final exports to web, print or other applications. Rather than using Adobe Bridge for data management, then Camera Raw to process files, then opening them up in Photoshop CS6, Lightroom is your all in one solution. The editing part of the program isn’t anywhere near as powerful as Photoshop CS6, but more than enough for most applications. If you have an image that requires serious manipulation then you can simply export the image from Lightroom to Photoshop CS6. Both Lightroom and Photoshop CS6 …

Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro

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Shorin-ryu Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro, the latest subject of the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Shimabukuro sensei was kind enough to take an hour out of his evening for the shoot, and told us how pleased he was that James and I are undertaking the project. This is always good to hear as the sensei we have photographed can help us connect with the other masters on Okinawa.