Author: travel67

In the Studio – Darryl Chiang

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A portfolio session with model Darryl Chiang. We worked fast and efficiently to get a good selection of images in a short amount of time. Makeup artist Summer Johnson was on hand as guys (or potential Presidents) can sometimes benefit from the use of makeup. Summer’s talents, however, would really come in to play on Darryl’s next shoot, “Fight Club”. Darryl has been told he looks like a Korean pop star, but I thought I’d go for a Japanese otaku theme for this next shot. And finally a far cooler sports image of Darryl on a triathlon / time trial bicycle.

Summer Photography Workshops

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PHOTOGRAPHY 101 with Chris Willson July 14th & 15th 2012  US$250 Move beyond the fully automatic modes. Learn the basics of equipment selection, exposure, composition and data management. Take control of your photography so that you rather than your camera is making the decisions. Pixels to Pigment Workshop with Martin Bailey August 4th & 5th 2012 US$250 Improve the efficiency of your photographic workflow with a thorough understanding of color management all the way from capture to print. For more details on the courses check out the workshops page. To book either course send an email to chris@travel67.com

Super Typhoon Guchol

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Super Typhoon Guchol will be passing near Okinawa (or even hitting us directly) from mid Monday to early Tuesday. This has the potential to be dangerous so if you’re new to Okinawa here are a few things that you need to do (and probably should have done already). Tidy up the outside of your house or garden. If it can be picked up and carried by 150 mph winds, you don’t want it outside. A patio chair flying through the air is not a good idea. Buy supplies. Charge batteries and buy new ones. Typhoons have the potential to take out the power supply for hours or days. Not too bad during the day, but a real pain if you’ve not got working flashlights at night. Buy food and bottled water for a few days. Rent some DVDs but also have some books ready if the power goes out. Fill the bath or containers with water. Water supply can go out. A bath full of water, will allow you to flush and refill the toilet. …

Nudibranch Nirvana

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Nudibranchs are commonly known as sea slugs, and scientifically fit in the order of soft-bodied marine gastropod mollusks. There are several great things about nudibranchs. The first is that many are highly photogenic, the second is that they have interesting features such as feathery rhinophores, and the third is that they don’t move very quickly so you can document the first two attributes. It’s a huge help having friends who have been photographing and identifying nudibranchs for years. They can spot them far more easily while diving, then after we’ve surfaced let you know what you’ve seen. Who knew slugs soft-bodied marine gastropod mollusks could be so much fun.

Karate Masters Portrait Project – F.A.Q.s

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I’ve been getting a few emails asking questions about the karate masters portrait project. So I thought I’d answer them here. Do you have a specific list of karate masters you are going to photograph? The goal is to photograph all the high ranking karate masters, of all styles, on Okinawa. If and when this happens will depend on the availability and willingness of the karate masters. Fortunately since the project has got underway, word of mouth within the Okinawan karate community has been very positive and we are finding masters happy to give up a little of their time to be photographed. Will you photograph karate masters in other countries? Sounds like a great idea, but first we’re concentrating on those masters based in Okinawa. Can I submit some photographs of my sensei? I decided at the start of the project that I wanted all the portraits to be shot in the exact same style. By not varying the type of camera, the lighting equipment, or the photographer, I can give the series of …

9th dan Gojuryu Karate Master Shigetoshi Senaha

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A couple of weeks ago James Pankiewicz and I headed down to Tomigusku to the dojo of 9th dan gojuryu karate master Shigetoshi Senaha. I had been hoping to photograph this particular master for a while as he is the sensei of a good friend of mine James East. Senaha sensei posed for the portraits and then showed us his old photo albums.  Through a series of  small black and white photographs, we were taken on a journey through Senaha’s life, and through his karate career. There were images of him training as a young man in Okinawa and later performing at the opening of the Budokan in Tokyo. Many of the recent photographs were of him touring other countries, spreading karate around the world. Before I left, I took a photograph of Senaha-sensei performing a kata in his dojo. Perhaps he’ll add it to his album, to be shown to other lucky visitors at his dojo.

Every Underwater Photographer a Diver

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Perhaps the most famous of the United States Marine Corps’ mantras is “every Marine a rifleman”. It doesn’t matter what specialization you go into, each marine must still undertake regular training and assessment in their ability to fire a rifle. I mention this as there should be a similar mantra with regards to scuba: every underwater photographer a diver. The key issue is that if you’re an experienced diver and an inexperienced photographer, you may get mediocre shots, but you’ll dive safely and within your limits. If you’re an experienced photographer and an inexperienced diver, you can quite easily, and very quickly, find yourself in serious trouble. An SLR camera in a housing is large, heavy, bulky, expensive and demands your concentration. Add strobes and you’ve just magnified all these factors. If you are having any issues with your diving – buoyancy, navigation, exhaustion, air management, decompression etc then the camera is only going to make things worse. Spend too much time looking through your viewfinder and not enough time checking your gauges and you …

Martin Bailey Pixels 2 Pigment Workshop in Okinawa August 4th & 5th

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The dates are now confirmed! I’ll be hosting Martin Bailey’s Pixels 2 Pigment  2-day Workshop in Okinawa on August 4th & 5th. Martin has put together a few details about the workshop on a Pixels 2 Pigment website, but also check out his main website and his podcast. This is a great opportunity for photographers to expand their knowledge base. Color management is such a fundamental part of a photographers workflow, but it is often misunderstood, or simply ignored. Martin will guide you through the various steps that will make your life easier. You can take control of color, so you spend less time trying to correct mistakes in Photoshop, or wasting valuable ink and paper. A course outline should be available in the next few weeks. The 2-day workshop will take place from 10AM to 5PM on both days. The course fee is US$250. The Okinawa workshop will take place at my home in Uruma City. To book a place on the course please email me chris (at) travel67.com and put WORKSHOP in the subject …

La-kun the Newfoundland

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La-kun is a large dog. When Japanese people see my labrador, they often say things like 大きい!! (Big!!)  and Bear is only 27 kilos. La-kun is over 60 kilos, and could be mistaken for a tuskless mammoth. Fortunately La-kun is also the most docile creature I’ve ever met. He lumbers around slowly and then lies down for a rest. What I didn’t know was that Newfoundlands are water dogs and, like labradors, very good swimmers. La-kun has been trained as a water rescue dog so hopefully in the future I’ll use the underwater housing and take some shots of him in action.