Author: travel67

Recovering the war dead on Okinawa

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A month ago I worked with writer Julian Ryall on a piece about how the remains of the war dead found on Okinawa are identified and hopefully returned to their family graves. Photographing the skeleton of a dead Japanese soldier, and shards of bones in various trays was somber, but at that moment you are working and concentrating on getting images. Only later, when you’ve packed your gear away and returned to everyday life do you ponder the deeper meanings of what you’ve witnessed. On the cover of the Number 1 Shimbun is an image I shot of Gushiken-san a volunteer that has devoted his life to returning the remains  of the fallen to their loved ones. Inside are a couple more images and the feature by Julian Ryall.

Pick and Tuck Dressage and Eventing

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Riding instructor Alexis leaves Okinawa today, but will soon be back in the saddle on American soil. Alexis wanted some new images for her company Pick and Tuck Dressage and Eventing so we set up a shoot to take some horse jumping and barn images. For the horse jumping images I used a long 400mm telephoto lens and prefocused the lens on the bars of the jump. With the lens on a tripod and everything focussed and framed I just waited for the Alexis and Sky to be in the classic legs tucked position before firing the shutter. I took photos of two different jumps, once facing almost into the sun producing a backlighting effect, and the other with the sun almost behind me. I prefer the style of lighting and the more muted tones of the above image, but it’s all a matter of preference. I wish Alexis and her husband Michael safe travels back to the States. Okinawa, and particularly Sky, will miss them.

Gojuryu Karate 10th dan Tetsuhiro Hokama

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A great day last weekend shooting with Gojuryu karate 10th dan Tetsuhiro Hokama. As is clear from the following photos the idea that karate is a weaponless martial art is clearly not accurate. Although many practitioners state that karate means empty hand, the original meaning of the word was Chinese hand. Improvised weapons, many from farming equipment, were very much part of karate. It might seem strange to see a karate master using duct tape covered nunchaku, but it’s also impressive that he’s using them so much he’s got to give them a little reinforcement. “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” Theodore Roosevelt, a big proponent of the rokushaku bo. Tonfa now used by police forces across the world. Never start a fight at the Okinawan dragon boat races. The Okinawan sai, as used by Raphael. Hopefully before you clicked on that link you weren’t thinking of this other Raphael. Hokama-sensei showed how the kama can be used between the opponents legs to end the fight very quickly. And if …

Trevor Williams Light Painting / Retro Portraits Workshops – 3 weeks to go.

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It’s three weeks to go before the Trevor Williams Light Painting / Retro Portraits Workshops. If you’re interested in coming to either of these workshops please contact me to book your place. It’s going to be a fantastic few days, and as the next Trevor Williams courses will be in 2013 or 2014 please make the most of this opportunity while it’s available. Trevor will also be showing off his light painting skills at the Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo on April 17th. It will be a high tech interactive fusion of light and music, possibly the first of its kind in the world. If you can’t make the workshop, please check out what should be a fantastic event. You can check out some of the great images by last year’s light painting workshop participants here. Hope to see many of you in three weeks time 🙂

Trash the Dress – Okinawa

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Alexis, one of the riding instructors, recently got married to Michael. They have plenty of great wedding photos, but thought that they’d like to make the most of the Okinawan beaches and her passion for horses. After shooting the two of them cantering through the surf I took some quick “trash the dress” style images. I really like the look of this final shot, but from a story telling perspective you probably shouldn’t end the series with a shot of the bride gliding off into the distance without her husband! (Trash the dress – okay, trash the military dress uniform – not okay.) A final thanks to the clients Alexis, Michael, Eve and Madie. Also to Summer Johnson for getting up way way before dawn to start makeup, and to Shawn Miller as my faithful assistant.

Mihara Horse Club of Okinawa

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A fun shoot last Sunday with Alexis, Eve and Madie, three instructors from the Mihara Horse Club of Okinawa. I’ve hired horses from the club for model shoots in the past, so it was great to get the instructors in front of the camera. One of the advantages of photographing riding instructors, is that they will happily gallop along the beach without looking terrified or ending up bruised, battered and litigious. After getting some shots of the three ladies riding I took some portraits of them with the horses. Although it had only just turned 8AM, the Okinawan sun was already strong enough to make people squint and leave strong shadows. I brought along a large Ezylite diffuser which creates a patch of open shade in which I can shoot. Alexis’s husband Michael and my assistant Shawn were press-ganged into holding the diffuser up above their heads while I shot. A great morning with lovely people and horses. On a technical note. If you’re photographing galloping horses you’re going to need to take a lot …