The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two objects can occupy the same place at one time. Unfortunately, two weeks ago, an Okinawan coach driver tried to bend the rules of quantum mechanics by attempting to move his vehicle through mine. The driver attempted to merge into the space in front of me while I was stationary on Route 58 in Nago. As his back end came closer and closer I beeped my horn. The bus driver continued on, gouging the front bumper and right wing of my car and then stopped. It was just a minor scrape and nothing serious, both the bus driver and I gave statements to the police, exchanged insurance information and went on our separate ways. I talked to my insurance company, but found that due to end of year vacation nobody could look at my car until Jan 4th. Dropped off my car today, picked up a loaner, and everything will get repaired. The one issue that does remain is exactly whose insurance will be paying for the repairs. …

This was a quick series of portraits of military uniforms I shot a couple of weeks ago. As a civilian it’s fascinating to get a brief glimpse into the lives of others, even if it’s just noting the attention to detail they have when putting on their various uniforms and the pride they have from wearing them. A big thank you to D and Ryan for one of my favorite studio shoots of the year.

Photography 101 Workshop – January 14th and 15th Who is the course for? The beginner or novice photographer who has a digital SLR  and wishes to progress beyond the green fully auto mode. People who want to take better photographs of their friends and family rather than point, shoot, and hope for the best. What do I need to bring? Your digital  SLR camera, lens, your camera manual, memory card, battery and charger. You don’t need a particular brand of camera or lens. If you don’t have a digital SLR at the moment I can lend you one for the duration of the course. What does the course cover? Equipment – The anatomy of cameras, lenses, memory cards, filters and tripods. Exposure – Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Camera Modes, Metering Composition – Angles, Repetition, Rules, Lines, Simplicity Data Management – Sorting, storing and protecting your images. This is a fun workshop rather than a lecture. As we cover new topics we will be taking photographs, reviewing the images, and discussing the results.  You’ll be learning …

The first shot from a beach shoot with yoga instructor Adriesa. This is a good example of using off camera flash (in this case a 300W moonlight plugged into a portable battery pack) to fill in the harsh shadows created by midday sun. For more information on off camera flash there are still three places on the workshop with Pete Leong and me in January.

A diffuser is a useful piece of equipment which can help you control harsh light. You place the opaque material between your subject and the light source (usually the sun) and it cuts down the light . It is similar to moving a person from outside into the open shade in a doorway or beneath a tree, except you’re moving the shade to them. As with reflectors, most portable diffusers for photographers are circular and collapse in on themselves for storage. Lastolite make a range of triangular trigrip reflectors and diffusers which have an integrated grip and are easier to maneuver. The medium size trigrip is a good size for putting a person or couple into shade when shooting in the harsh Okinawan sun. It is also a useful way to reduce the strength of the light when shooting into the sun backlighting the hair. In the shot below I used it to control the light on the model and her white dress. It also stopped her from squinting. The size of the diffuser will …

Happy Holidays to all those around the world who will be working this Christmas. To all the doctors, nurses, police officers, soldiers, cooks, waiters and many more. Thank You.