Alberto in the Shadows
A couple of images from a recent shoot with Alberto. Smooth.
Alberto on the Mike
Alberto Plays it Cool
Latest Posts
On other people’s bookshelves
A couple of weeks ago I went along to the PhotOkinawa coffee morning. The group is made up of photographers with many levels of experience, but all have a desire to expand their knowledge, and share their passion for photography.
At the latest meeting everyone was asked to bring along a book that they thought the other members of the group would enjoy. I brought The Americans
Here’s a list of the other recommended books.
Kevin Kubotas Lighting Notebook
Pro Digital Portrait Lighting
Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Photography Field Guide
Untouched
VisionMongers 
The Photographer’s Eye 
Vietnam Inc. 
The A-Z of Creative Photography
The Complete Guide to Professional Wedding Photography
The Creative Digital Darkroom
Men in Motion
D in Motion
Recently I was chatting with another photographer about adding motion to images. When shooting with the Pentax 67II camera I had a very deliberate and static style. The camera was often mounted on a tripod, and on the whole my subjects, whether they were landscapes or people, were not moving.
Shooting digital has given me the ability to push my boundaries and add some dynamism. The reason for this is more financial than technical. If you want to do shots with motion, you are going to have to shoot a large number of frames. At well over a dollar a shot with the Pentax 67 it would have been an expensive way to work. As I mentioned in the previous blog, at the D / Ryan shoot I took over a 1000 frames. I wouldn’t have been happy if I’d had to pay between one and two grand on just film and processing.
Ryan in Motion
Of course not all shots require leaping, punching or pirouetting, but sometimes the ability to add a little movement, might be just what you need.
D Jump
American Muscle
Recently I began working with male models D and Ryan. They are both exceptionally nice guys, focused on what they want, and willing to put in the hard work to reach their goals. Our first studio shoot began with lighting and clothing designed to show off their physiques. If you want to do sports or fitness modeling you’ve got to have done your crunches.
Shadow Play – Ryan
Ryan
During the shoot I took 1024 images, almost filling the 64GB SDXC cards. These are just a few of the images that have been processed. Will post more soon.
Fight Night
Hannah ready to fight.
8th Rule: If this is your first time modeling, you HAVE to fight.
Pentax 645D
SMC PENTAX D FA 645 55mm F2.8AL
Models: Hannah Pate & Amanda Perez
Makeup: Summer Johnson
Lighting – Charcoal Grey Background. Horlzontal gridded strip box on high and right powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Strobe triggered with PocketWizards. Pro-7a gives me a flash duration of about 1/10,000 second to stop the action. Lights in the background are cheap hotshoe flashes taped to light stands and then set to slave.
No models were injured in the making of this shot 🙂
Hannah brings the fury down on Amanda
Amanda hits back
J Muzacz – Japan365
J Muzacz is a man with a pen, and a plan. He is hoping to draw an image of Japan everyday for a year to create a book of sketches titled Japan365.
A few weeks ago he contacted me and asked if he could use my photographs as the basis for some of his sketches. I said yes, and with a little ink and a lot of talent, they have been transformed from one medium to another.
UPDATE (June 27, 2013) You can check out many more images from the year by purchasing his book Japan 365: A Drawing-A-Day Project
Shuri Festival by Willson / Muzacz
Eisa by Willson / Muzacz
Zakimi Castle by Willson / Muzacz
Jidai Matsuri – Geiko Greatness
The stars of the Jidai Matsuri are the Kyoto Geisha, known as Geiko, who dress as characters from Japanese history. Very pleased that I got some up close and personal images. Hopefully will take some photographs of the Geiko in more traditional costumes on my next trip to Kyoto.
Geiko Naokazu of Kamishichiken dressed as the 13th century writer Madame Fujiwara-Tameie
Geiko Ichiteru wearing the costume of 12th Century court dancer Lady Shizuka.
Geiko Tamaha of Gion Kobu dressed as the female samurai and concubine Tomoe Gozen.
Happy Halloween from Okinawa
Happy Halloween (Photo by Hiroshi, Costume by 100 yen store)
Jidai Matsuri, Kyoto
Samurai Archer - Jidai Matsuri, Kyoto
Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages) was delayed by a day due to rain, but last Sunday it went ahead with a parade of around 2000 Japanese in traditional costumes.
Jidai Matsuri, Festival of Ages, in Kyoto, Japan
After a somewhat underwhelming Kurama Fire Festival I had a fantastic time photographing the various participants in the Jidai Matsuri.
Jidai Matsuri, Festival of Ages, in Kyoto, Japan
It was particularly interesting to see the number of horses in the parade. Yabusame (mounted) archers , along with various other riders had come over from Nara for the event. The following photo was an interesting example of the benefits of photographic cross training. Previous fashion / beauty shoots with a model and horse on the beach had taught me to look for shots of the rider beside the horse’s head rather than sitting on it’s back.
Jidai Matsuri, Festival of Ages, in Kyoto, Japan
Fodor’s Japan
Fodor's Japan 20th Edition
Fodor’s Japan, 20th Edition 
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 