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Fight Night

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Women Boxing

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 🙂

Women Boxing

Hannah brings the fury down on Amanda

Women Boxing

Amanda hits back

J Muzacz – Japan365

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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

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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.

Jidai Matsuri, Kyoto

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Samurai Archer - 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

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

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

Jidai Matsuri, Festival of Ages, in Kyoto, Japan

Fodor’s Japan

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Fodors Japan 20th Edition

Fodor's Japan 20th Edition

Fodor’s Japan, 20th Edition was published this month. I mention it because I updated the Okinawa section of the guidebook. I’m not sure about other travel guides, but I can vouch for the fact that updater of the Okinawa chapter has actually spent a decent amount of time traveling around the islands.  It was an interesting experience reviewing the various attractions, and I hope that visitors have a memorable experience  whether their stay is counted in days or decades.

Kurama Fire Festival

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Kurama Fire Festival, Kyoto

Kurama Fire Festival, Kurama, Kyoto

This year’s Kurama Fire Festival was a mix of rain, mud and flames. I liked the costumes, but the degree of pyromania  and the level of drunken chaos was pretty tame compared to other fire festivals I’ve been to in Japan. I think the close proximity to Kyoto, and therefore the entire Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe metropolis means you get too many people for what is in reality quite a small event in a very small town.

Kurama Fire Festival, Kurama, Kyoto

Kurama Fire Festival, Kurama, Kyoto

The big plus however is that the Kurama Fire Festival takes place on October 22nd the same day as Kyoto’s Jidai Matsuri. Watch the Jidai Matsuri in the afternoon then head over to Kurama for a smokey evening. This year the Jidai Matsuri was postponed by a day, but I wasn’t leaving Kyoto until I’d shot a samurai.

Umeda Sky Building

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Flew up to mainland Japan on Friday night. Landed at KIX then got the bus to Umeda in Osaka. Before heading on to Kyoto, I stopped in at Yodobashi Camera to get a new lens case and then took another look at the Umeda Sky Building.

Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

Umeda Sky Building, Osaka

Exposure was about 15 seconds which causes the blurry clouds. I set the white balance to tungsten to give it the blue futuristic feel.

Google Plus

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After a little prodding from friends I have now joined Google Plus. You can find me here and add me (or encircle me) to follow my various exploits. I hadn’t realized that some people are googlers rather than facebookers. If you’re a tweeter, I’m sorry, but I haven’t opened that can of worms just yet.

As for the usefulness of Google Plus I will give it a bit of time before reaching any conclusions. I have however made several new contacts already, and received a nice email from Pentax Europe introducing themselves and asking about prints. All in all, it’s good to be prodded from time to time.