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Portrait Sessions

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Now taking bookings for  April / May / June 2011.

Current fees for a standard location / studio portrait session are:
Standard Portrait Image Package

Session plus 3 fully edited high definition images for personal printing – $250

Additional edited images files $50 each.

Standard Portrait Image & Print Package
Session plus 3 fully edited high definition images for personal printing, plus an 11″x16″ fine art print of each image – $400

Additional edited images files $50 each. Additional edited image plus fine art print $100 each. 16”x22” fine are prints are also available on request.

Prints are made using the same archival materials used for my limited edition prints (cotton rag photo paper and pigment inks). Suitable for framing or modeling portfolios.

Standard session usually lasts between 1 and 2 hours. Studio shoots are done in Ishikawa, Uruma City.  Location shoots take place at a mutually agreed upon location.
Session fees do not include makeup / hair / wardrobe.
To make a booking contact Chris on 090 1367 9198 or chris@travel67.com

OKITEN – Okinawa Art Exhibition March 19 to April 3

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I visited OKITEN last weekend to check out the latest work from a wide range of artists on Okinawa. Areas included paintings, mixed media, sculpture, calligraphy, laquerware, pottery, glassware, woodwork, photography and graphic design.

Where the Earth Meets the Sea by Chrisse Harwanko

Nearly all the artists were Okinawan, but there were exhibits by few foreign nationals including a mixed media piece “Where the Earth Meets the Sea” by Chrisse Harwanko and two ceramic sculptures by Nick Centala.

OKITEN Okinawa Art Exhibition ( iPhone photo )

The photography section was a little underwhelming. My main gripe was that virtually all the prints were made with glossy photographic paper. You were getting glare from the lights, and even problems with rippling on the thin paper. Some photographs  had been framed used perspex or standard (reflective) glass which again leads to glare and reflections. The quality of the actual photographs varied, but few really stood out. I was impressed by a series of images of the Yanbaru Kuina, which I believe won a prize, but otherwise the photographs were a bit of a disappointment.

Overall, however, the exhibition was well worth checking out. It’s running for a few more days, so get there if you can.

 

Tsunami Fund Raising Events

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There’s a fundraising event at La Pachanga Night Club in Chatan tonight (Sun March 27th). One of the DJs will be my my friend Keith Gordon of Ryukyu Underground. Will be a good night, that should raise a lot of money.

2011 Tsunami Earthquake Japan Relief March 27th

Next Sunday there will be a Japan Tsunami Relief live Concert at Koza Music Town with several musicians including another friend of mine Kluso. Will be another great event. Please come along and donate generously.

Japan Tsunami Relief Concert April 3rd

If you know of any other fund raising activities either in Okinawa, mainland Japan or around the world please introduce them to others in the comments section.

Pentax 645D v Phase One P40+

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Pentax 645D v Phase One P40+ (Image from Luminous Landscape)

Mark Segal and Nick Devlin recently did a comparative review of the  Pentax 645D versus the Phase One P40+. You can read the full review on the website Luminous Landscape.  An interesting read, with the overall conclusion being that very little separates the two beasts with regards to image quality. This might be expected as you’re comparing two medium format cameras with 40 megapixels sensors, but the price difference between the cameras is significant. The Pentax seems the far better option as a field camera, while the ability of the Phase One to shoot tethered gives it the advantage in a studio.

Chimping / Image Processing Speed

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Chris the Chimp by Trevor Williams

“Chimping” is the act of gazing at the back of your camera after taking a shot. It is easy to fall into the trap of concentrating on the screen and missing everything else that is going on around you, but instant feedback does have many advantages. Chimping allows you to immediately check the framing, focus, exposure and color balance so you can either confidently move on knowing that the shot is in the can or adjust and reshoot.

Thinking Time - Huge files give the 645D a lot to think about

Here’s an interesting bit of information about the 645D. On most modern cameras, there is not much of a delay between taking a photo and the image appearing on the LCD screen. Not sure what the technical name for this time is but let’s call it Image Processing Time. The 645D, due to it’s 40 megapixel sensor, is dealing with huge files. What this means is that the Image Processing Time on the 645D is around 11 to 13 seconds. If you take a shot and immediately glance at the screen, you will be greeted by an hourglass.

For me this wait of a few seconds is not an issue, the image processing time on my Pentax 67 film camera was measured in days or weeks rather than seconds. However, if you normally use another model of DSLR  and your technique involves a quick chimp after each shot then you’re going to find this a painfully slow wait.

 

On the bookshelf – Travel Photography by Steve Davey

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Travel Photography by Steve Davey

Travel Photography by Steve Davey

Travel Photography: Tread Your Own Path by Steve Davey is an excellent book. The photographs are good both by technical standard and subject matter. The book has a logical structure and the writer is able to make complicated subjects understandable and interesting. The start of the book is about choosing gear (camera bodies, lenses, bags) and some general advice on travel.  The “Execution” section covers the basics of how to take photographs (exposure, aperture, shutter speed, filters, flash) then the “Inspiration” section applies these techniques to situations you will find in the field (cities, festivals, markets, deserts). He then follows this with “Correction” a section on image processing, correction and manipulation (published in 2008 – this is still up to date). The final chapter is about working as a professional travel photographer and deals with issues such as copyright and marketing.

The amount of information covered by the book is both its greatest asset and its greatest weakness. If you’re already a Photoshop whiz then the correction section will be redundant, while experienced photographers will be well aware of most of the information in the execution section. I am sure however that even the most experienced photographer will find numerous interesting nuggets of wisdom, and for the beginner or intermediate photographer the book is well worth the price.

Extreme Close-Up

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Met up with Pete Leong and Michael Anthony yesterday at the beach. I was really interested in the setup Michael used to get extreme close-up shots of flowers.  The images Michael was creating were fantastic. I’m going to follow some of his advice and ideas and try shooting some flower close-ups in the next few weeks.

Michael Anthony getting up close and personal

Canon 5D Mark II, MP-E 65mm Macro lens with macro twin flash.

Flower Macro by Michael Anthony (1)

Flower Macro by Michael Anthony (2)