TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

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Sin City Tokyo – Rainy Day Projects

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Rainy season is here in Okinawa. It’s a good opportunity to shoot indoors in the studio, and practice editing at the computer. Last week I met up with photographer Pauline Fortuna to collaborate on a “Sin City”-style studio shoot. Pauline invited along model Sam, makeup artist Deziree, and hair stylist Sherri. We thought we could try a series of images so Sam, Sherri and Yuki became our three hoodlums.

For lighting we used three Profoto B1s and a Profoto D2. They were modified with a gridded snoot, barn doors, a gridded zoom reflector and a gridded softlight reflector. The models stood in front of a plain black background. We kept the lighting similar for all three shots so that pics would fit together better in a composite image.

Back at home I played around in Photoshop layering the three images of the ladies along with a previously photographed image of Shibuya, Tokyo.

The background image was darkened, blurred and toned to better fit with the theme and then the image was done. Of course there are many ways things could be tweaked and improved, but that’s what the next rainy day is for.

Goat Wrestling on Sesoko Island

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Goat wrestling is an annual event on Sesoko Island in Motobu, Okinawa. Two male goats are placed in a ring, and then do what comes naturally. If they are evenly matched they will butt heads until one turns in submission. If they are unevenly matched, or uninterested they ignore each other, or the weaker goat wanders straight back to the gate often sticking its head through the railings.

The goats seem to be unaffected by the occasional headbutt. Sportingly, they never tried to headbutt their opponent anywhere except the head. The curved horns also seemed to avoid any puncture wounds or lacerations.

The only goat that came off badly at the whole event was the young goat that was given away as 1st prize in the raffle. The winner was asked what he was going to do with the goat. He replied, “eat it.”

The video was shot with the Sony A7SII camera with a 16-35mm lens on a CAME-TV Single gimbal. The video was shot and uploaded to YouTube in 4K.

Rock Stars Studio Workshop

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A fantastic rock star themed studio workshop last Sunday.

After a few hours in the morning covering the basics of studio shooting we moved on to the theme of the day. For most of these shots we used the Profoto 7a generator with 2 proheads as the rear hair lights. Grids on the zoom reflectors controlled the spill of light, while gels gave the lights color. A small smoke machine gave the shots more atmosphere. We had a Profoto D2 with a gridded softlight reflector as the key light and a Profoto B1 with red / orange gels on the left side. The lights were triggered with Profoto Air Remotes.

Natalie and Kelley were our awesome models. Both where more than willing to sing, play guitar, and hammer away on the keytar. Although it was probably for the best that none of the instruments were plugged in 🙂

Makeup and hair was by Audra Presika who also created the temporary tattoos for Natalie. It’s great to have an MUA to work with who can help take images to the next level.

And finally it’s great that my assistant Keith is willing to go the extra mile and wear makeup while at work! Once again Audra was able to work her magic, this time transforming the mild-mannered Keith into Aladdin Sane.

So that was the rock stars studio workshop! If you need to learn the basics, we have a Fundamentals Workshop on June 3rd & 4th, and the next studio workshop is going to be Fight Night on Saturday July 17th.

Camera Test – Fujifilm EPX-4440HD

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Photographers looking for lightweight portable imaging devices often give rave reviews of mirrorless Fuji cameras. So this week I decided to test out one of the latest cameras in the Fujifilm line, the EPX-4440HD.

Positive points about this camera include “User-friendly menus” and “Advanced image technology” it also offers an “anti-blur function that allows an optimal image to be extracted from multiple images.” A great option for those with less steady hands.

Portability is a little restricted. Although the camera is small, it does require a cart for the processing system and monitor. Photographers accustomed to tethered systems in the studio will probably be the most familiar with this setup.

Wedding photographers and fashion photographers may find the range of angles a little limiting. Those with an interest in macro photography will enjoy the camera’s ability to focus at short distances while the “300 watt xenon primary light source” brings illumination to the most restricted of shooting locations.

For portrait photographers the camera offers new possibilities beyond your basic profile, full face, and three-quarter view. This may be a way for young actors or models to stand out from the crowd with a less mundane headshot.

Overall I give positive reviews for the EPX-4440HD. Although not recommended for all photographic situations if you want to get video and pics of innerspace this could be the best camera for you. Two thumbs up.

EPX-4440HD

So why did I have a camera stuck up my nose?

One of the reasons for longevity in Okinawa and mainland Japan is the annual health checks. Everyone is encouraged to take them, and the costs are heavily discounted. There are basic weight, blood pressure, urine and blood tests. This costs 500 yen or about US$5. At 41 I’m now recommended to get a few other tests including a chest x-ray, ECG for my heart, and a stomach check by barium x-ray or endoscope. When I had mentioned that I sometimes get heartburn the doctor said that they could also check for heartburn issues while using the endoscope so that was the option I chose.

Annual health checks give Japanese doctors the opportunity to offer proactive and predictive care rather than reacting to illness. Medical issues will hopefully be spotted earlier and dealt with before they become serious.

Thankfully I have no problems with my health. From the data collected this week and in previous years they will monitor the baseline levels in the future to see if there are any changes. The doctor even said I have a great looking duodenum, and you don’t get to hear that everyday 🙂

Thank you to the staff at the Motobunoge Hospital for looking after me!

USO Okinawa Service Salute 2017

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The United Service Organizations Inc., better known as the USO, is a nonprofit organization most famous for bringing entertainment to United States service members while overseas. Comedians such as Bob Hope and Robin Williams are well known for having visited troops on numerous occasions. Recently the USO brought Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band to Okinawa.

The USO Okinawa service salute is when the organization honors seven enlisted service members from the U.S. Armed Forces and Japan Self-Defense Forces. They also give awards to members of the local Okinawan community. For the last few years I’ve photographed the event and taken pics of the attendees.

If you attended the event and stopped for a portrait you can download your photos from Dropbox here: www.tinyurl.com/z7v8qps

Thanks very much for having us. Chris , Yuki & Keith.

Don’t trust the weather

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Rainy season has started in Okinawa. The weather forecast for May’s Fundamentals Workshop wasn’t good, in fact it said there would be downpours all day.

Rather than head to indoor locations for our excursion, we braved the elements, and were rewarded with a beautiful rainless Sunday. Big smiles all around.

Thanks you Keith, Yuki, Charlie, Jenny, Alejandra and Adam for a great weekend. The next Fundamentals Workshop will be June 3rd & 4th.

Moving Pictures – Okinawan Martial Arts Budosai Seminar

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Along with the photographs I shot for the Okinawan Martial Arts Budosai Seminar on April 29th, I also took some video of the event. I edited the footage in Final Cut Pro X and uploaded to YouTube.

For those interested, I shot this with a Sony A7sII with the 16-35mm lens (at around 20mm). I manually set the exposure and the white balance. I shot with continuous auto focus. The camera was mounted on a CAME-Single 3-Axis Handheld Camera Gimbal by CAME-TV (see top image).

It was a great learning experience. You have to find a balance between documenting the event fully, and not getting in the way of those attending. I didn’t want to block the view of the students or be hit with a flying foot or fist. For some techniques, it would be nice to have another camera angle to show close ups, but for this occasion a single viewpoint will have to suffice.

Looking forward to shooting a lot more video this year.

Serendipity

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A final post from the Kyoto workshop. One evening we had a memorable few minutes that resulted from being in the right place at the right time, and a fair amount of luck. The featured image at the top of the post may be my favorite of the trip. It is nice to get a shot that captures several aspects of Kyoto life in a single frame.

Why luck? Because a maiko or geisha will prebook a taxi then wait for it to arrive. You usually get a brief glimpse of them as they dart from a doorway into the taxi.

On this occasion, however, a geiko and a maiko were stood waiting on the sidewalk for their taxi. Close by another geiko was talking into a mobile phone. For three or four minutes they stood on the street, and unsurprisingly, drew stares from locals and tourists.

Finally the taxi arrived and the two geikos, followed by the maiko, got in and were whisked away.

Another memorable moment from a great Kyoto workshop. A big thank you to Ashley, Amanda, Mindy, Mina, Jessica and Christine for being such great company for the week. A huge thank you to Yuki for interpreting and making sure everyone survived the workshop with big smiles.

In the Studio – Allison

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A couple of portraits from part of last month’s studio workshop where we were using soft light and black background. Thanks Allison for joining the workshop and posing for us.

Camera: Pentax 645Z with 90mm lens

Lighting: Profoto D2 with softlight reflector white (right) White card as a reflector (left) Profoto 7a with 2 pro heads in RFi 1×4′ softboxes (rear left and right) for rim light. Triggered with Profoto Air Remote.

Gatekeepers

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During the Kyoto 2017 Workshop we jumped on the bullet train to visit Himeji City and the finest example of a Japanese castle. I didn’t get any new shots of the castle itself, but did get a few snaps of the guards.

A short BTS video taken by Tech Ninja Patrick.

And here are few shots of the castle from 2016 in case you were wondering which one is Himeji. For movie fans, it’s the castle used to train the elite fighting force in James Bond’s. “You Only Live Twice.”