TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

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2016 Highlights

Published by travel67

2016 has been an great year with a mix of photography and putting in the groundwork for future projects.

Cherry Blossom

The year began with cherry blossom in Okinawa, and a few months later I was whizzing around mainland Japan shooting cherry blossom in Himeji, Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo. 2017 should be another epic year for cherry blossom pics as I run a Kyoto Workshop in April while the trees are in full bloom.

Himeji Castle and cherry blossom after the rennovations completed in 2015 .

Deer in Nara Park among the cherry blossom. Nara, Japan

Karate

The Karate Masters Portrait Project continues although at a slower pace. In 2016, I shot images for James’ new clothing brand Okinawa Dojo of Life. The Guinness World Record for the most people performing a kata was broken, and Sensei Higa took on the minotaur of Zakimi.

Maeshiro Shusei 10th-dan Uechi-ryu Karate 10th-dan Ryukyu Kobudo

Shintoku Takara 10th dan Okinawa Uechi-ryu Karatedo Kyokai (D.0.B. 10/05/1930)

Marine Life

Didn’t spend much time shooting underwater this year, but have made new contacts with the Churaumi Research Center so it’s been great to document some of their work monitoring the migration of humpback whales. In 2017 I hope to get pictures of other monitoring programs including coconut crabs and turtles.

Humpback whales off the coast of Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

Dissection by Okinawa Churashima Research Center of young humpback whale that beached near Kadena, Okinawa, Japan. 19/02/2016

Humpback whales off the coast of Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

Life on Okinawa

I continue to shoot editorial images of life on Okinawa. Artisans featured heavily this year with photos of shisa makers, painters, weavers, carpenters, and bodybuilders. Photos went into magazines for Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Star Cruises, Action Asia and numerous websites.

Toshiko Taira age 96 Japanese Living National Treasure, Ogimi Village Bashofu Hall, Kijoka, Ogimi, Okinawa

Oshiro Yoshimasa (57) carpenter making weaving loom , Haebaru, Okinawa　大城織機製作所

Woodblock artist Bokunen Naka at Bokunen Art Museum in Depot Island shopping and dining area, Mihama American Village, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

Naoko Yamashiro creating ceramic shisa at Yachimun no Sato ( Pottery / Artists Village ) in Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

Festivals

Along with the fiery Dosojin fire festival, and the damp Ohara Hadaka Matsuri the big festival of my year was Onbashira where teams of men risk their lives riding tree trunks down the side of a mountain.

Ohara Hadaka Matsuri, Chiba, Japan

Let there be light

I shot in and out of the studio and worked with some new gear by Profoto to add magical light to the images.

Pentax sent me their new camera the Pentax K-1 and one of the images was used for their exhibition up in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Summer in Europe

Spent a couple of weeks back in the UK and France meeting up with friends and family along with shooting imagery in the Lake District, London and Paris. Beautiful weather, awesome museums, and a wonderful time catching up with so many great people.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Louvre’s most popular attraction. Paris, France

Woman walking across Millennium Bridge away from St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England.

Hill Top, home of Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit. Lake District, Cumbria, UK

View from the London Eye ferris wheel overlooking the Thames River and Houses of Parliament, London, England.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Sessions

Motobu is surrounded by great locations for family, couple, and commercial sessions. In 2016 I got to photograph many lovely clients and look forward to many more in 2017. Details about sessions can be found here.

Beau and Lindsay Engagement Shoot. Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. Chris Willson Photography www.TRAVEL67.com

Beau and Lindsay Engagement Shoot. Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. Chris Willson Photography http://www.TRAVEL67.com

Meggan McMains Family Shoot, Uruma City, Okinawa by Chris Willson Photography

Hannah Hooper Yoga、Okinawa, Japan

Gima Family Session in Motobu

Favorite image of the year?

This year my favorite shot is the pic of Yuki walking across the Millennium Bridge in London with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background. Technically it works with the focus, framing and exposure being correct, I also knew that just before sunset direct light on her face would work. However, it is the little bits of luck with the clear skies, the break in the pedestrians, and the dress billowing that made it all come together.

Hope 2017 is a great year for you all.

“Kid” Yamamoto Portrait Shoot

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Portrait shoot with MMA fighter Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto on friday night. Yamamoto is perhaps most famous for his 4 second flying knee KO to Kazuyuki Miyata back in 2006.

Pentax 645Z with 90mm lens. (I had brought a black background but spotted the Japanese flag in the gym so changed my plan). 2 light setup. Profoto D2 with gridded 4×1 softbox as rim light (back left), Profoto B1 with gridded softlight reflector as the main light (front right). Air remote trigger.

Huge thanks to Ben of Capoeira Academy Okinawa for setting up the shoot, and Shawn Miller and Yuki for assisting.

Some BTS pics and video!

Virtual Reality and the Medieval Knight

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Epic photo shoot last weekend with CJ (the knight) and Yuki (the virtual reality gamer).

My friend Steve is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), and introduced me to CJ the knight. Before the shoot I created a flaming torch from a green branch and kevlar tape. Although the location looks like one of Okinawa’s ruined castles (UNESCO World Heritage Sites) it is a local park whose only visitors are feral cats.

I used the Pentax 645Z, 55mm and 90mm lenses, and three Profoto B1 lights with gridded reflectors. The second stage of the shoot was to add Yuki wearing Sony’s new virtual reality headset.

In Lightroom I darkened and toned the scene and then in Photoshop I illuminated the lights on the Sony VR headset and move controllers. All in all, a fun successful shoot!

A huge thanks to CJ the knight, and I look forward to working with you again in the future. Thanks to Pete and Ashley for assisting and sharing your gear. Thanks to Steve for assisting and setting up the shoot. And a final thanks to Yuki for all her help and being willing to enter a medieval world of Virtual Reality.

Instagram

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I’m now making a daily posting of a photo to Instagram. So if you’d like to see a pretty pic from my travels everyday then please follow me @chrisinokinawa !

Bodybuilder Hidekazu Taba

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Hidekazu Taba is a champion bodybuilder. Several years ago I saw him compete at the Pacific Muscle Classic on Camp Foster. He won his weight class, he won his age group, he won overall. In other competitions, he’s repeated the feat. He dominates Okinawan body building, and he does it at age 67.

For a long time I’ve been hoping to photograph Taba-san and yesterday I visited his home to take a few pics.

Taba-san began bodybuilding around 40 years ago after seeing a Tarzan movie. He hits the gym for a couple of hours, 5 days a week. Unlike many bodybuilders who bulk up and then cut weight (shred?) for competitions he stay lean all year. The reason is that he’s not trying to peak for a single event, but has to be ready for local competitions or festivals all year. He’s very happy that his grandchildren are proud to have a super cool oji-chan.

I’m looking forward to shooting more photos of Taba-san training at the gym and at competitions.

Images shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 25mm lens. Lighting from a Profoto B1 with softlight reflector white and grid.

Family Session, Okinawa

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Lovely session with the McMains family. Aidan was a real star, and Maddie the family corgi even got in on some of the shots.

More information about family, couples and senior session can be found on the sessions tab.

Engagement Shoot, Okinawa

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Wonderful engagement shoot yesterday with Beau and Lindsay who are visiting Okinawa for a few days.

Beau and Lindsay Engagement Shoot. Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. Chris Willson Photography http://www.TRAVEL67.com

We shot at various locations around the beautiful Motobu Peninsula before watching the sunset from the beach with Ie Island on the horizon. Congratulations on your engagement Beau and Lindsay it was great to meet you both!

Beau and Lindsay Engagement Shoot. Motobu, Okinawa, Japan. Chris Willson Photography http://www.TRAVEL67.com

For more information on sessions in Okinawa for families, couples, or seniors click on the Sessions tab above.

Guinness World Record Breaking Kata

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On October 23rd 2016 the Okinawan karate community attempted to break the record for the most people performing a kata. The record had been set in India in 2013 with 809 people.

The Okinawan attempt on the record was a resounding success with 3793 confirmed participants.

There was also a one of the biggest congregations of karate masters. I have photographed most of them for the Karate Masters Portrait Project so it was great to be able to say hello to so many of them.

2017 will have the opening of the Okinawa Karate Kaikan (training center), and with karate a demonstration sport at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, I expect that a mass kata performance may even become an annual event. If so, hopefully next year will be even bigger!

Yuki in Majun

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A couple of pics of Yuki wearing a dress by the Okinawan fashion brand Majun.

Shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 90mm lens. Lit with the Profoto D2 with a 3×4′ softbox, background illuminated by two Profoto proheads to give pure white.

Stamp of Approval

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This week, Japan Post released a set of postage stamps to commemorate Karate Day in Okinawa. The series of eight stamps is made up of Okinawan karate masters of different styles. The bottom right image is of Yoshitaka Taira, 10th dan World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) and is one of the photographs I shot for the Karate Masters Portrait Project.

Pleasingly, this is the second time one of my images has been used on a Japanese stamp. The first was around 12 years ago when they chose my photograph of Kabira Bay to represent one of Okinawa’s beautiful landmarks. In all that time the price of a postage stamp has only gone up two yen!