TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

Latest Posts

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Published by travel67

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

While in Shinjuku for my exhibition, I came across this unique delivery truck. It was parked outside a restaurant and the driver was restocking the restaurant’s aquarium with fish.

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Aquarium is probably the wrong term, as it’s more like a holding pen before the fish meet their maker. They swim around in the glass tank, unaware that a few hours later they will be sliced up for Tokyo’s gourmands.

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

However, even after their own demise, these particular fish can get their revenge. The fugu, or pufferfish, contains tetrodotoxin that if ingested by a diner will paralyze muscles leading to asphyxiation and death. Prepare the fish incorrectly and the chef can inadvertently kill of his clientele.

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Unsurprisingly, fugu chefs have to be specially trained and have gained a fugu license before they can serve the fish to the public. On a previous trip I photographed a chef with his license.

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

For 10,000 yen, you can try 12 different dishes made with fugu. Or, if like me, you prefer to see fish swimming in the sea than dead on your plate, you can watch Homer give fugu a try in One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish.

Fugu Delivery Service, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Dalai Lama visits Okinawa

Published by travel67

Dalai Lama in Okinawa Image property of Ryukyu Shimpo

Yesterday I went down to Naha to cover the Dalai Lama’s second visit to Okinawa. Unfortunately press access for photography had to be arranged before I was aware the event was taking place, but I was able to listen to the lecture he gave at the Budokan.

The Dalai Lama’s speech included some of the following thoughts:

Respect differences to find peaceful resolution.

Distrust, hatred, fear and jealousy disturb our peace of mind.

Compassion is not just for the benefit of others, it calms your own mind.

A self centered attitude, or extreme self centered arrogance, leads to stress and heart attacks.

Conflict is a result of a lack of conviction in the basic human values of love and respect.

Respect all religions and the non-religious.

Group culture must take care of others, we must be wise selfish, not foolish selfish.

Media coverage appeared to be exclusive to RBC (a local television station) and the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper who was one of the co-organizers. Surprisingly, even the photographers who had access were all shooting with long lenses from the sides or back of the hall. This means that if I’d been allowed to shoot, the images would have been mediocre at best. The only press image I’ve seen was the snapshot shown above in the Ryukyu Shimpo. I would have loved 15 seconds of his time, to get some proximity, a clean background, eye contact and decent lighting. The fact that nobody at the Ryukyu Shimpo did this is either a missed opportunity or the Dalai Lama’s team have very strict control over images.

One real niggle for me was that the organizers had a live video feed projected on a large screen above the stage. A great idea in theory, but there were a couple of small issues. The first was that the cameraman didn’t zoom in on the Dalai Lama. This meant that the view on the screen above the stage was similar to what you could see with your own eyes: a small man, far away. The second problem was the cameraman was making a rookie mistake with exposure. In fact, anyone who has attended my Photography Fundamentals workshop could have put them straight. The camera appeared to be set to auto exposure, the bright pale yellow background misled the meter in the camera resulting in the foreground subject being too dark. Rather than a well lit shot of the Dalai Lama’s smiling face, most of the audience were looking at a shady robed figure.

Karate Masters Portrait Project – Behind the Scenes

Published by travel67

James working as a remote control light stand

Thought I’d show a few behind the scenes shots from the latest Karate Masters Portrait Project shoot with Shimabukuro-sensei.

We assemble our mini studio inside the dojo of each master. I have a Profoto 7A power pack which plugs into the mains and then a single pro-head inside a beauty dish for light. Behind the karate master I set up a large Lastolite Skylite with black velvet to give a clean background, and so the look of the images will remain constant throughout the entire project. I use the Pentax 645D camera with a 150mm lens and mount this to a tripod, although some shots are handheld. James holds the light and moves it from side to side depending on the stance of the karate master. The flash is triggered by a Pocketwizard remote trigger on the top of the camera, that signals another Pocketwizard that’s attached to the power pack.

Posing with the camera, while the karate master is clearly not in front of me, but stretching in the background!

I take a couple of simple headshots and then we ask the karate master to adopt their favorite stance or show their favorite technique. My job is then to try and keep up with the action, as unsurprisingly they can unleash a flurry of blows and kicks before I’ve managed to get them in focus.

Publicity photo for the new sitcom “My two students”

James will be testing for his second dan black belt next weekend. In another thirty or forty years maybe he’ll be the subject of a shoot, until then we’ll continue photographing these amazing Okinawan icons.

A Photographer’s Christmas Wish List – Lightroom 4

Published by travel67

As Christmas, or more accurately the time for Christmas shopping, draws near, I thought I’d list a few things that would make good presents for photographers. (These are not hints to my own family, but things that I have and, or, would recommend for others)

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is a photo management and editing program. What is does is create a simple and intuitive workflow for photographers from inserting the SD card into the computer and importing new images, through keywording and adding IPTC data, to editing the image, and then final exports to web, print or other applications.

Rather than using Adobe Bridge for data management, then Camera Raw to process files, then opening them up in Photoshop CS6, Lightroom is your all in one solution. The editing part of the program isn’t anywhere near as powerful as Photoshop CS6, but more than enough for most applications. If you have an image that requires serious manipulation then you can simply export the image from Lightroom to Photoshop CS6. Both Lightroom and Photoshop CS6 are made by Adobe and are designed for different purposes rather than as direct competitors.

Using Lightroom 4 on dual monitors

One great piece of news is the price. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is just US$125 compared to around US$520 for Adobe Photoshop CS6. If you’re a student then Adobe also has very reasonable academic pricing. This is a smart move by Adobe as it should mean more people will buy a license rather than just acquiring a copy off the back of a virtual truck.

Could you save 125 bucks and use a cheaper or free photo editing program? Of course, but you’ll spend hours learning the workflow, keyboard shortcuts and idiosyncrasies of an inferior program, and then when you switch to Lightroom (which you probably will) you’ll have to start learning the process again. I had put off using Lightroom for years as I was comfortable using Bridge, Adobe Raw and Photoshop, but having started using Lightroom my workflow is faster which means that hopefully I can spend fewer hours in front of the computer and more time out taking photos.

Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro

Published by travel67

Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro

Shorin-ryu Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro, the latest subject of the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Shimabukuro sensei was kind enough to take an hour out of his evening for the shoot, and told us how pleased he was that James and I are undertaking the project. This is always good to hear as the sensei we have photographed can help us connect with the other masters on Okinawa.

Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ Tonari no Totoro)

Published by travel67

Totoro

I bought my niece the DVD of My Neighbor Totoro for her birthday. I also got her a stuffed neko-bus toy. Hopefully they will fill her with delight, millions of Japanese kids have grown up with daily doses of Hayao Miyazaki movies.

Coming Workshops

Published by travel67

Fundamentals Workshop with Katie, Robin, Keith & Bernice

Had a great weekend with Katie, Robin, Keith and Bernice on the Photography Fundamentals Workshop. Sunday was a bit wet and windy, but all in all a lovely couple of days with really nice people.

Coming Workshops

Photography Fundamentals Workshop

Move beyond the auto modes by understanding your equipment, controlling exposure & depth of field, and composing images.

December 15 & 16 2012 10AM to 6PM
Class Size: Max 4
Instructor: Chris Willson
Price: US$250

Off Camera Flash Workshop

Move your flash away from your camera to create more natural images or to give your photographs a drop of magical light.

January 19 & 20 2013 1PM to 6PM
Class Size: Max 12
Instructors Chris Willson & Pete Leong
Price US$150

In the Studio – Diana

Published by travel67

Last month I did a shoot with Diana, a lovely lady who runs some of the outdoor recreation facilities on Okinawa. For her birthday she wanted a photo session that would show both sides of her personality. After taking a few classic beauty portraits, she slipped into something less comfortable and we took things up another gear.