Scuba Diving off Taketomi Island, Ishigaki, Okinawa
Fish Frenzy, Ishigaki, Okinawa
Island in the Ocean, Ishigaki, Okinawa
Scuba Diving off Taketomi Island, Ishigaki, Okinawa
Reef Encounters, Ishigaki
Latest Posts
Mushama Festival, Hateruma Island (Part 1 -The Guys)
Mushama Harvest Festival Hateruma Island Yaeyamas, Okinawa, Japan
Hateruma is the most southerly inhabited island in Japan. It has its own police station, post office, school, awamori distillery and a summer festival called Mushama. I took a day off from scuba diving off Ishigaki and took the ferry down to Hateruma for the festival.
Mushama Harvest Festival Hateruma Island Yaeyamas, Okinawa, Japan
The festival, as so many are, was a gold mine for a photographer. So many interesting faces, great costumes and a welcoming atmosphere. The majority of the spectators were island residents and their families that had returned for the event. Nobody minded that I was wandering around taking photos of everyone, and as usual I was up in people’s face shooting portraits.
Mushama Harvest Festival Hateruma Island Yaeyamas, Okinawa, Japan
Mushama Harvest Festival Hateruma Island Yaeyamas, Okinawa, Japan
Canoe Eyes
Canoe Eyes – Jovanna
When photographing a person, if you bring the camera above their eyeline and ask them to lower their chin you can create what some call “canoe eyes”. As you can probably guess, they’re described as canoe eyes because the whites of their eyes form canoe shapes.
Although canoe eyes appear most commonly in images of people being alluring, they can also be used to produce a more sinister vibe,
Canoe Eyes – A Clockwork Orange
or even a simple presidential portrait.
Canoe Eyes – JFK
Karate Masters Portrait Project – Satoshi Kinjo & Kenta Kinjo
Satoshi Kinjo-sensei, Uechi Ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Kenta Kinjo-sensei, Uechi Ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Satoshi and Kenta Kinjo, sons of master Masakazu Kinjo, and already highly respected karate experts.
Satoshi Kinjo & Kenta Shinjo – Ryukyu Kobudo
Okinawans protest against MV-22 Osprey on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
Locals protest against basing MV-22 Osprey helicopters on Okinawa
12 US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey helicopters are scheduled to be based on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in central Okinawa. Today Okinawans, and some mainlanders, protested against their arrival citing the poor safety record of the Osprey and the location of Futenma in a residential area.
Locals protest against basing MV-22 Osprey helicopters on Okinawa
Locals protest against basing MV-22 Osprey helicopters on Okinawa
Locals protest against basing MV-22 Osprey helicopters on Okinawa
Locals protest against basing MV-22 Osprey helicopters on Okinawa
Matsuri Exhibition – Test Prints
The 34 images to be displayed in my Matsuri exhibition have been selected and you can see the choices on Flickr.
I then made prints of each of the 34 images myself using the same large format printer and Hahnemuhle papers I use to make prints for sale or clients. For the exhibition the images are printed borderless (for mounting on board), rather than with a white border (to be used with a matt and framed). Each print I made was around 17×24 inches or A2 in size. The prints were then sent to Tokyo and Pentax will have them mounted for the exhibition.
Pentax also agreed to print five of my images B0 or a whopping 55.7 x 39.4 in. I sent them the original DNG files and today I got five A4 size test prints from Horiuchi Color Labs
Test prints from Horiuchi Color Labs
Test prints look great so we’re ready to go big. 11 days to go.
Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
Tanaka-san @ Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
This month it’s manta season off the coast of Ishigaki. At the dive spot known as Manta Scramble there is a good chance of seeing one or even several mantas on your dive. I visited Ishigaki about 6 years ago while researching the travel feature Southern Comfort — Life on Ishigaki Island. Although I dove with the mantas, at that time I didn’t have an underwater camera system.
Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
And so many years later I returned to Ishigaki with all my gear to do three days of diving and to photograph a local festival. Diving with mantas was far easier than my recent trip to photograph the underwater ruins and hammerhead sharks of Yonaguni. Yonaguni had strong currents, heavy swells, and cold water, it was demanding diving even without a camera rig. Diving with mantas on Ishigaki is possible for snorkelers and less experienced divers. On my trip the biggest danger was sunburn.
Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
There are several rules for manta diving. Don’t touch, don’t chase, don’t exhale bubbles into their gills, and stay with your guide. The general strategy for divers is to wait next to one of the coral outcrops and watch the mantas as they make their rounds. În some cases the mantas actually glided right over the top of me, reminiscent of the opening scene of Star Wars. This is actually the best time to identify individuals, as each manta has a unique pattern of blotches on it’s underside.
Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
A big thanks to Kasumi-san from Dive Ocean Butterfly and Tanaka-san from dive shop Pushynushima for being my manta guides.
Kasumi-san @ Manta Scramble, Ishigaki Island, Okinawa
In the Studio – Reiko
In the Studio – Reiko
An image from a shoot last month with Reiko Winchell, makeup by Summer Johnson.
If you’re looking for studio or location photography whether you’re a model needing to update your portfolio, a family wanting some keepsake images, or a couple celebrating an engagement please check out the sessions page on the blog or website.
Karate Masters Portrait Project – Masakazu Kinjo 9th dan Uechi ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Masakazu Kinjo 9th dan Uechi Ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Another great opportunity to meet a local legend, shooting Masakazu Kinjo for the Karate masters portrait project. 9th dan in Uechi ryu karate and Ryukyu kobudo he can clearly handle himself with or without weapons. Luckily he’s a friendly guy who laughs easily and is eager to share his knowledge and passion for the martial art he loves.
Masakazu Kinjo 9th dan Uechi Ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Kinjo sensei’s weapon of choice is the pocket nunchaku. Made of three short pieces rather than the standard two long pieces, Kinjo whirls it around his body with ease and then snaps it out towards you like a cobra strike.
Masakazu Kinjo 9th dan Uechi Ryu Karate and Ryukyu Kobudo
Photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
Jeremy and Chris by Jeremy’s daughter Hikari.
After photographing Fuji Rock Festival, I managed to meet up with my friend Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert in Tokyo. We’ve been having these brief rendezvous over coffee for the best part of a decade. We’d discuss photography, our lives in Japan, assignments and the state of the world. I’d amuse Jeremy with tales of shooting Yakuza bottoms, and he’d inspire me with his images of whaling, Romani gypsys and Japanese cultural icons.
A few days after our last meeting, Jeremy and his family moved back to Glasgow, Scotland. He doesn’t need me to wish him luck with his career, but I’ll continue to follow his adventures, albeit from a little further afar.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 