TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

Ready for the ball

Another quick studio shoot with Alisa Hilton in front of the camera, make up by Summer Johnson and hair styling by Courtney Valimont.

😉

There are a couple of spaces available for my January 14-15 Photography 101 Workshop, and a couple of spaces available for the January 28-29 Off Camera Flash Workshop with Pete Leong and me.

If you want to snag one of these places just email me on chris@travel67.com and I’ll send you a Paypal request to reserve your place.

Off camera flash on location - Pete Leong

Took some photos of my friend’s twins last week. A quick photo tip: when photographing children it is a good idea to get down to their level. Thanks to Kirsten and Shiro for letting me spend the afternoon with them and their beautiful girls.

Get down low when photographing children

Smiles at the beach

Even in the studio it helps to shoot from below the child's eye level

In the studio - Clarissa

This image has an 80’s vibe to it with the off the shoulder shirt and big hair out to one side. The large octabox gives a really soft light, and when positioned right next to the model, the light wraps around the face producing a soft portrait.

Model – Clarissa Rendon
Make up – Summer Johnson
Hair – Courtney Valimont

Pentax 645D
Pentax 67 105mm
Pentax 67 to 645 adapter

Lighting – Black velvet on Skylite background. Octabox powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. 2 medium size rectangular softboxes behind that were adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.

The Swift after its encounter with a coach

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two objects can occupy the same place at one time. Unfortunately, two weeks ago, an Okinawan coach driver tried to bend the rules of quantum mechanics by attempting to move his vehicle through mine.

The driver attempted to merge into the space in front of me while I was stationary on Route 58 in Nago. As his back end came closer and closer I beeped my horn. The bus driver continued on, gouging the front bumper and right wing of my car and then stopped.

It was just a minor scrape and nothing serious, both the bus driver and I gave statements to the police, exchanged insurance information and went on our separate ways. I talked to my insurance company, but found that due to end of year vacation nobody could look at my car until Jan 4th.

Dropped off my car today, picked up a loaner, and everything will get repaired.

The one issue that does remain is exactly whose insurance will be paying for the repairs. You might assume that the bus company’s insurance would pay for everything, but in Japan blame is rarely attributed entirely to one driver. If the discussion between insurance companies results in me being given a token 10% of the blame, my insurance will pay for 10% of the damage to my car and the bus, and next year’s insurance premium will go up.

One positive note is that so far I’ve managed to use my temperamental Japanese skills to converse with a bus driver, police, insurance agents and mechanics. After more than a decade in Japan it’s quite nice to know that I can make myself understood (eventually) even if I am butchering the language as I do it.

Marine Corps Blue Dress Uniform

Navy Service Dress Uniform

Marine Corps Service Uniform

Navy Working Uniform

Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform

This was a quick series of portraits of military uniforms I shot a couple of weeks ago. As a civilian it’s fascinating to get a brief glimpse into the lives of others, even if it’s just noting the attention to detail they have when putting on their various uniforms and the pride they have from wearing them. A big thank you to D and Ryan for one of my favorite studio shoots of the year.