All posts filed under: Japan

Suzuki on the beach.

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I’d been planning to take this shot for about a year, but kept on being distracted by other things. Drove car on to a deserted Okinawan beach in the middle of the day. Took some photos, drove home. I shot this with a wide angle Pentax-FA 645 35mm. The lens is exceptionally sharp and is thought by some as the best medium format lens available. I’ll be shooting a lot more with this lens over the following month. Glad to have it in my camera bag as I was really missing a wide angle on my last trip.

Surfer-Boy / Skater-Boy

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Matt the father of Alec, is a keen surfer and skater so he brought along a few props to the newborn shoot with Anya Schmidt. Before worried readers point out potential dangers, we were still in the same warm room next to the parents, and the wood with peeling paint is a surprisingly realistic bit of fake flooring.  The result was some fun, and unique newborn baby images. Thanks again to Alec, his parents, and Anya for letting me be a part of their day.

Newborn photo shoot.

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Next month my sister is having a baby. Wonderful news for everyone, and I hope to make it over to the UK sometime this winter to see my new nephew / niece. I’ll bring my camera along, but to be honest I haven’t photographed many babies. I mentioned this to some of the other photographers on Okinawa, and Anya Schmidt invited me to assist on her latest newborn shoot. The first thing I learned is that newborn shoots are done when the baby is very young. We were photographing Alec at 14 days, and I was told this was quite old! The second thing I learned is that the baby controls the shoot. As most newborn images are created while the baby is asleep, you have to wait patiently in a very warm room until the baby sleeps. A newborn photographer is a bit like a horse whisperer trying to relax the baby and parents, before trying to get the shots. The third thing I learned is that if you are photographing naked babies, your …

Kayaking in Okinawa

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Last weekend I did a little bit of location scouting with Norwegian photographer Heiko Junge. Shot with both the 645D and the 67II. Put all the gear in a Pelican case so I could wade across the river. Digital Discovery #10 Not really a discovery, but… The images from the 645D are now on the blog. The film from the Pentax 67II is currently on the way to Fukuoka for processing. Will get it back next week. After scanning the film I will post the images. Of course, the usage of my images extends beyond 470 pixels wide on my blog, but it is a clear reminder of the increase in speed using a digital workflow.

August 15th, Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo

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This is the final series of images I shot on my latest trip to mainland Japan. August 15th is the anniversary of Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII. On this day, several thousand Japanese come to Yasukuni Shrine to pray for those Japanese soldiers who died in battle. At 10AM doves are released and there are prayers for peace. There are one or two WWII veterans in uniform, and surprisingly some younger men dressed in military uniforms / costumes. But things are a little more complex. The shrine is believed to hold the spirits of dead soldiers, and that with enshrinement comes absolution of all sins. The problem is that Japanese war criminals were also enshrined at Yasakuni. The presence of these spirits has led to  international controversy over whether Japanese politicians should pray at the shrine. 2010 was the first time in 25 years that no members of the Japanese cabinet attended. This controversy has made Yasukuni Shrine, and in particular the August 15th anniversary, a place for protest by the more extreme …

Shinjuku Shoot – Charissa

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So here’s the plan… I enjoy shooting models in the studio against a plain background. I enjoy photographing iconic locations in Japan. Now if you combined the two, and perhaps added a little off-camera flash, then hopefully you can create some interesting imagery. The set up… Model: Charissa Littlejohn     Makeup: Jaylene Wu     Camera: 645D with 55mm lens Strobe: Pentax AF400T triggered by PocketWizard Location: East Shinjuku, Tokyo The images… I’ve put slightly larger versions of the four images on Flickr. I’d be interested to hear which you prefer of the four images. Charissa loves number 4, but I think shot number 2 is my favorite.

Cosplay in Tokyo

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I’m in Shibuya when I see a young man sketching outside the 109 building. I ask if he is a fashion design student (they sometimes come to Shibuya for inspiration) but it turns out he is American and he’s in Tokyo for a manga convention. The convention is taking place over at Odaiba on the other side of the city. I ask if there will be people dressed up as anime and manga characters (Cosplay). He says yes, and I know exactly where I need to go next. I arrive in Odaiba and it’s all a little surreal. I don’t go into the exhibition hall, but wander around outside through a sea of fake eyelashes, colored contact lenses and little rolling suitcases. There are plenty of other people taking photographs but being a gaijin and holding a camera the size of Texas does mean you get eye contact. Digital Discovery #7 If you are not trying to do self portraits in the pupil of the model, best not to wear a bright yellow T-shirt. Digital …