All posts filed under: Okinawa

Dalai Lama visits Okinawa

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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 …

Seibukan Karate 10th Dan Zenpo Shimabukuro

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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.

Coming Workshops

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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

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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. A big thank you to Diana for hiring me to shoot such a fun concept and to Summer Johnson for makeup.

Miss International Beauty Pageant in Okinawa 2012

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Miss International Beauty Pageant in Okinawa 2012 took place on October 21st. As the audience arrived they wandered between photographs of the girls in swimsuits and heels. The ceremony opened with some traditional Ryukyu dancing and drumming, a nice Okinawan touch. The first event was national costumes, followed by the swimsuits, and then the evening gowns. (Which was amusing titled as the Night Gown Competition) The announcement of the top 15 finalists was met with cheers as most of the favorites made the cut. Each of the finalists gave a short speech before hip hop dancers from the Tida Dance Studio in Chatan performed. The kids were fantastic and the highlight of the evening. After quite a wait, the winner was announced, Miss Japan. Huge cheers from the majority of the crowd, but quite a few raised eyebrows from the non Japanese members of the audience. After the audience had left, the press got to take some photographs of the top 5. I held a speed light at arm’s length in my left hand and …

USO Kadena Far East Bazaar

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This fall, I’ll be  selling my prints of Japan at the USO Kadena Far East Bazaar and the two winter Community Carnivals. Please stop by, say hello, and maybe even get something for your wall. USO Far East Bazaar October 27/28 USO Community Carnival at Kinser Elementary School November 17/18 USO Community Carnival at Zukeran Elementary School December 8/9

Osprey Protests

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These are a few images from a local protest against the arrival of Osprey helicopters. US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey helicopters are now based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in central Okinawa. Locals were protesting against the poor safety record of the Osprey and the close location of Futenma to residential areas. It was one of the hottest days of the summer and the protest took place just after noon. I was actually  surprised I didn’t hear of anyone suffering from heatstroke or worse.  Reports from the organizers put the crowd at 100,000 people. To me this was far too high ( the number of protesters seemed  smaller than the audience in front of the green stage at Fuji Rock which was about 25,000) but it was still an impressive turnout. The Okinawan people didn’t get their wish to keep the Osprey’s out of Okinawa. The helicopters will be based here so that the US military have the latest technology to train with, but it’s a bit of a gamble for the US and …

Back on line eventually.

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NTT finally came and fixed the broken phone line outside my home. The engineer said that he and about 1000 others had been sent down from mainland Japan to fix all the problems. They are clearly swamped by the scale of the job, and I wonder if it’s time for Okinawa to consider putting all those cables underground. Typhoon Jelawat created far more havoc than expected. The main damage seemed to be to power cables, telephone lines, trees, and vehicles. A fisherman was killed at Zampa point, the typhoon had passed, but large waves still swept him off the rocks. I was impressed by how fast the Okinawa clean up crews were able to remove debris from the roads. On Sunday afternoon there were trees strewn all over the 58 heading up through Onna Village, but by Monday morning things were clear. Typhoon season is coming to a end, but there still seem to be several typhoons loitering around. Hopefully we’ll get through the next few weeks without any more death and destruction.

Mushama Festival, Hateruma Island (Part 3 -The Gods)

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Festivals in Okinawa’s southern islands (collectively know as the Yaeyama Islands) are similar but not identical to those on the main island of Okinawa. Shishi lions and ryukyu dancers are common to both, while it seems only the Yaeyama festivals include the god Miroku (white mask) and the rain god Fusamarah (red mask). The images of the man dressed as the rain god Fusamarah show how the presence of the American military has slowly made it’s way into the everyday lives of Okinawans even on the most remote islands. Local farmers are particularly fond of army surplus uniforms, they must be particularly rugged, cheap, and ubiquitous to have become almost standard equipment for Okinawans working out in their fields.