All posts filed under: Okinawa

Karate Masters Portrait Project – Hanshi 10th dan Yoshitaka Taira

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These are the first images in the Karate Masters Portrait Project. The idea is to document the hanshi (grand masters) of karate. I wish I had started this project several years earlier before some of the hanshi passed away. Hanshi 10th dan Yoshitaka Taira Images are shot with the 645D which means I have fantastic detail, important for an archival project. I used a portable black velvet screen to have clean background and then used a single studio light with a beauty dish for illumination. I plan to shoot all portraits with the same setup.

April / May Photography Workshops

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Now that I’m back from Yonaguni and Tokyo I can start organizing the coming workshops. Please click on the links to see more details about each class. I’ve put in two Photography 101 workshops in April so that people who aren’t yet comfortable with their digital SLR can master the basics before taking part in the Light Painting Workshop. I’ve also had requests for another Off Camera Flash course, hopefully this will happen later in the summer. April 14/15 – Photography 101 Weekend Workshop with Chris Willson US$250 April 28/29 – Photography 101 Weekend Workshop with Chris Willson US$250 May 3 – Going Retro Mini Workshop with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson US$50 May 4/5 – Light Painting Workshop with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson US$150   To reserve a place send an email to chris@travel67.com (please write WORKSHOP on the subject line) Please state the name and date of the workshop you wish to book. I’ll send a paypal request for the course fee. Once payment is made your place on the course is confirmed.

Kihachiro Aratake

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Kihachiro Aratake was the captain of the dive boat for most of my dives. He still dives occasionally, but most of the guiding duties now go to his son Shotaro and the other dive staff. I noticed that Aratake-san always wore the same dive watch, a special edition “Apnea” Omega Seamaster. It was designed for Omega by Jacques Mayol. Aratake-san said that Jacques had given him the watch on one of his several visits to Yonaguni. After Jacques Mayol’s death an underwater plaque was placed off Yonaguni’s coast in his memory.

Ikelite K5 Housing – Open Water Test

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Tested out the underwater housing for the K5 at Cape Maeda this morning. Hiroshi and Shawn were my buddies for the dive. As more experienced underwater shooters, they could make sure that I’d sealed everything down properly. So what did I learn? The housing didn’t leak and you can operate all buttons while underwater. There also appears to be a button (labeled Fn Button in the manual) that allows you to press the lens release button. I may contact Ikelite to see if I’m just being dimwitted or if this is some design issue. (I didn’t try to use this while underwater.) Operating functions that require doing two things at the same time are tricky e.g. pressing the ISO button and turning the rear e-dial. This means using exposure compensation underwater will be more problematic than simply using manual mode and adjusting exposure with the e-dials. The controller for the “Green Button” can easily get stuck. Probably not an issue as I don’t use the Green Button normally, but strange nonetheless. Live View is useful …

Hardball with Ryukyu Bus Kotsu – 琉球バス交通

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At the start of the year, I wrote a post about being involved in a minor traffic accident. A coach decided to merge into my lane and, although I wasn’t moving and beeping my horn, the coach scraped the fender and bumper of my car. It’s annoying to have to fill in paperwork, get your car fixed, and drive around a loaner for a week or two, but accidents happen. In the previous blog post I wrote: 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. A couple of weeks ago, I got the accident summary from my insurance company ( J.A. ) it said …

Shisa Artist Sano Toshio ( Portraits with the 645 FA 150mm )

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Shisa artist Haru Toshi was at the sunflower festival in Kitanakagusku Village.  He said he had a face like the lion-dog talismans he creates. The 150mm lens for the Pentax 645 is a great portrait lens. It is the equivalent of a 118mm lens on a 35mm FF body so it gives nice proportions to the face, and at wide apertures gives a very limited depth of field. If we put the following information into a depth of field calculator: 645D sensor, f/stop 2.8, lens 150mm, focus 1m 20cm it gives the depth of field as 1.58cm. This means if you focus on the eye, the tip of the nose and ear will be fading into bokeh.  (Interestingly it’s about the same D.O.F. as you get with an 85mm at f/1.4  at 1m 20cm on a FF)

Japanese Alcohol Free Beer

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In Okinawa most people travel by car, the nearest train station is in Kagoshima, 500 miles away. Many Okinawans drive to a bar, and then use a daiko service to bring both them and their car home at the end of the night. (A daiko service is similar to a taxi service, but with two drivers. Driver A chauffeurs you home in your own car while driver B follows behind to collect driver A.) The cost of using a daiko service, the health benefits of reducing alcohol consumption, and a crackdown on people who drink and drive are some of the possible reasons for the growth in popularity of alcohol free beers. The other night I had a few friends over to test the various alcohol free beers and the results were pretty conclusive. Four beers were sampled: Kirin Free, Sapporo Premium Alcohol Free, Suntory All-Free, and Kirin 休む日のAlc. 0.00 %. The Sapporo Premium Alcohol Free was by far the most popular, with Shawn even stating “it actually tastes like beer.” As a final bonus, …

Senior Shoot – In the Studio

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A few months ago, a friend asked me if I was available to do a senior shoot. My initial thoughts were that he wanted me to photograph his elderly relatives, but it soon became clear that one adage still holds true, England and America are two countries separated by a common language. The thing is that, in England, we don’t have proms, high school graduation ceremonies, homecoming balls, or senior photo shoots.  In many ways it’s strange that we don’t celebrate these glory days, and taking a series of portraits of someone who is about to leave home and make their way in the world is a great idea. I discussed with my friend and his son Kevin the kind of photographs they’d like, and we decided that we’d shoot a selection of images both in the studio and on location around Okinawa.  Here are a few of the shots we got in the studio.

Okinawa Island Produce

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Okinawa Island Produce brings organic fruits and vegetables right to your door. The company’s founder travels around Okinawa making contacts with the local organic farmers. She takes orders for the produce through her website, and then makes home deliveries. It’s a wonderful idea. Her company supports the local farmers and provides her customers with the freshest, tastiest fruits and veggies available.