All posts filed under: pentax 645Z

The Queen & her Thunderbird

Published by

Back in 2017, Zachary bought his wife Kelley a location / studio portrait session for Christmas. Kelley had amazing ideas inspired by classic Disney movies, so we went with a demure princess look amongst Okinawa’s cosmos flowers, then transformed her into an all-powerful queen. With Kelley looking magnificent (or possibly Maleficent), we shot in the studio, then headed over to Bise Village to get images at the beach and amongst the fukugi trees. Zachary was even willing to step in front of the camera so that Queen Kelley could demonstrate the true power of the crown. Over the past 8 years, Zachary has himself transformed into a legendary Thunderbird. It was fantastic to see both Zachary and Kelley in the new Netflix documentary (That’s Zachary (Zeke) in the Official Trailer thumbnail!). So happy to see them following their dreams, and their lovely young family. Hopefully we’ll meet again if they are ever back in Okinawa, but until then safe flights as you serve your Queen and country. Thank you to Audra Pesicka for her great …

Pentax to Sony

Published by

For many years I shot exclusively with the Pentax 67ii medium format film camera system. When the Pentax 645D digital medium format camera arrived I switched to shooting digital, and I’ve shot stills with the 645D and 645Z until now. The 645Z remains one of the best cameras for portrait photography. 私は長年、中判フィルムカメラシステム「PENTAX 67ii」で撮影してきました。デジタル中判カメラのペンタックス645Dが登場してからは、デジタルでの撮影に切り替え、645Dと645Zでスチルを撮影してきました。645Zは今でもポートレート写真に最適なカメラの一つです。 As a backup system I also had the excellent Pentax K-1 camera system with a 28-70 f2.8 lens. Another fantastic system for photographers. バックアップシステムとして、優れたペンタックスK-1カメラと28-70 F2.8レンズも持っていました。これも写真家にとっては素晴らしいシステムです A few years ago I also began shooting video. I started with the Sony A7Sii and then as things progressed with the Sensei: Masters of Okinawan Karate series I purchased a used Sony FS5 cinema camera. As the documentary series has continued I’ve had to purchase more Sony lenses, and in the near future will need to update both the Sony bodies to the latest models. 数年前、私はビデオ撮影も始めました。最初はソニーのA7Siiを使っていましたが、「SENSEI: MASTERS OF OKINAWAN KARATE」シリーズの制作が進むにつれ、中古のソニーFS5シネマカメラを購入しました。 ドキュメンタリーシリーズを続けていくうちに、ソニーのレンズをさらに購入しなければならなくなり、近い将来、ソニーのボディを両方とも最新モデルに更新する必要があります。 Having two completely separate systems for photography and video has created its own set of challenges in terms of storage, cost, and ultimately how much gear …

Zenshu Toyama, 10th-dan, Goju-ryu Karate

Published by

On December 19th, 2020, James and I visited the dojo of Zenshu Toyama, in Awase, Okinawa. Toyama Sensei is 10th-dan, Goju-ryu Karate, and one of the style’s most senior practitioners. We photographed Toyama Sensei in October 2013, but on this day we returned to interview him for Episode 12 of the Sensei: Masters of Okinawan Karate documentary series. As it had been 7 years since our previous visit, we also shot some new portraits. Our goal is that Episode 11 with Oshiro Sensei will be released in February 2020 and then Episode 12 with Toyama Sensei will be released in March or April 2020. Thank you to Toyama Sensei, his daughter Hideko Toyama, Scot Mertz and Andy Sloane for their assistance on the day of the shoot.

Toshihiro Oshiro, 9th dan Shima-Ha Shorin-Ryu karate, 8th dan Yamanni Chinen Ryu kobujutsu.

Published by

Last Saturday, I photographed Toshihiro Oshiro, 9th dan Shima-Ha Shorin-Ryu karate, 8th dan Yamanni Chinen Ryu kobujutsu, for the Karate Masters Portrait Project. We shot the studio style portraits at his dojo in Itoman, and then yesterday photographed him again on his local beach. We also interviewed Oshiro Sensei for the Sensei: Masters of Okinawa Karate series, and the episode will be available on YouTube and Bujin.tv early next year. It was a real pleasure to hang out with Oshiro Sensei and his students. I got to learn some more fascinating aspects of Okinawan culture (use a light grip on the weapon), and the stormy weather conditions worked in our favor for photographs.

Chieko Toma – Goju-ryu Karate & Ryukyu Dance

Published by

Chieko Toma is a master of Ryukyu dance. On Sunday I had the chance to photograph her performing in traditional dance costumes. The next black and white costume comes from Haebaru Town and I believe is worn for performance of the folk dances, rather than the court dances. The next outfit is the karate gi with a hakama-style piece over the lower half. This was worn to perform the go shin no mai dances of self defense. As well as a master of Ryukyu dance, Toma Sensei is a master of Goju-ryu karate, and a student under Tetsuhiro Hokama Sensei. If you look at the behind the scenes shot, and you’ve been following the Karate Masters Portrait Project since 2012, you’ll notice the change in the number of lights used to create the portrait. In all the above shots of Toma Sensei I used two lights. James is holding one Profoto B1 strobe with a white softlight reflector (AKA a beauty dish) while Toma Sensei’s granddaughter is holding a second Profoto B1 strobe with a …

Intangible Cultural Asset Holders in the Field of Okinawan Karate and Martial Arts with Weaponry

Published by

On May 19th 2020 six Okinawan Karate Masters were recognized by the prefecture as an Intangible Cultural Asset Holder in the Field of Okinawan Karate and Martial Arts with Weaponry. I am honored to have photographed them all for the Karate Masters Portrait Project over the past 8 years. Congratulations to Iha Sensei, Kikugawa Sensei, Maeshiro Sensei, Nakahodo Sensei, Iha Sensei and Takara Sensei! I’m also happy to announce that episode 8 in the YouTube series Sensei: Masters of Okinawan Karate is now online. I’m really proud of all the work that went into this episode, the team that helped create it, and the sponsors and supporters of the series. Iha Sensei speaks a mix of Japanese, Okinawan (a separate language not a dialect of Japanese), and English. It made transcriptions and translations a challenge, and there were even a few corrections after it went live, after getting some extra feedback from Nakasone Sensei.   Please like, comment, and share the videos so that the YouTube algorithm introduces it to others.

Highlights of 2019

Published by

In 2019, photography and video has been completely dominated by Okinawan martial arts. The crowd-funded YouTube video series is proving to be popular, and we’ve released the first six of twelve interviews with Okinawan masters, and three bonus episodes with international masters. On occassions I’ve been able to photograph some of Okinawa’s less combative side, with smiles and flowers. The real highlight of the year has been watching this little one grow. Now nearly 2, she’s has adopted all the traits of our chocolate labrador (a bundle of crazed energy who loves to play in the dirt, scavenge for snacks, and then curl up in front of the TV). A huge thank you to all those who’ve helped this year. Thank you to the students who’ve taken my workshops, clients who’ve hired me for projects, the international karate community for supporting and sponsoring the video series, and to my family both in Okinawa and around the world during this challenging year. Looking forward to 2020, should be an exciting year. All the best from Okinawa, …

Sensei: Masters of Okinawan Karate – International Episode – Neil Stolsmark

Published by

A huge thank you to all the sponsors and supporters of the video series.  Main Sponsors:  Fusei Kise, Isao Kise and the OSMKKF-USA  Jerry Figgiani – Shorin Ryu Karate Do International  Beikoku Shidokan Karatedo Association Grant Campbell – USA Karate Federation Series Sponsors: Cezar Borkowski – Northern Karate Schools Marguerite “Peggy” Hess – Jensen Beach Uechi Ryu Karate Do Dojo Reece Cummings – Cummings Karate Dojo Michael Quinn – Okinawa Shogen-Ryu Karate-Do Europe Martin Pinto – Essex Goju Ryu Karate Mark Spear – Black Bear Dojo Series Supporters: Tim Herlihy Robin Ross Joshua Simmers  Jeff Perkins Paul Punshon   John J. Strangeway Gerry Campbell Shelley Cormier K V Manoharan  Phil Butler       Danny Smith    Justin Rathert Adam Carter  Mike Powers Miguel Da Luz  Robert Roberto Curtis Josh Ryer Belgi Serin Igor Vakos Lisken Dus Andrew Pearce Christopher Ford Cos Vona Steve Ouslis Sandro Simonetta Axel Heinrich Jiří Matouš Jose Planas Click this link to learn more and help: Sensei Documentary We are getting closer to completion of Episodes 7 and 8 with …

Sensei Kenyu Chinen at the Yomitan Dojo

Published by

Last Monday I had the opportunity to take some pics of Chinen Sensei in his organization’s Yomitan Dojo which is located inside Murasaki Mura. A beautiful location to get a few new portraits of an Okinawan master. Images shot with the Pentax 645Z and the 55mm lens. A Profoto B1 strobe with a OCF softbox was used for off camera flash to balance the interior of the dojo with the outdoors. Video shot with the Sony FS5, Atomos Shogun and Rokinon cine lenses.