All posts filed under: Photography

Pixels to Pigment Workshop with Martin Bailey

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Had a great time last weekend hosting a Pixels to Pigment Workshop with Tokyo photographer Martin Bailey. The workshop taught photographers how to create a more effective workflow from image capture to print. This meant calibrating the camera to give the correct colors and white balance, both done using an X-Rite color checker passport. Monitors, the projector, both printers and two kinds of paper were calibrated using the X-Rite color munki and the i1Publish Pro 2. Prints were made of both Martin’s and the participants images, and on the second day the prints were laminated and then made into gallery wraps. I’d like to thank Shawn, Michael, David, Justin and David, for coming on the workshop and making it such a fun and successful weekend. A huge thanks to Martin for flying down to Okinawa and sharing his knowledge with us.  For details on future Pixels to Pigment workshops in other parts of the world please check out Martin’s website.

Rocking at Fuji

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Another very busy couple of weeks. Just got back from three days shooting Fuji Rock Festival for ACUMEN magazine. The feature is about the British bands playing at the festival, these included The Stone Roses, both Gallagher brothers, The Kooks, Ocean Color Scene, Ray Davies, The Specials, The Heartbreaks, Spiritualized, Elvis Costello, Radiohead, and my personal favorite of the festival, a new soul artist called Michael Kiwanuka. Don’t want to post images of the British acts before they go to print, but here are a couple of shots of non-UK performers Jack White (above) and Toots and Matayls (below). I had a fantastic time. This was partly because it was the first rain-free Fuji Rock Festival in several years, but mainly due to the fact that I met many great people on the trip. To all the photographers, security, organizers, VIPs, artists and festival goers, thanks for making it a memorable few days. My computer is currently wheezing away under the weight of so many cool images.   Update: Magazine published you can see the …

Test Shots

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Before any dive you have to run through a series of checks – B.W.R.A.F (BCD, weights, releases, air, final check). If you’re diving with a camera, there is a separate series of checks that you need to do. Camera battery level, strobe A battery level, strobe B battery level, memory card capacity, dials and button working, O-rings in place, clasps closed and locked. Once this is all done it’s worth taking a couple of test shots before you load the gear in to the car to make sure that everything is working okay. As the strobes and camera are set up for macro work, and as Bear is normally watching me while getting ready, every sequence of dive shots usually begins with an image a little like these.

Summer in Okinawa

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Summer is here in Okinawa. The asphalt gets so hot it’s tough to walk around in bare feet. Some people retreat to the air conditioned malls. Jusco and San A always seem at their busiest during the blistering heat. The other option is to head to the ocean or to the pool. Above is a shot from a portfolio shoot with model Michelle Santos. Lovely sunny day, but to combat the harsh shadows I used a strobe and umbrella for some fill light.

Shorin-ryu Karate 10th Dan Master Sokuichi Gibu

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A great shoot yesterday with Shorin-ryu Karate 10th Dan Master Sokuichi Gibu. On friday afternoon, James Pankiewicz and I headed over to the dojo of karate master Sokuichi Gibu. Another great opportunity to photograph an Okinawan icon. Sokuichi Gibu may look fierce in his portraits, but he was exceptionally friendly and willing to run through a wide selection of poses, and a few fierce kicks.

Matsuri!

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Here’s the first draft of the DM or promotional postcard for the Matsuri exhibition at the Pentax Forum in September. The next step is selecting and printing images. Most of the images I’m choosing from are in my Matsuri set on Flickr, please check them out and let me know if there are particular favorites you’d like to see in the show.

In the Studio – Darryl Chiang

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A portfolio session with model Darryl Chiang. We worked fast and efficiently to get a good selection of images in a short amount of time. Makeup artist Summer Johnson was on hand as guys (or potential Presidents) can sometimes benefit from the use of makeup. Summer’s talents, however, would really come in to play on Darryl’s next shoot, “Fight Club”. Darryl has been told he looks like a Korean pop star, but I thought I’d go for a Japanese otaku theme for this next shot. And finally a far cooler sports image of Darryl on a triathlon / time trial bicycle.

Every Underwater Photographer a Diver

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Perhaps the most famous of the United States Marine Corps’ mantras is “every Marine a rifleman”. It doesn’t matter what specialization you go into, each marine must still undertake regular training and assessment in their ability to fire a rifle. I mention this as there should be a similar mantra with regards to scuba: every underwater photographer a diver. The key issue is that if you’re an experienced diver and an inexperienced photographer, you may get mediocre shots, but you’ll dive safely and within your limits. If you’re an experienced photographer and an inexperienced diver, you can quite easily, and very quickly, find yourself in serious trouble. An SLR camera in a housing is large, heavy, bulky, expensive and demands your concentration. Add strobes and you’ve just magnified all these factors. If you are having any issues with your diving – buoyancy, navigation, exhaustion, air management, decompression etc then the camera is only going to make things worse. Spend too much time looking through your viewfinder and not enough time checking your gauges and you …