All posts filed under: Photography

Scooby-Doo Sid

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I bumped into Sid a couple of weeks ago as he was taking his two human minions for a walk along the seawall. I asked Sid if he’d done any modeling before, and he said that people were always describing him as a leggy blonde. A couple of days later he was chauffeured over to the studio and happily struck a few poses for the camera. I was going to point out that Sid looked at little like Scooby-Doo, but this would have been a real insult to a Great Dane as it is common knowledge that Scooby-Doo was modeled on the exact opposite of what a champion Great Dane should look like. Takamoto consulted a studio colleague who happened to be a breeder of Great Danes. After learning the characteristics of a prize-winning Great Dane from her, Takamoto proceeded to break most of the rules and designed Too Much with overly bowed legs, a double chin, and a sloped back, among other abnormalities. Wikipedia Thanks very much to Sid and his two personal assistants. Hope …

In the Studio – Michelle

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A few images from a portfolio shoot with model Michelle Santos. Michelle heads back to Brazil having spent several years in Japan. She wanted some new images in her book so that’s what we did. I’d like to thank Summer Johnson and Aiasha Orick-Fleurantin for their work on makeup and hair, and Michelle for being able to pull off so many different looks in a short time.

Let there be underwater light (Part 2)

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Here are some shots from the first dive with the strobes. The lens used was a 50mm macro (which due to the crop factor on the K5 means it’s the equivalent of a 75mm lens on a 35mm camera). The strobes mean macro shots will be a lot sharper. This is partly because the flash sync shutter speed of 1/180 maybe quicker than the shutter speed used without strobes, but mostly it is because  it is the much faster flash duration that actually freezes the action. The result is that you can make out the teeth of the grumpy anemone fish, which otherwise would have been just a blur. The bright modeling light of the DS-161 strobe is a great help allowing the camera to autofocus more easily. The operative word  here is more, as getting it to lock onto a fish as it whooshes by is always going to be tricky. That’s why you’re going to be seeing a lot of photos of fish that either don’t move much (see below) or tend to …

Let there be underwater light (Part 1)

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A you descend beneath the ocean’s surface things become darker and bluer. Light is absorbed by the water and it does this to a greater extent at the red end of the color spectrum. When shooting in the shallows you can capture the vibrant colors of the reef, but sink a little further and your images will look a little green and possibly blurry from slow shutter speeds (or noisy from high ISOs). The solution is to shed a little light on your subject. Send in the strobes. I bought two used Ikelite strobes on Ebay (thank you Vadim in Australia). One is a powerful DS-161 strobe that has a 3W modeling light, and the other is a far less powerful (and much cheaper) DS-51 strobe that I use as fill. The above image is a pre-dive test in the bath, which showed that both strobes worked, and that the light from the modeling light allows the camera to autofocus on the subject. The strobes are positioned in this image for macro shooting. The lens …

Pixels 2 Pigment – Martin Bailey Okinawa Workshop

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If you listen to photography podcasts or are interested in Japanese wildlife photography you’ve probably already come across Martin Bailey. Check out his website to learn more about him, but in summary he’s a talented guy from the UK who works as a photographer in Tokyo and shares his knowledge with others through his podcast, an e-book, photography tours, and workshops. A couple of the areas Martin is particularly knowledgable in are color management and printing. These are key parts of a professional photographer’s workflow, and without a firm understanding of them, you’re just hoping for the best rather than taking control. After the successful Photography 101, Off Camera Flash, Retro Portraits, and Light Painting workshops I contacted Martin to ask if he’d like to come to Okinawa to teach a weekend workshop on color management and printing. We discussed the idea and as Martin is already planning on teaching  Pixels 2 Pigment workshops in the UK, America and Australia later in the year, he said if there was enough interest he’d come down to Okinawa …

Wonderful Workshops

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A great time was had by all at the two workshops held last week by Trevor Williams. Things were decidedly silly at the retro portraits evening, and smoking hot at the light painting weekend. Here are a few shots from the students. A huge thanks to Trevor for coming down to Okinawa again, you’re always welcome back to our little island.

Recovering the war dead on Okinawa

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A month ago I worked with writer Julian Ryall on a piece about how the remains of the war dead found on Okinawa are identified and hopefully returned to their family graves. Photographing the skeleton of a dead Japanese soldier, and shards of bones in various trays was somber, but at that moment you are working and concentrating on getting images. Only later, when you’ve packed your gear away and returned to everyday life do you ponder the deeper meanings of what you’ve witnessed. On the cover of the Number 1 Shimbun is an image I shot of Gushiken-san a volunteer that has devoted his life to returning the remains  of the fallen to their loved ones. Inside are a couple more images and the feature by Julian Ryall.

Trevor Williams Light Painting / Retro Portraits Workshops – 3 weeks to go.

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It’s three weeks to go before the Trevor Williams Light Painting / Retro Portraits Workshops. If you’re interested in coming to either of these workshops please contact me to book your place. It’s going to be a fantastic few days, and as the next Trevor Williams courses will be in 2013 or 2014 please make the most of this opportunity while it’s available. Trevor will also be showing off his light painting skills at the Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo on April 17th. It will be a high tech interactive fusion of light and music, possibly the first of its kind in the world. If you can’t make the workshop, please check out what should be a fantastic event. You can check out some of the great images by last year’s light painting workshop participants here. Hope to see many of you in three weeks time 🙂

Trash the Dress – Okinawa

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Alexis, one of the riding instructors, recently got married to Michael. They have plenty of great wedding photos, but thought that they’d like to make the most of the Okinawan beaches and her passion for horses. After shooting the two of them cantering through the surf I took some quick “trash the dress” style images. I really like the look of this final shot, but from a story telling perspective you probably shouldn’t end the series with a shot of the bride gliding off into the distance without her husband! (Trash the dress – okay, trash the military dress uniform – not okay.) A final thanks to the clients Alexis, Michael, Eve and Madie. Also to Summer Johnson for getting up way way before dawn to start makeup, and to Shawn Miller as my faithful assistant.