All posts filed under: Photography

Okinawan Sanshin in a Pussycat Dolls’ Song?

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Listening to the local radio station the other day I heard a song by The Pussycat Dolls. The tune would have been forgettable except for the fact that it sounds like an Okinawan sanshin is playing in the background. Does anyone happen to know if it really is a sanshin? The song is called Whatcha Think About That  The Okinawan sanshin is a three stringed instrument, similar to a banjo. It is a close relative of the shamisen that is played on mainland Japan. Here’s a shot of professional sanshin player Byron Jones that I took for Okinawa Living. 

Polarize your views

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Polarizing light Putting a polarizing filter between the sunlight and your eyes (or your camera) reduces glare and increases color saturation. In the image below the left side had no filter while the right side had a polarizing filter. Polarized Sunglasses Polarized sunglasses are for me one of life’s joys. They make the world just a little bit better. Reducing glare reduces eye strain while driving. When you are on a dive boat you can see what is underwater much more easily. And the sky is bluer with better defined clouds. Polarized sunglasses tend to be more expensive than regular sunglasses and like with most optics you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to quality. I am a fan of Oakley’s polarized sunglasses which manage to combine high optical quality with light weight. Polarizing filters for your lenses Putting a polarizing filter on the front of your camera will have the same effect as polarized sunglasses. It will reduce glare and increase color saturation. It will also halve the amount of …

Fender Japan Stratocasters

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The Fender Stratocaster guitar is an American icon. So why you may ask am I writing about it in a photography blog about Japan… Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but in the early 80’s Fender USA was trying to deal with a flood of foreign-made Stratocaster-like guitars. Fender decided to make the best of a bad situation and set up Fender Japan to produce Japanese Fender guitars for the Japanese  market. Fender Japan was particularly good at producing vintage reissues. So good in fact that Dan Smith, Fender’s Director of Marketing said:“Everybody came up to inspect them and the guys almost cried, because the Japanese  product was so good – it was what we had been having a hell of a time trying to do.”  Fender Japan guitars are not officially exported to Europe or America, these markets are supplied with Fenders from Mexico or, for the higher end models, from the US. There is a healthy used market however. My friend John exports Japanese made guitars to musicians and collectors all …

Gion Matsuri, Kyoto July 17th

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As I mentioned in a previous post it’s probably more useful to learn about festivals before they occur rather than seeing photos of an event you just missed. In exactly one month, on July 17th the main parade of floats will take place as part of Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri. The huge floats are called Yamaboko and are dragged through the streets by teams of men. They do not go through the cobbled streets of Gion but rather trundle along the main shopping streets Shijo, Kawaramachi and Oike. The streets are packed with spectators but usually you can find a spot where you can get a decent view. I recommend the main intersections as this is where the floats have to be rotated 90 degrees, an impressive feat of strength and teamwork. You can read more about visiting Kyoto in my article The Best of Kyoto.

F.A.Q.s – Which paper do you use for prints?

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Now that my photography exhibition has finished, I thought I’d put up the answers to a few frequently asked questions. Which paper do you use for prints? I use paper by Hahnemühle  a very old German company that produces some of the best fine art papers in the world. The particular paper I use for my Limited Edition Prints and for the prints on display at exhibitions is the Photo Rag Peari 320 from their Digital FineArt Collection. The paper is actually 100% cotton rather than cellulose, with a pearl coating that give the prints a luminous quality. Of particular importance is that the paper is certified as archival grade. Some examples of archival testing done on Hahnemühle papers with Epson’s UltraChrome K3 pigment inks can be seen here. Here are the results of another study by Wilhelm Research that tested Hahnemühle papers with Canon’s Lucia pigment inks.   I use Canon’s Lucia inks for their longevity, but also because their professional printers use 12 ink cartridges. This means they produce a wide color gamut that allows me to …

“Natural Framing” at Zakimi Castle, Okinawa

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I needed to get some examples of using natural framing in photographs for a future photo tips article I am writing. Luckily I knew of a suitable location that would allow me to get the images I wanted. Shots taken at 7.30 AM at Zakimi Castle, a UNESCO world heritage site that’s about 15 minutes from where I live. Zakimi Castle has no entry fee, and is permanently open. A fantastic place to take photographs.

Fujifilm GF670

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Picked up a couple of rolls of film I had dropped off at Kitamura Camera for processing.  Processing for one roll of  220 film (without any pushing or pulling) is 1740 yen. A box of 5 rolls of Provia 220 is 5080 yen. That means film plus processing comes to 2756 yen per roll or 131 yen per frame when using my camera (21 shots on a 220 roll). Film photographers have to deal with a rapidly reducing number of places that they can process film, and increasing prices of both film and processing. However, rumors of the imminent demise of film are a little premature. Not only is film still sold and processed, a new film camera was being advertised in the store. The Fujifilm GF670 is a brand new rangefinder camera with a clever collapsible lens. Weighing just 1kg it shoots in the same 6×7 format as my Pentax 67II.  If you want those big beautiful 6×7 transparencies, but don’t want the weight of a Pentax system this could be well worth checking out. It …

David Carradine – Kill Bill – Hattori Hanzo – Kiyochika Kanehama

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It was announced on the news today that David Carradine is dead. I am a little too young to have grown up watching the TV show Kung Fu, but I am sure that for many this will be a sad day. In recent years Carradine returned to fame as Bill in Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies. For those who haven’t seen the movies, in one of the scenes in Kill Bill Part 1, Uma Thurman travels to Okinawa to get a samurai sword made by sword smith Hattori Hanzo. A couple of years ago I did an interview with the only real sword smith in Okinawa – Kanehama Kiyochika. I even got to ask him about Kill Bill… From the age of 22 to 31, Kiyochika Kanehama trained as an apprentice swordsmith. At a forge in the Japanese Alps, his sensei Kiyomune Miyairi taught him how to create a blade from lumps of iron ore. For years, he studied the process of folding and honing metal to produce edges so sharp that they are considered a …

Print Prices – Why the change in currency?

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As some people have pointed out, a few months ago the prices for limited edition prints available on my website suddenly changed from US dollars to Japanese yen. At exhibitions in Japan all the prices for my prints are in yen. With fluctuating exchange rates, the only way to guarantee that the prices are the same whether you purchase on the website or through a gallery was to have everything in the same currency. You can check the prices in your local currency using a universal currency converter. Paypal will convert the amount from yen to your local currency when checking out, along with taking all the necessary shipping details. As always, A2 and A3 size prints include free international shipping and insurance.

Okinawan Bull Fighting

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During the summer months bull fighting takes place in several bull rings on Okinawa.  I have mixed feelings on the whole situation. Compared to Spanish bull fighting it is delightful. Okinawan bull fighting is a battle between equals rather than men against beast. The Okinawan bulls lock horns and then push each other until the weaker bull turns and runs. The bulls are not killed, and are looked after by their owners better than many pets. Near where I live, you regularly see the bulls being taken for walks. ( Something I really should photograph now that I think about it. ) Some bulls however do get injured, which is hardly surprising when both combatants have a big pointy horn on either side of their head. With the potential for animals to be injured or even killed is the cost of this entertainment too great?