All posts filed under: Photography

Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae)

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The Okinawa Rail is an endangered bird that is endemic to the northern part of the Okinawan main island. They are both rare and shy, which makes getting photographs of them tricky. Luckily last year I was given access to the birds at the  breeding center in Kunigami. I was able to get so close to some of the birds I was using a macro lens and getting my fingers pecked. Last week my friend Ichiro told me that there were some very young Okinawa Rail being cared for at Nagamine Animal Hospital and I had permission to go and take some photographs.  It was tough to get good shots – small dark birds in a dark room on a cloudy day. In the end I got some interesting shots which will hopefully become part of a larger photo feature on the efforts that are going on to try and save the species from extinction.

Visions of Japan Exhibition at Cotonoha

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For the whole of May an exhibition of my photographs will be showing at Cotonoha Artspace + Cafe  in Ginowan, Okinawa. Cotonoha is a new gallery  / cafe in Okinawa that was created  by Daryl Mitchell a.k.a. Mitch and his wife. Mitch has done a great job on the gallery and strives to produce the best in every aspect of his work. The food, interior design and ambiance are all first rate. Check out the Cotonoha website to find out more. There will be a reception on May 1st with a buffet, music, and lots of interesting people. Rather than a lecture I thought I would tell a few anecdotes about taking photographs in Japan. Hopefully these anecdotes will be amusing, a surprising number are about men’s bottoms. My photographs are going to be on display for the entire month, and  Cotonoha will be open from 2pm till 11pm except  Mondays. The limited edition prints that are on sale through my website will be available for purchase along with open editions of smaller  A4 sized prints.  I won’t be at …

Sefa Utaki – World Heritage Site

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In 2000, Sefa Utaki, along with Shuri Castle and several castle ruins from the Kingdom of the Ryukyus, was listed as UNESCO world heritage site. Sefa Utaki is the holiest place in Okinawa where the kikeo kimi high priestesses would perform rituals.  There are several places of worship hidden among the trees, but the most famous is at the triangle shaped opening. Water that dripped from  stalactites hanging from the rock faces was thought to be sacred.  Pots were positioned on the ground, and remain today catching the slow drip drip drip of holy water. Tourists rather than priestesses are the main visitors to Sefa Utaki now. I had to wait a while before I could get a tourist free wide angle shot.

A second chance

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When I get a roll of film back from processing, I use a loupe and lightbox to check the images. I then scan the best shots, sleeve, label and file them away in humidity controlled cabinets.  Bad shots get thrown in the trash, but there are quite a few which are either too similar or don’t quite make the grade for some reason. These get put in a big box, and pretty much forgotten about. Occasionally when putting new shots in the box I spot an old rejection and on further inspection decide is deserves a scan.     This shot is from the amazing Edinburgh Tattoo. I had a press pass so that I could get right up above the spectators among the floodlights as well as taking shots at ground level. Initially I think the movement in the Union flag on the top of the castle was the reason I rejected the image, but on further inspection I think the shot still works. You can even see the muzzle flash from the cannon …

24 hours with David Levene

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A couple of years ago I met David Levene a photographer for The Guardian. It was 5 in the morning and we were both  waiting to get in our respective hot air balloons while photographing the Bristol Balloon Festival. We had a good chat for an hour, and I said it would be great to meet again if he ever made if to Japan. I then got in my wicker basket and had my first (and only) balloon ride. It was a great experience and I got a few good photos.  A couple of months ago I got an email from David saying he was coming to Japan to get shots for the newspaper, particularly the two page center spreads, which are an amazing showcase for a photographer. Check out this short video to see the kind of work David does. (Then come right back!) David is in Japan for two weeks and came down to Okinawa for 24 hours to get some images of  Churaumi Aquarium I talked about in a previous post which …

Flickr

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Do you know why we have two ears and only one mouth? Because we should be listening twice as much as we are talking. I think this little piece of wisdom is fantastic. (Although perhaps not correct from an evolutionary standpoint) Listening to others has helped me tremendously over the past few years. The initial design of my website was my idea, but it was the advice of my friend and webmaster Nick that helped me create something far better than I could have done alone. Flickr is another example.  It required the input of others for me to understand the usefulness of the Flickr ( “the best online photo management and sharing application in the world” ). I signed up to Flickr a couple of years ago, put up 4 or 5 photographs and pretty much forgot about it.  At the time it seemed to be unnecessary to put my photos on another website when I had just spent so much time and effort creating my own.  Meeting the computer gurus in Tokyo last month, was …

On the bookshelf – Sport & Action

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Another title in Rotovision’s The World’s Top Photographers’ Workshops series is Sport & Action. For me this is perhaps the weakest in the series. My main niggle is that there are nine sports photographers and one wildlife photographer. Andy Rouse’s photographs are excellent, but they are completely out of place, especially when there is a separate and far superior book in the series called Wildlife.  The other reason for not enjoying this one so much is perhaps more contentious. It seems to me that for  sports perhaps the still camera is not the best medium for recording events. The opposite seems to be true in the world of Fashion & Advertising where a well crafted image has far more impact than catwalks or television commercials.

Mac or PC?

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A year and a half ago I needed to get a new computer having caused the PC I was using (Seiko’s) to go into thermal shutdown so many times it had fried various essential components.  The problem was one of multiplication.   Most people print small (around A4) and the file sizes you are dealing with aren’t huge.  The amount of data I was dealing with was larger for several reasons. A2 sized prints – files 4 times the size of A4 Printing at 600 dpi   – files double the size of 300 dpi  Printing in RGB16  – files double the size of RGB8  What this meant was that the computer files coming from the scanner were around 750mb. If I started to use the cloning tool to remove dust specks, or even worse used layers, there was the distinct possibility of spontaneous computer combustion.  I wanted a computer powerful enough to run Photoshop and handle large data files without breaking a sweat, and to be able to do this while I am working …

Nakamura House, Okinawa

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Nakamura House is a traditional Okinawan house that dates back to the 15th Century. Its roof is covered with red clay tiles while the walls are made up of sliding wooden panels. The moveable walls can be opened to allow cooling breezes in the summer heat or closed and braced against wind and rain during typhoons. A shisa – lion dog – talisman sits on the roof protecting residents from evil spirits.  The house has eight rooms, many with the tatami flooring – the rectangular mats made of woven straw. Some rooms contain artifacts including traditional bingata kimono. The house is located in the northern part of Naha City on the main island of Okinawa. Nakamura House is open everyday from 9.00 to 17.30