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Pentax – Exhibitions, Cameras and the Future

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I was up in Tokyo last weekend to catch the end of the Love & Hope exhibition at the Pentax Forum, and to photograph the Hamaori-sai festival in Chigasaki. It was good to see the huge print of my image on the wall of the gallery, and then as a bonus find out that Pentax had also chosen it to promote the exhibition in a Tokyo newspaper. Had a good chat with the staff at the forum. They had the special edition Pentax 645D with a traditional laquerware body on sale at a mere 1,200,000 yen. (The perfect thing for the person who loves to collect cameras and then leave them in a hermetically sealed cabinet.) I also got to have a quick play with a preproduction version of the tiny, mirrorless Pentax Q camera. Not sure what I think of the Q. It is the world’s smallest camera with interchangeable lenses, but it will be interesting to see if it can compete with the likes of the Sony NEX-C3, the Olympus PEN or the …

Fugu Chef’s License

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Fugu the dish that can quite literally take your breath away. To avoid poisonings fugu chefs are required by law to have a fugu license. The license was introduced after WWII as many starving Japanese died having eaten improperly prepared fugu, or discarded food waste which contained fugu liver or skin. This image was shot in Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku. The fish in the background are fugu unaware of their impending doom.

Night Fever – Fantastic Light Painting Workshop

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It’s been a busy few weeks. Last weekend was the Light Painting Workshop with guest instructor Trevor Williams. It was a fantastic course, everyone learned a lot, and each of the students produced some amazing images. Here are just of few of things we created. Thanks to all the participants who made this such a great weekend, and of course to Trevor for flying down from Okayama for the weekend. If you missed this course, Trevor’s next weekend workshop will be in Vancouver this August and then hopefully we can get him back to Okinawa sometime in 2012.

F.A.Q.s – Shutter Release Cables

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I’ve had a couple of questions about shutter release cables for the Light Painting Workshop. You’ll need to get a remote which works with your particular model (not just brand) of camera. Pentax I currently have the Pentax Waterproof Remote Control O-RC1 It does the job when you’d like to reduce camera shake by not having to touch the camera to fire the shutter. In bulb mode you can press it once to open the shutter and once more to close the shutter. Another option for Pentax users would be a Pentax Electronic Cable Switch. For other brands of cameras, Trevor came up with this quick list of possible shutter releases. Canon For 10D,20D,30D,40D,50D,5D,1D. RS-80N3 Remote Control for EOS 1Ds Mark II, EOS 1D Mark II N, EOS 30D, EOS-1v, and EOS-3 For Kiss series and 60D Canon Remote Switch RS60 E3 Trevor wrote a blog about canon remotes here: http://fiz-iks.blogspot.com/2011/05/canon-tc-80n3-mod.html Nikon Nikon MC-30 Remote Release Cord for Nikon D300, D200, D100, D3, NIKON MC30 Remote Cable Release (31.5 in) Nikon MC-DC2 Remote Release Cord for D90, D5000 …

Typhoon Songda – A blustery night.

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Typhoon Songda has come and gone leaving Okinawa a little worse for wear. There was the usual cull of trees and antennas that were two weak or inflexible to survive the 100 mph plus winds. Power went off at my house from 10PM until about 4AM but luckily I have a wide range of dive torches and bicycle lights. A big tree in next door’s garden didn’t make it through the night, but thankfully it also didn’t make it across the road and onto my car. (Which reminds me, always wash your car after a typhoon to prevent the new layer of sea salt sending your vehicle to an early, and rusty, grave.)

Americana Singer / Songwriter Kluso

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Kluso is a singer / songwriter based in Okinawa. I’ve seen him play live several times, and it’s a pleasure to have someone with such talent and love of music living just down the road. Kluso’s style of music is best described as Americana, a blend of folk, country, blues and rock. Inluences include Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, David Gray and even Oasis. Please check out Kluso’s music on his website, or on iTunes. His new album Determination will be available soon.