All posts tagged: okinawa

Sessions – The Ball Family

Published by

Great family session on Sunday evening with the Kayla, Adam, and little Alice. Kayla and Adam came out to Okinawa a year ago to train with 10th dan master Yoshio Kuba  of Okinawa Goju Ryu karate. In the past few months they’ve also added Alice to their family. A big thank you to Kayla and Adam for choosing me to take your photos and hope you have a smooth journey back to Australia. If you’re looking to have your own family session on Okinawa check out the Family Sessions page.

Yanbaru Wildlife

Published by

Spent the day up in the Yanbaru region of northern Okinawa with wildlife photographer Mark Thorpe. Found a few interesting critters including mayflies and tiger beetles, both of which required a little patience before they’d stop for a pic. We then met up with wildlife artist Ichiro Kikuta to get some advice on the best place to find the endemic Yanbaru kuina. He advised us to head out at dusk to a small river where the birds would bathe each evening. We staked out the spot, and  just as the sun dipped below the horizon, a family of Yanbaru kuina came down to bathe. Splish, splash, taking a bath.

Prime Cuts – Okinawa

Published by

  In a previous  blog post I wrote about working on the Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown- Okinawa Episode. (Season 6 Episode 3). I was mainly a location fixer organizing a few things behind the scenes. I  was also asked to help with a reenactment where they wanted to visualize the story of Minoru Kinjo. Now a well known sculptor, Kinjo-san was a young boy when the Battle of Okinawa took place. The reenactment never made it into the Okinawa episode but they were shown recently in the “Prime Cuts” special which shows scenes from the season that never made it into the main episodes. Anthony Bourdain explained about the Okinawan reenactment: The idea was to illustrate and give background to a very complicated Okinawan story, Okinawan history. Ultimately, I don’t think it was right for my show, but a noble effort. And beautiful.  The Prime Cuts episode shows Minoru Kinjo telling his story intercut with the reenactments filmed  on the beach in Yomitan. My friend Hayakawa-san, his wife, daughter and grandson acted as the Okinawan family, …

Master Higa and the Minotaur

Published by

Last week I was chatting with Mark Thorpe about his upcoming time-lapse workshop.  He mentioned that Sunday 5th of June was a new moon and possibly the best day of the year for photographing the Milky Way. Mark would be heading out to Mount Fuji, but I thought I’d head over to Zakimi Castle in Yomitan. I doodled the castle and stars on a piece of paper. Then continued to doodle adding  a minotaur into the doorway. I actually have two animal masks sitting in my office. One is a hippo and the other a bull. They hippo has been used for a few rather bizarre photo shoots. I realized that to create a minotaur all I’d need is the bull mask and a suitable torso. Luckily my mate Adam has both the right physique and was free on the Sunday night. Still doodling on my piece of paper, the image was lacking a foreground subject and could use a hero. I’d previously photographed 8th-dan karate master Masaharu Higa at Zakimi Castle and knew he …

Hannah Hooper Yoga

Published by

Early Saturday morning I was out at the beach in Nakijin Village shooting some promotional images for Hannah Hooper Yoga. Hannah wanted some simple clean shots she can use as illustrations and backgrounds for her new website. I used both the 645Z and the K-1 and a Priolite HotSync Flash to add light removing the harsh shadows on Hannah. We also took a few portraits with some softer lighting. Finally we moved to a beach in Motobu that has beautiful rocky walls. A great morning out in the sun. If you’re ever looking for a yogi, check out Hannah Hooper Yoga. 🙂

Workshop Wonders

Published by

The Off Camera Flash workshop went really well yesterday. My buddy Pete Leong and I taught the class, and we had 3 great students Adam, Anna and Liesa. We discussed the various different types of strobes and modifiers before getting out there and practicing taking some pics around Yomitan. We finished the class down at the beach. I took a pic of Yuki to demonstrate using shutter speeds below the max sync speed. A great day. The next workshops are: June 4 & 5, 2016 – Photography Fundamentals Workshop with Chris Willson June 18 & 19. 2016 – Time-lapse Workshop with Mark Thorpe

Pentax K-1 & Priolite – Capoeira

Published by

It’s rainy season in Okinawa, but yesterday morning we had a dry spell long enough to capture Ben and Antonio practicing capoeira at Araha Beach. Gear: Pentax K-1, 28-105mm lens,  Priolite M-Pack 1000 HotSync strobe Using the Priolite HotSync system meant I was freezing the action with the shutter speed rather than the flash duration. This removes the issues you get with ambient light blur when shooting motion with strobes outdoors. ISO 400, f4.5 1/3200 sec   This was my first time shooting Capoeira so it was  tough to anticipate the action. With two subjects performing different moves at the same time it is also tricky to get  images where they are both mid air, correctly illuminated, and in focus. Back flips and kicks are so fast to the naked eye it all happens in such a blur. It’s fascinating to check out the images and see them frozen in time. In some shots they looked like skydivers free falling. I’d also like to try this on a bright sunny day where the strobe would act …

Fine Art Prints

Published by

Bring the spirit and beauty of Japan into your home or workplace with a fine art print. The Pursuit of Excellence From the initial choice of film to the production of the final print we strive for the best at every stage of the artistic process. The latest professional printer technology along with Hahnemühle fine art paper has allowed us to produce giclée prints with vibrant colors and fine details. Using the highest quality archival materials also means that our prints have the longevity to provide a lifetime of viewing pleasure. Print Size Prints are available in two sizes A3 (30 x 42cm; 12″ x 17″) and A2 (42 x 60cm; 17″ x 24″). These are the approximate dimensions of the paper, actual image size will be slightly smaller as the prints are created with a white border in readiness for framing. The border is about 15mm (1/2 inch) around the image. Prints are not matted or framed. This gives you the flexibility to find a frame that will best compliment your home or office interior. The Travel 67 …

Woodblock Artist Naka Bokunen – 10 years on

Published by

It’s been 10 years since I last photographed Naka Bokunen, and his star has continued to rise. In 2006, I interviewed him at his small gallery on Route 58. In 2016, I meet him at the beautiful Bokunen Art Museum at the heart of Depot Island in American Village. On this occasion all I needed was a couple of quick images for a client, but it was great to see his new mountain exhibition at the gallery. Here’s the original interview from Okinawa Living Magazine. Island Icon – Naka Bokunen Bokunen was born on the small Okinawan island of Izena in 1953. As a child, he always carried a sketchbook, and drew pictures of the island’s creatures and landscapes. At that time, he never imagined a career as an artist, and thought he would become either a fisherman or a carpenter. His talent, however, did not go unnoticed. One of his teachers recommended that he attend an art-based high school on the main island of Okinawa. After graduation, Bokunen became a graphic designer and set …

New Threads

Published by

DOJO Okinawa is a new clothing line by my friend  James Pankiewicz. Great t-shirts and kariyushi wear with designs inspired by the Ryukyu Islands. You may even recognize a few of the pics that make up the “Karate Action” and “Okinawa Places” kariyushi shirts. You can buy the shirts online, at the Ryukyu Piras stores in Naha or Chatan, and at the one and only DOJO Bar in Naha City.   Also check out and like their new Facebook page.