First image from a fantastic shoot with Okinawan model Aino. Model – Aino Shimoji MUA & Hair – Mallika Sharma Pentax 645D HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – Charcoal background. Beauty dish powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. Medium size strip softboxes on both sides adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). A fifth compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
Model – Talisa Galarza Makeup and Hair – Mallika Sharma of Glam Girl Sharma Pentax 645D HD PENTAX-D FA645 MACRO 90mmF2.8ED AW S Lighting – Charcoal background. Beauty dish powered by Profoto Pro-7a as the main light. Small softbox as low fill. A medium size strip softboxes on both sides adding rimlight (powered by Profoto compacts). A fifth compact aimed at the background. Strobes triggered with PocketWizards.
I was lucky enough to test out a prototype of the lens a couple of months ago. It’s big, heavy, and a lot of money. It’s also tack sharp, and with shake reduction built in, quite possibly the perfect travel lens for a 645D shooter. As I have an upcoming trip that would be ideally suited to this lens, I bought one last week, and have been using it both in and out of the studio. Here’s another image of Rie in the field of cosmos flowers. Camera settings were 1/200 f4.5 ISO400 I shot the image handheld. The bokeh in the background looks great and the sharpness of the image is excellent. When you open the image up at 100% you can see how I took the photo by looking in her eye. There’s me in the middle holding the camera. To my right is the farmer who wandered past and was press-ganged into holding a reflector. My friend, Shawn Miller, is standing just out of shot. He’s holding a Lastolite diffusion panel, the …
I love shooting portraits. In the studio or on location. Friends or strangers. In exotic lands or in the backyard. I like the fact that each portrait is unique, and if you can get eye contact, you’re staring into a person’s soul, capturing for eternity a brief moment of connection. When it comes to photography books, once again the eyes have it. I thought I’d show some recent additions to my bookshelf that are focused on portraits. It’s probably not a coincidence that the cover of each book has the subject staring directly into the camera. In Focus: National Geographic Greatest Portraits and Portraits are filled with immersive images taken all over the world. The National Geographic book spans more than a century with shots by a wide range of staff photographers. Portraits is solely by Steve McCurry (whose work also features in the Nat Geo book). The blurb about McCurry’s book sums up things nicely: Compelling, unforgettable and moving, McCurry’s images are unique street portraits: unstylized and unposed snapshots of people that reveal the universality of human emotion. Although …
Had a great weekend with Katie, Robin, Keith and Bernice on the Photography Fundamentals Workshop. Sunday was a bit wet and windy, but all in all a lovely couple of days with really nice people. Coming Workshops Photography Fundamentals Workshop Move beyond the auto modes by understanding your equipment, controlling exposure & depth of field, and composing images. December 15 & 16 2012 10AM to 6PM Class Size: Max 4 Instructor: Chris Willson Price: US$250 Off Camera Flash Workshop Move your flash away from your camera to create more natural images or to give your photographs a drop of magical light. January 19 & 20 2013 1PM to 6PM Class Size: Max 12 Instructors Chris Willson & Pete Leong Price US$150
Ginza 4-chome, the crossroads at the heart of Tokyo’s notoriously expensive shopping and entertainment district. I took a photograph here several years ago when I was shooting with the Pentax 67II and Vodafone was still in Japan. I returned on my latest trip to Tokyo, and met up with model Marino to create some visions of nightlife in Ginza.
Darryl helps people work through their anger issues. He lets them get all of their aggression out by punching him, and then when they’re exhausted he hits them back… Colonel Hannibal Smith attributes everything he knows about makeup, disguises, and even smoking cigars to Summer Johnson
Yuki runs a multi-billion dollar fashion business, but in secret also designs superhero costumes for The Wild Bunch. She insists on no capes. Model – Yuki Lynn Lukasiak Makeup Artist -Summer Johnson
Only a few days to go until my solo exhibition in Tokyo! I will be at the Pentax Forum everyday, 10.30 to 18.30, from September 19th to September 26th (unfortunately I’ll miss the last few days as I’ll be back in Okinawa). Please come along, check out my photographs, and say hello. Above is the map to Pentax square from Shinjuku Station. You can also copy and paste this address into google maps: 東京都新宿区西新宿1-25-1 There will be 29 big prints and 5 huge prints on display. It’s a really exciting adventure putting on a big exhibition, and I hope as many people as possible can stop by. It’s free to see the show, you won’t even be forced to buy any camera equipment by the Pentax staff. What I need now is for friends to spread the news, so as it says in the title, please Like, Tweet, Share, Blog, Thumbs up and + this post. Actually, what I really need now is for Typhoon Sanba to change course so my flight isn’t cancelled, but …
An image from a shoot last month with Reiko Winchell, makeup by Summer Johnson. If you’re looking for studio or location photography whether you’re a model needing to update your portfolio, a family wanting some keepsake images, or a couple celebrating an engagement please check out the sessions page on the blog or website.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 