A few weeks ago I spent the afternoon shooting with Eboh a fashion photographer based in Okinawa.  I don’t normally shoot fashion, or do much studio work so it was a fascinating experience.

The setup was relatively simple. White seamless background, that was blasted with light from two strobes. The main strobe was a large beauty dish positioned in front of the model and about 2 meters high. A silver reflector was used to bounce a little fill light up.

The three strobes went to a single Norman battery pack which was then triggered by a Pocket Wizard.

I used my Pentax 67II with a 165mm LS (leaf shutter lens). The leaf shutter lens allowed me to use flash synched at 1/250 of a second rather than 1/30 of  a second. A flash cable connected the leaf shutter lens to a second Pocket Wizard which triggered the strobes.

The model for the shoot was Nikki who did a fantastic job. Eboh took a variety of images with different outfits and poses. I would watch Eboh work, and then we’d switch and I’d take a few shots.

The film was processed and then another friend, Photoshop guru Annya, helped show me the basics of crafting the final image. (It turns out the Photoshop can do far more than my usual dust removal and cropping.)

Fashion shoot with model Nikki Wright.

Eventually you end up with a final image, or a version of the final image before you start tweaking it again. Many thanks to Eboh, Nikki, and Annya!

This month I will be at two bazaars on Okinawa. I will have a wide selection of prints including the larger limited edition prints (that are also available through the website) and some smaller open edition prints.

Kadena Market Day

November 21, 2009 at  Schilling Community Center  10:00 – 15:00

F0ster Craft Show

November 28, 2009 at  Foster Community Center  10:00 – 16:00

There should be many fantastic vendors at each event, so If you’re in the area please drop on by and say hello.

Christmas 2009 Print Orders

If you are planning to buy a print through the Travel 67 website please place your order before December 10th to ensure that the item will be with you (or the recipient of the gift) by December 25th.

I have been slightly obsessed recently.

I knew the photograph I wanted to take, it just took me several months to get it right. I had to assemble a suitable cast, find the right angle, create even lighting, and control the depth of field. To onlookers it may have looked like a grown man playing with toys, but this was a serious undertaking.

Finally I got the shot I wanted: a Lego Legion.

In 2005 Honda ceased production of the fantastic NSX super-car. In December 2008 the company announced that plans to produce a new generation NSX had been cancelled.  In the same month Honda also announced it was leaving F1 racing.

This summer Honda ceased production of the S2000 sports car. This was another truly great sports car, and that’s not just my opinion,  it was ranked number 1 three years in a row on the BBC’s Top Gear Survey (2004, 2005, 2006).  Honda no longer make a true sports car. The company’s Japanese website still carries the above sketch of  two Honda S-cars on the homepage, but it’s just a little sad that, when it comes to sports cars, nostalgia seems to be the only thing that remains.

I was given one more photography book for my birthday. I hadn’t mentioned it already as A) it came by sea so only arrived recently, and B) it has a few more words than most photography books so I had to sit down and read it.

The book is  A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel: My Journey in Photographs by Annie Griffiths Belt, a National Geographic photographer who has managed to juggle her career with two kids and a camel. (Something you don’t even see at Cirque Du Soleil.)

A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel by Annie Griffiths Belt

It would perhaps be best described as an illustrated autobiography. The author talks about her life as a National Geographic photographer and there were several interesting facts or pearls of wisdom along the way. These included:

“Assignments in those days (early in her career) averaged three to six months. No assistants. No shot lists. No excuses.”  Photographers were sent to a place after a five minute phone call and then it was their job to find the story behind that city or region and to photograph it.

Interpersonal skills are one of the keys to being a travel photographer. Being able to change a NO to a yes. Convincing strangers to not only let you photograph them, but to let you into their home.

Access. Go where other can’t, won’t or fear to tread.

Enjoy it. You are probably doing one of the best jobs in the world.

I was just making a print of this AIBO shot. AIBO are  Sony’s autonomous robot dogs, and are fantastic pieces of engineering. In this photo there is an AIBO ERS-111 (silver) and an AIBO ERS-210 (gold) with the special AIBO pink ball which they can play with.

AIBO was discontinued in 2005 as a cost cutting measure. It is a shame because AIBO was a great flagship product for Sony.  AIBO remains however  as a fine example of synergy between  high-technology and “kawaii” cuteness.

The November edition of Okinawa Living is now available.  This month my “The Traveling Photographer” page is all about the rule of thirds.

Along with the presence of Dr Pepper, A&W and Spam, the military presence in Okinawa has led to the popularity of another American icon – the Harley. On weekends there are often groups of bikers cruising up route 58 towards Cape Hedo, and once a year many of the riders parade along Gate 2 street as part of the local festival.

Fantastic bikes, but as a Brit, I’d rather have a Triumph.

Earlier this year I wrote a post titled Police Performance about the use of high performance Japanese sports cars by police.

It turns out however that another Japanese motoring icon, the electric Mitsubishi I-MiEV, will be soon helping the boys in blue.

Last night I installed the new OS X 10.6 operating system on my Mac. It should make my computer run faster, getting the most out of the quad core processors. It is also “built for the future with 64-bit and 32-bit compatibility.”

A word of warning…

Just tried to print with the 5100 and found out that I had to install a new driver that was designed for Snow Leopard. I wasn’t able to find the driver on Canon’s U.S. site but eventually found and installed it from the Canon Japan site here.   The driver was only released on the 20th of October so I’m glad I didn’t install Snow Leopard when it was released in August.

I also needed to upgrade to the latest version of Earthdesk. The upgrade did cost $12.95, but now even the amount of snow and vegetation patterns  change from month to month.

Everything else seems to be working fine…