Something I’ve kind of been experimenting with recently – lightpainting. An interesting way to create all sorts of interesting effects, like…fireballs.
No photoshop here – the light effect comes from a few bits of orange fibre optic taped to the end of a small penlight being waved around in a circle. Lots of fun. More shots from the workshop where this was shot up at Japanorama.co.uk
I’ve been asked on several occasions to provide more than just photography – sometimes people ask for a bit extra.
Like this movie poster I shot for my best friend’s wedding a long time ago – ‘The Last Ninja’, a bit of a satirical homage to the old Sho Kosugi ninja films. Quite possibly still one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever shot. Design and layout by another friend who owns a design firm in Tokyo.
Took a whole day of shooting and running around bamboo forests to get all the photos for the poster taking us from the carpark of an abandoned apartment building to a bamboo forest, but it was a massive laugh and we were all happy at the end. Not all of the shots of that day were used and some of the better outtakes are below the poster, as well as some of the ones that were used:
A massively fun day 
.
I’ve got a project coming up this summer involving satirical movie posters that’ll form part of the new video learning program we’re starting up at japanorama.co.uk. Should be fun so look out for them coming out soon!
Part 2 of my Aomori series, this time with a focus more on the surrounding countryside.
Once again, these were shot straight to JPEG (JPEG and RAW in camera) on my Nikon D700 at ISO6400, with my 24-70mm G. Little to no editing in post-processing. 6400 ISO gives an absolutely great grainy feel and the in-camera black and white processing does a great job, especially with misty backgrounds. I got the mysterious feel I wanted straight out of camera.
To those of you who’ve been wondering where I’ve been due to my lack of postings, I’ve been on holiday and have just gotten back into the swing of things. I went to Aomori – quite possibly the dreariest city I’ve visited in Japan, and while there was a decided lack of excitement, there were plenty of photo opportunities to capture some great urban decay.
Shot all this stuff straight to JPEG on my Nikon D700 and 24-70mm G with ISO6400 and little to no editing. It gave me the look I wanted straight from the start, which was absolutely great. I personally am very happy with this series and might even consider having an exhibition of it sometime in Tokyo somewhere.
I love running workshops with Japanorama – not only do you get to learn stuff along with the students but it’s also good to get together and be creative, without having clients breathing down your neck. Such as the case with Ella here, in Tokyo at the Mejirodai Studio. These shots aren’t edited at all and aren’t even lit. Basically we used natural light from a frosted window to the left of the frame, in front of some black vinyl blinds. Pretty cool effect, and cheap, but it results in an expensive look. Shot with Nikon D700 and Nikkor 135mm f/2 DC AF-D.
For the second series of shots we decided to try something else out and go for a noir look. We used an Orbis ringflash with a Nikon SB-900 to provide the main light for her face and then used an SB-800 with an orange gel and a bulldog clipped Honl snoot to provide the orange splash of light on the face. The bulldog clips are to really compress the opening of the snoot to create the tiniest splash of light – it’s a really useful technique. We placed another Nikon speedlight behind the curtain to illuminate that from behind.
Of course, most workshops get a little silly in the name of good fun and when the studio has a fake gun prop it’s kind of easy to get carried away. These calamity Jane-inspired shots are made with essentially the same setup minus the snooted orange gel, and with the Orbis moved a little closer to the camera.
Come to the next workshop – shoot the kids! Learn how to get great kiddie shots with minimal gear. Details here: http://japanorama.co.uk/2010/04/20/shoot-the-kids/
Here’s another batch of photos shot at a recent Japanorama strobist workshop I held in Yoyogi, Tokyo. The great thing about teaching photography in Tokyo is that you are always surprised at who will become willing subjects for your students – this time it was Japanorama student Rob Piazza who introduced this boxing gym to us, so we were very lucky to have two obliging and aspiring boxers to pose for us.
We used Nikon speedlights (a combination of SB-800s and SB-900s) to illuminate our subjects with Honl snoots and the Orbis ringflash for the second and third photo. Great fun was had by all – especially the boxers, who were very much getting into the spirit of things, as you can see from the last photo!
Japanorama strobist and lighting workshops run every weekend – this week: Lighting 101 for those who need a primer on flash to begin feeling confident about it. Email irwin.wong@japanorama.co.uk if you feel like checking it out. Thanks to everyone who keeps coming out to these workshops – it’s always great to be in a creative atmosphere full of people who share your passion. Hope to see you at the next one!
Fred Harris – artiste extraordinaire, humanitarian and philanthropist. This is as shot, no alterations in post except a little sharpening for web. Forgive the negative space at the top – the magazine’s title is likely to go there so I decided to leave it in. Strobe freaks: check out the video I did here for details of what I used and what I did.
The answer to that question?
I have no idea.
Here’s the situation – huge studio in Elizabeth Schwarzkopf’s Tokyo salon (they make hair products, for anyone unfamiliar, like me). I’m shooting maybe 30 models in 4 hours – at least I’m supposed to be.
Anyway there was no white backdrop in the studio. Huge studio – at least half a million dollars worth of equipment in there, and no white backdrop. For non-photographers, the white backdrop is pretty much your painter’s canvas in the photo studio. It’s versatile – you can light it up for pure white high-key shots, or you can move your model away from it and get a nice muted grey color. You can gel it and color it or put a spotlight on it – it’s responsive to light and easy to manipulate into a heap of different looks. So it makes sense that on the day of the unveiling of their new product lineup, with lots of models needing their photos taken, there was no white background. Only a grey one. Which is why a lot of the photos below are low-key, moody affairs.
How many looks can I get with a grey background? I dunno, but give me white any day.
I’m a sucker. Buy me dinner and I’ll take your photos. That’s what my good friend Chris Nixon did in order to get his shots done with his new Kinfolk bicycle.
Kinfolk is best described as a bicycle atelier out in Nakameguro. Each bike frame is built to order and hand-made by 70-year old master craftsman Shuichi Kusaka. With a minimalist aesthetic and an emphasis on technical simplicity, the result is a very nice-looking bike that’s built to last. Check out their page here: http://www.wegotways.com/kinfolkbicycles/, and if you have time go to their head office in Nakameguro and order a mojito; at night the place turns into a bar where all sorts of interesting people congregate. http://www.wegotways.com/kinfolk/
It’s incredibly important not to take this caper too seriously – sometimes it’s useful just to have a few drinks to loosen up and have a bit of fun. All shots below were made with a D700, 24-70mm f/2.8, a bit of flash and a bottle of Remy Martin. You can see the dangers of having a bit too much to drink a the bottom of the post though. Enjoy alcohol responsibly.
© 2010 Editorial, Wedding and Commercial Tokyo Photographer – Irwin Wong ProPhoto Blog Template by NetRivet Sites
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