Sunday, November 26, 2006

silence of the lambs



It was -1 degrees centigrade when I got up to Sapporo a few days ago, and the lambs were silent. The object in the background is the Sapporo Dome, but looks like some alien spaceship. Maybe the sheeps are nervous about that. When I showed this image on another blog, I got a tremendous response from people who asked if they can get a print of it.

This day was the beginning of a winter storm in Hokkaido, and I was lucky to travel back and forth that same day since the airport has been closed down from the following day.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

beautiful kids



One subject more challenging to photograph than CEOs and politicians is probably children. They are free to go, and you have to catch them on their turf. But when you do catch them like this one, it is most gratifying. Today my cousin's one and a half year old daughter dropped in during a catalogue shoot I was doing at a studio, so we let her loose on the cove and she had a blast. There is no way you can stop an ecstatic child, so I grabbed whatever shots I can as she ran around. This image where she glanced back while making a pass by the camera is precious. It was the best picture I took all day.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

shogyo mujo





"Shogyo Mujo" is a japanese word describing the buddhist term which has a similer meaning to "All things must Pass," which is exactly how I felt when I stepped inside the hotel that had been abandoned for over 20 years.

Last week I was invited to join a haikyo (japanese for "ruin") trek with 2 other photographers who make this a hobby. I've always had an interest in ghost towns, underground shafts, abandoned factories... the kind of places that make a good backdrop for living of the dead type movies. No, I don't like spook at all, but it's fascinating to see traces of human life that once took place that no longer exists. So, for a better word I like archeology.

The day trip was certainly fascinating with two highlights. The first one came when I opened a door to an abandoned room and saw light flickering on the walls. The tv is on... First thing that crossed my mind was Poltergeist. "They're here!" Actually, we thought someone was living there so we were down those corroded stairs like lightning. But my friend couldn't resist the temptation so we went back up, and there was no one in the devastated room but a live tv. The tv looked like a model from the mid or late 70's and there was a running picture on the screen. I think it would've been scary if it was just the post broadcast sand storm. Couldn't figure out where the electricity was coming from, since it was a building that has been abandoned for a long time.

The granddaddy event of the day was the abandoned hotel by the sea that you see here. It was scary going through the pitch black kitchen with a flashlight. It's just one of those `Resident Evil' or `Biohazzard' type of places where you expect to be attacked by the living dead. I can just imagine how scary it would be to go through an abandoned hospital. Yet these places offer so much in photo opportunities with all the textures, details, and tones.

Looking at the ruins, I kept on thinking about how glory, fame or splendor is just temporary in a long span of time. For that matter, despair, hopelessness, depression, or anything bad in life could only be a temporary phase as well. All things must pass. Shogyo Mujo!

Monday, November 06, 2006

fireworks


Mr. Youichi Nomura is Japan's leading fireworks artist. He spends a whole year perfecting fireworks that last about 5 seconds in a summer's night sky. Ofcourse the beauty will last an eternity in peoples' hearts. Hard to imagine what it's like to live next to all the gunpowder he has stored, soI asked him if he ever experienced an accident or a fire, and he said "are you kiddining? I wouldn't be here today if there was an accident."
Photographed with available light and a Nikon SB80DX speedlight.