Archive for Travel Photography
Portrait Photography at a Japanese Restaurant … in Tokyo, Japan!
I am so lucky to have a job that allows me to travel! Especially, when it means I get to go to places I love, like Japan! At the end of January, I returned to Japan for the first time since leaving in 2008 to photograph a wedding. I was only in Japan for one week and had a lot of friends (and a lot of food and coffee drinks) to catch up with, but in addition to the wedding, I decided to take on one portrait photography session as well. High school senior portrait photography isn’t a popular at all in Japan, but instead, especially for women, it is common to get some portraits done for Coming of Age Day (Seijin no Hi). Wikipedia explains it better than I can:
[Coming of Age Day] is a Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate and encourage all those who have reached the age of majority (20 years old) over the past year, and to help them realize that they have become adults. Festivities include coming of age ceremonies (seijin-shiki) held at local and prefectural offices, as well as after-parties amongst family and friends.
So in honor of Ayumi turning 20 years old, we did a photography shoot with her wearing her kimono. As you can see, both Ayumi and her kimono were beautiful! Ayumi and her family had picked out a spectacular restaurant to use as the backdrop for our session and after we finished taking photographs, treated me to a delicious lunch (again, I am so lucky)!
My favorite photos from 3+ years in Japan
The title pretty much says it all! As I gear up to photograph a wedding in Japan in January I thought I would put together a slideshow of my favorite photos I made while over there. Make sure you turn your sound on as there is an awesome song by Gunsolo called “Arcadia.” Also, if you are heading to Japan, or know somebody else who is, don’t forget I am available as a photography tour guide for your trip to Japan!
Adventures in the Al Capone Suite at The Biltmore
Okay, so it was actually only one adventure and probably “adventure” isn’t even the right word to use, but to say I was excited about shooting in the Al Capone Suite at The Biltmore — where a scene from one of my old school favorite movies, Bad Boys, was shot — is definitely an understatement. Thanks to Andrew Bryant Photography, I was sent to Miami to shoot with and learn from some awesome photographers, including Ray Santana, Becker, Kenny Kim, Kenny Nakai and Lawrence Chan (SEO guru, Tofurious). It was great to see how these guys and the rest of the photographers worked and shot and feel like we all learned a lot from each other. Besides the fact that we were in one of the most beautiful cities, at one of the most famous hotels in the world, with gorgeous models, what made it extra special was the good people that were there. Anytime I can return to Miami in the fall or winter is a win for me, but coupled it with such a wonderful experience made my trip perfect.
French Polynesia: Bora Bora
After Moorea, we island hopped over to Bora Bora and just like Moorea, saying it was beautiful was an understatement. To be honest, I am not exactly sure my photos even show the real beauty of these islands. The mountain that is in just about all of these photos is called Otemanu, and can be seen from just about anywhere in Bora Bora, including from our over water bungalow! If you want to see more or buy a print, check out the gallery.
