Photos of typhoon striking Tokyo
When a typhoon hits Tokyo, there isn’t really much to fear. In the 6 years I’ve lived in Tokyo , every time a warning is issued there has never been any danger. I remember days of drinking beer with my colleagues after work on days of typhoons . The wind in your face was refreshing. [...]
Interview: Ian Brumpton
“It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good.” - Nina Simone. Q1) Could you give us a bit of background on how you grew up and who and what were your greatest inspirations and influences? Is photography your main source of income and if so, how did you [...]
Tokyo Fetish Party: Department H (May 2012)
Since I started to shoot some underground events in Tokyo, I met some cool contacts who attend these parties regularly. They introduced me to a fetish underground event called “Department H” – H for HENTAI (the name originally coined from Marvel Universe ) so I decided to check it out. This particular one had a [...]
How I got a paid assignment from an NGO/NPO (Non-Profit Organisation)
I’d like to share this information with everyone because I believe the sharing of know-how and information which may lead to another person’s success is also crucial to one’s personal success. Of course, much like a magician such as David Blaine or Criss Angel, there are certain tricks that they wouldn’t divulge so I can’t [...]
Shibuya Hikarie Grand Opening
I just happen to be around Shibuya’s Hikarie with my DSLR during its Grand Opening week so decided to scope inside the new building and take some shots. Here are some photos from the first days of the Shibuya Hikarie grand opening. The article below is from JapanToday. “A new 34-floor commercial complex called Shibuya [...]
Interview: “Ramosa” Beaudoin
“Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference.”- Robert Frank Q1) You have been shrouded in mystery. Could you indulge us and give us a bit of background on how you grew up, job and so on for your followers? I’m a pretty private person and [...]
boy with bubble blower
Images of kids blowing bubbles have been done so many times before and are somewhat cliche so I’ve never bothered to shoot any. In any case, I happen to come across these kids playing so the situation wasn’t pre-arranged. Unfortunately, even though I took quite a few frames I didn’t get a “killer” shot from [...]
Last call for kabukicho with Eiji Leon Lee (35mm film)
Here’s a series of cinematic photos I did with actor Eiji Leon Lee. These were all shot on Kodak Tri-x400 black and white film. You can compare digital to black and white film. I have a hard time deciding whether to shoot film or digital so I usually bring at least two cameras to a [...]
Faces of Fukushima II
** UPDATED May 2nd: 8 photos to gallery. Finally had time to scan and edit another roll and blog Part II of my “Faces of Fukushima” series, portraits and photos I took on a trip sponsored by Fukushima Future NGO before Xmas 2011. The people are residents of the temporary shelters in minamisoma about 25-30 [...]
Collector Sues Eggleston Over New Prints of Limited Edition Works
The following article was sourced from PDN online: “A major collector of William Eggleston’s work filed suit against the photographer yesterday in a U.S. District Court in New York City, accusing Eggleston of devaluing his vintage dye-transfer prints by selling new, large-scale pigment prints of those same images. The suit by Jonathan Sobel, a [...]
Video Interview: Mika Nakanishi Part II
Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay. Here is part II of my video interview with fashion and editorial photographer, Mika Nakanishi. Interview with Mika Nakanishi Part II from ontoshiki vun on Vimeo. 12) Are there any certain pieces of artwork or photography that has inspired you? Well, (in terms of) artists [...]
Tokyo Dark Castle
Tokyo Dark Castle is a Gothic and Industrial underground music event held in Tokyo, Japan. I’ve been to another Gothic underground event called “Midnight Mess” before and I found it a really interesting place to take photos. So when an acquaintance of mine invited me to the Tokyo Dark Castle event, I thought it would be [...]
Interview: Junku Nishimura
If you’re a Flickr user, you’ll recognize the infamous photo of the dog with its head turned to the viewer, grinning mischievously. The tyre of a police car is visible in the upper half of the image and the first thing that came to my mind was, “Yes, do it!!” That particular photo was a [...]
Steel Penis festival Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り) 2012
One of the most unusual festivals in Japan is the Kanamara Festival that occurs every year in Kawasaki in April. It is centered around the reproductive organs. From Wikipedia: “The Shinto Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り ”Festival of the Steel Phallus”) is held each spring at the Kanayama shrine (金山神社) in Kawasaki, Japan. The exact dates vary: the main festivities fall on the first Sunday in [...]
Video Interview: Mika Nakanishi Part I
When I first met Mika Nakanishi a few years ago, I had only been a few months into purchasing my first ever DSLR camera. As I recall, it was perhaps around the beginning of 2009 or thereabouts. I was just a hobbyist and a complete beginner without a visual identity. She invited me to her [...]
Faces of Fukushima I (with Fukushima Future)
These are some portraits and photos I took on a trip sponsored by Fukushima Future NGO before Xmas 2011. These are residents of the temporary shelters in minamisoma about 25-30 kms from Fukushima Daiichi. The portraits were shot with a 35mm minolta XD on Rokkor 58mm 1.2 lens with Kodak TriX 400. Visit Fukushima [...]
Event: Pole dancing: Love is in the air at Le Baron Tokyo
Lu Nagata’s pole dancing performance “Love is in the air” at Le Baron de Paris in Aoyama was an amazing show. It was written and produced by Lu Nagata with special performances by Natasha Wang , 2011 winner of US pole dance championship and Jenyne Butterfly the first ever US pole dance champion. I was privileged [...]
Fine arts printing on canvas in Japan
A week after my photoshoot with Natsuki “Doll” Kishi titled “Black Rain” was completed, I was approached by one of Natsuki’s contacts , photographer William Ishiwata. He offered to have my images printed on quality canvas to be sent to Natsuki as a gift and I thought it was a very kind gesture. I decided [...]
Last call for Kabukicho: Eiji Leon Lee
Here’s a series of cinematic photos I did with actor Eiji Leon Lee. One of the first ever full-on shoots I’ve done with a male model. It was a challenging 6 hours of walking in the freezing cold for this shoot but it was fun and Eiji was always up to the challenge. I really [...]
Inspiration: Nobuyoshi Araki
Born in Tokyo in 1940, Nobuyoshi Araki is Japan’s most controversial but celebrated photographer. Instantly recognizable with his goggle-like glasses and an outlandish hairstyle which matches his personality, he is also one of the world’s most prominent photographers having published over 400 photography books to date. Given a camera by his father at the age of [...]
Citypulse : Activista! Issue available now
Citypulse ACTIVISTA! issue is dedicated to people who express themselves for a cause. Some of my photos from the Japan Anti-Nuke demonstration are featured on this 194 page Issue together with photos from many artists and documentarians from around the world who are capturing a global revolution. Checkout the teaser trailer below: ACTIVISTA! New issue [...]
Remembering March 11 – Memorial service in Odaiba and Hibiya
This post is dedicated to all the souls that were lost in the tragedies of March 11, 2011. To all the families and friends who lost someone close to them. and to those who are still recovering and finding their feet. The below images were taken from the memorial events at Hibiya Park and Odaiba [...]
Black Rain : Natsuki “Doll” Kishi
For those of you who don’t know her, Natsuki Doll has quite a large following on the internet (over 3500 fans on her facebook fanpage) and has a legion of fans especially from Asia and Europe. I have been in contact with her for a while now and we’ve discussed a few different ideas but [...]
Inspiration : Alexey Titarenko
“. . . these most brisk and giddy-paced times.” William Shakespeare THE QUICKENING “The pace of life is speeding up. Hardly the most startling statement. As most of us are only too aware, change comes more and more rapidly. Technological breakthroughs spread through society in years rather than centuries. Calculations that would have taken [...]
