Welcome to my blog!
For those who are first time visitors, I live in Japan. I love documenting my family and the wonderful people of Japan through pictures.
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Little Fuuta has been swimming since he was one. And, at a young age of five years, he is an impressive swimmer. This is not a kid who is forced to do this. He loves what he does! Between laps, he won’t hesitate to smile and give a good laugh. It’s been a complete privilege (I sound like an Idol judge) for me to take his pictures and to see him develop each year. Who knows? Fuuta might represent Japan one day. Here he is…Fuuta!!!
What do you do when the wife is teaching an evening class? Take your kids to their favorite park. They play and I “play” and practice my off camera flash technique. Win-win!!
What gear did I have with me? I brought with me my Canon 40D. Haven’t used the 40D in a while so I decided to give it some love that night. The only lens I brought with me was the wide-angle 16-35mm. Now, because the 40D has a crop sensor, the effective focal length range is 26-56mm. It was wide enough for what I wanted to shoot and also, no distortion even at the widest focal length. I only used one flash, the Canon 580 EXII, which I set on a Manfrotto light stand. Why didn’t I use a second flash? I normally do but hey, I’m taking care of 3 girls!! This was their time, not mine. Lastly, for off camera lighting, I happily use the Scott Robert Lim triggers. I could have used a diffuser, such as an umbrella, to create “softer” light, but again, I was there to play with my girls. The few shots I took of them was strictly bonus. When you start hearing, “Daddy, let’s play hide-n-seek! Daddy, push me on the swing! Daddy, help me climb the slide!”, then it’s time to put away the gear. Enjoy the images!
Last Saturday, we had an inspiration shoot and went out to Green Park for some fun in the sun! Jessica Kondo is a good friend and we collaborated together on this shoot. She designed the beautiful flowers (bouquets and head pieces) you will see below. Like I said before, I’m not a “flower” person but I can appreciate their beauty and Jessica did a phenomenal job. I am looking forward to doing many more collaborative shoots with Jessica. When you combine the flowers with beautiful models, then you have a winning recipe.
For our models, my wife and daughter (Anne and Mia) teamed up with another mother/daughter team (Marla and Hana). We’ve known Marla ever since we arrived in Kitakyushu eight years ago. She and her husband, Rocky, are wonderful friends. I need to do a lifestyle shoot of them just so I can show you their awesomeness! But I digress. Mia and Hana are best buds and well…they are just plain cute!! Okay, enough banter. Enjoy!
Getting ready
Putting on makeup is fun!
I don't like this part, Mommy!
Hold still, baby!
Pretty Hana
Friends
Love their expressions here!
Tea time!
I love the shadows being caused by the flower headdress!
Can we play now, Mommy?
What beautiful girls!
By the way, you don’t want to miss Part II of this inspiration shoot. Anne and Marla get their modeling on! Here’s a sneak peek:
One of the treats of going to Las Vegas every year is not related to photography at all. I get to see my sister! Her family lives in the San Francisco Bay area but they make the trip to see lil ol me. It’s not ideal as I have WPPI all day long but what a great time I have with them in the evening! I don’t often get to play with my niece, Elle, as I live in Japan. So imagine the fun I have playing with this sweet angel!
On their way back home and before my platform afternoon class, we had a short time (and I mean short) to go out to the desert to capture some family shots. Next year, I want to set aside a whole afternoon to shoot them at Red Rock Canyon. Until then, enjoy the pictures below.
This is my beautiful niece, Elle!
With her Daddy
I love this one. You can see Elle’s smiling face behind their kiss.
Elle: Ummm…why was I put inside this tire? Is that a scorpion I see?
Okay, break out the flash and see if we can do something dramatic.
Sad to say but at this point Elle wasn’t cooperating anymore so Mommy and daughter went off to explore while Edgar played the eager model.
This cool DJ/sound engineer has no problem posing for me. Ha ha ha!
Edgar had his own idea for the next couple images
Edgar: Don’t mess with me!
It was time to go but not before I got a shot of my beautiful sis. Love you, Fern!
Coming up…my thoughts on my experience as a volunteer for WPPI’s Print Judging Competition.
See anything? Look closely.
This is a playground slide activity gone wrong!
Are you ready? Here we go....
"Are you okay?!?" No response and no movement. She stayed like that for about 30 seconds.
"I'm okay! Let's do that again!"
After our St. Louis trip, we went further into Missouri territory and visited my college friend, Candi, and her family. It was a full house with our kids and six of her own! And her kids are beautiful as you will soon see below. Anne and I were certainly enthralled as Candi and her husband, Lynn, shared their story of raising six children. They also shared the process of how God brought them to Missouri (they’re originally from Illinois). And did I mention they make scrumptious home-made pizza?!? It was out of this world!
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them! Without further ado, the awesome Evans family!!!
Oh, and don’t forget to watch the family slideshow at the end. The slideshow looks best when you click the “unstretch” button. 
I just want to take her home. She's so darn cute!
This boy is all about playing hard. But he was able to let me take shots like this and...
THIS! Silly boy!
It's hard to choose one but I think this might be my favorite!
Ha ha ha! "C'mon, Mom and Dad! No PDA!!"
A beautiful couple! They really have six kids?!? Really?!?
Love this one as well!
Thank you, Evans family, for having us! Now, how can we get you to visit us in Japan?
During our Midwest tour, we went to St. Louis to take in a baseball game and to explore the city parks and attractions. I have many more images of our time in St. Louis which I will post on a later date. For now, enjoy the following pictures:
I'm a die-hard Cubs fan but I love the Gateway Arch! Anne's college buddy, Karey, and her daughter, joined us in touring the Arch and lunch afterwards.
Karey's daughter is a sweet, little angel!
