明けましておめでとうございます！今年も宜しくお願いします！
Posts Tagged ‘北九州’
Happy New Year: 2012
January 1, 2012Photo Shoot with Hazuki: Kitakyushu, Japan
November 1, 2011My friend, Hazuki, used to live in Kitakyushu but due to her husband’s job transfer, she and her family moved up north. Hazuki and her daughter were back in town last weekend for a quick visit. Shortly before their departure, I had a chance to do a photo shoot at her request. She is a yoga instructor and has started a small business. She naturally wanted profile pictures for her blog/website and that’s where I come in. Hazuki was great to work with and I believe the images we captured that day reflect her fun and engaging personality. I am sure that future clients that visit her site will notice this right away. Happy viewing, everyone!!
We found this empty park with beautiful fall leaves and decided to do a couple "yoga" images.
Before their train departure, we found one more location and came away with beautiful portraits of Hazuki.
Here are some behind-the-scene shots of Hazuki with her cute daughter.
Wakamatsu, Japan: Moore Family Lifestyle Session
September 17, 2011Today’s blog post features a family from Texas: the Moores!! They spent 10 days in Japan to do summer ministry at our church. Although each day’s schedule was jam-packed, we managed to squeeze in a family shoot while playing at the beach. I am so glad for the opportunity to meet them. They were such a blessing to all the people they met. There’s such a zest in the way they live their lives that people take notice. Thank you, Moores, for reaching out and sharing God’s love with us!
**Don’t forget to watch the slideshow at the end!**
With Mr. and Mrs. Itoh: wonderful hosts during their stay
"That's the Pacific!"
What a great-looking family!
Ocean waves are the cause of this fantastic rock formation which makes for a great backdrop.
A beautiful daughter!
A beautiful daughter!
Time for the couple shots!
Love this moment between them! What did she say to him?!?
Everyone enjoying the sunset while exploring.
Ending our time with a gorgeous sunset!
Hiking Up Mt. Sarakura: Yahatahigashi, Japan
July 23, 2011Anne and I went on a hiking date up a mountain know for its gorgeous views of our city. The mountain (Mt. Sarakura) is not too far from our house, about a 20 minute drive. You can even see the mountain from our neighborhood. Anne and I had a great time hiking and exploring. The last time we did a hike like this together was when we lived in Kobe in the late 90′s. It was so fun that we agreed to do more hiking dates in the near future. As Anne shared yesterday, “You get exercise, photography, and each other all in one shot!” I couldn’t agree more!
Anne loves to climb!
This part makes me think of Narnia or Lord of the Rings.
My climbing buddy!
Here's our ride back!
And for lunch: Turkey kebab at a new joint in town! It was soooo good!
Well, as promised, here is Part II of the inspiration shoot that took place last weekend. If you missed Part I, go here.
My models were Anne Crescini and Marla Ayatsuka. One of them’s my wife 
To be honest with you, my shots didn’t do any justice to the beauty that these two women have. God made them both beautiful on the outside. But the beauty they have on the inside is just as attractive. The strength and character of these women are something to behold. So, forgive me that these images fall short of truly capturing who they are.
I wanted to create a little bit of drama using the sun flare and a texture.
Thank you, Jessica, for designing the bouquets and head pieces! You're the best!
Location: Wakamatsu, Japan
Hair and Makeup: Marla Ayatsuka
Floral Design: Jessica Kondo
Florist: Chimoto
Assistant: Zhengtian Pan
Models: Marla Ayatsuka and Anne Crescini
All photos copyright 2010 by Riz Crescini
Kinzan River Photo Shoot: Kitakyushu, Japan
April 21, 2011This week, Shouten, Winnie, and I went out for another photo session. This shoot took place at Kinzan River. Every spring is the Cosmos Festival highlighted by the blooming of various kinds of flowers, especially tulips. On either side, the river is flanked by gorgeous flower beds and cherry blossom trees. We were too late for the cherry blossoms but just in time for the flowers.
Winnie really enjoyed this shoot because she loves flowers!
Winnie looking beautiful in her spring dress
I'm not a "flower" kind of person but even I can appreciate their beauty!
This one is shot with a long lens and the next one with a wide-angle lens. Which one do you like?
Shouten wanted to learn more about flash photography. He specifically wanted to know how I got the nice starburst effect on some of my shots. For those shots, I use a Lastolite triflash bracket. You are able to mount 3 flashes. Using 3 flashes will allow you to “overpower” the sun. Having 3 flashes also gives you a faster recycling time between shots as the flashes don’t have to be on full power. On the next 3 images, my aperture setting is the same but look at how the mood changes when I adjust the shutter speed.
F22, 1/200 A dramatic look with a sharp sun starburst
F22, 1/60 With a slower shutter speed, you bring in more of the scene. The starburst is not as sharp but still pretty good. I also had the model face more in the direction of the flash. I also love the little starburst reflections on the water!
F22, 1/50 Now the sun is starting to wash out. But still a nice warm, pleasing shot of Winnie.
F18, 1/50 Sometimes, I introduce texture to compensate for the harsh lighting. The texture also gives a nice fine art look which I was going for in this image.
I also use a reflector to bring light back into the face when in open shade. The reflector I love to use is the Lastolite Trigrip. I am using the reflector in the next 3 images.
Learning lighting is essential when doing photography and I’m thankful for my mentor, Scott Robert Lim, who has taught me a lot about lighting and photography. Check out his site and be inspired!
Thanks again to Shouten and Winnie for an awesome photo shoot. Looking forward to our shoot in May!
***Update: I forgot to include one more photo. See below:
Can you "feel" the warm spring sun on her face?
Snow Day
January 11, 2011
Summer Magic
July 28, 2010I hope this set of images will motivate you to go out and create lasting summer memories with your family and friends. Enjoy!
Fun Saturday Outing
July 4, 2010It was a rainy day but I managed to get the family to explore an area in southern Kokura City called Sugao. The area is beautiful. We are definitely coming back to explore more of this place especially when the weather is sunny.
Exploring with the Lensbaby Composer lens. My vision for this shot was an eagle’s eye view. What do you think?
Mr. Worm got in on some of the action!
And now for the family shots!
Yes, they are silly like their Daddy and Mommy!!
Our family will be in the U.S. for the months of August and September. We will be in Virginia most of the time but also doing a 3-week tour of the Midwest. Let us know if you would like to meet during our stay. We would love to hang out and catch up with dear friends and families. Photog buddies, let me know if you want to hang out as well! Shoot us a message (facebook, twitter or email) or comment on this post. Hope to see you soon!
A Father’s Joy
June 14, 2010
